''Orbus Terrarum'' (stylized as ''Orbvs Terrarvm'') is a

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by English

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

group

The Orb The Orb are an English electronic music group founded in 1988 by Alex Paterson and Jimmy Cauty. Known for their psychedelic sound, the Orb developed a cult following among clubbers "coming down" from drug-induced highs. Their influential 19 ...

that was released on 20 March 1995 by

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...

. Member

Kris Weston Kristian "Kris" Weston (a.k.a. Thrash) (born 1972) is a British electronic musician, record producer and remixer best known for his work as a member of The Orb. Around the beginning of his career, he worked with Andrew Weatherall on remixes of ...

had begun work on the album before leaving the group. After he left, German producer

Thomas Fehlmann Thomas Fehlmann (born 1957) is a Swiss composer/producer who lives in Berlin, Germany, and has been active in electronic music since the 1980s. He is currently active on the Kompakt record label based in Germany. Fehlmann is an on-and-off member ...

joined as a full-time studio member, and the group, now consisting of

Alex Paterson Alex Paterson (also known as Dr Alex Paterson, born Duncan Alexander Robert Paterson; 15 October 1959 in Battersea, London) is an English musician and co-founder of ambient house group The Orb, in which he has worked since its inception. Life ...

Andy Hughes Andy Hughes (11 November 1965 – 12 June 2009) was an English electronic music producer. He is best known for his work with the Orb, where he helped mix and produce ''Orbus Terrarum'', ''Orblivion'', and ''Cydonia'', as well as The Orb's sin ...

, and Fehlmann, completed the album. Unlike their previous efforts, ''Orbus Terrarum'' features more "earthbound", "organic" sounds in contrast to the psychedelic,

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

-themed music they had previously written. According to Paterson, ''Orbus Terrarum'' suffered "a good kicking" at the hands of the British music press. ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' described it as "generic

ambient music Ambient music is a genre of music that emphasizes tone and atmosphere over traditional musical structure or rhythm. It may lack net composition, beat, or structured melody.The Ambient Century by Mark Prendergast, Bloomsbury, London, 2003. It u ...

" and ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' said it was a low point for Paterson's creativity. The album's sound alienated much of the group's fanbase, as had the group's preceding 1994 mini-album ''

Pomme Fritz ''Pomme Fritz'' (subtitled ''The Orb's Little Album'') is a mini-album by English electronic music group The Orb, released on 13 June 1994 by Island Records. Produced to sustain the group during a period of mismanagement, it was their first album ...

''. ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' gave the album a more positive reception: naming it their album of the month, and citing its symphonic flow coupled with The Orb's "uniquely British wit". The record reached number 20 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

Track listing

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 1995 albums The Orb albums Island Records albums