The Orb at Gretchen Berlin / Sunday, 02.12.2018

Pioneers of ambient-house The Orb return to Berlin this December for a special 30th anniversary show and to promote their new album on Cooking Vinyl “No Sounds Are Out Of Bounds” at Gretchen in Kreuzberg.

The Orb are an English electronic music group known for spawning the genre of ambient house. Founded in 1988 by Alex Paterson and KLF member Jimmy Cauty, The Orb began as ambient and dub DJs in London. Its early performances were inspired by ambient and electronic artists of the 1970s and 1980s, most notably Brian Eno and Kraftwerk. Because of its trippy sound, the Orb developed a cult following among clubbers “coming down” from drug-induced highs.

The Orb has maintained its drug-related and science fiction themes despite personnel changes, including the departure of Cauty and other Orb members Kris Weston, Andy Falconer, Simon Phillips, and Andy Hughes. Paterson has been the only permanent member, continuing to work as the Orb with the Swiss-German producer Thomas Fehlmann and, later, with Killing Joke’s Martin “Youth” Glover and Tim Bran of Dreadzone.

The Orb released the Metallic Spheres album in October 2010, featuring David Gilmour, of Pink Floyd and released by Columbia Records. In 2012, The Orb teamed with award-winning dub musician, Lee “Scratch” Perry to produce a reggae-infused album titled “The Observer In The Star House”, which was recorded in Berlin over a period of several months and features the single “Golden Clouds”.

The title song was based on an earlier version of Little Fluffy Clouds, with the lyrics rewritten by Perry reflecting his childhood in Jamaica and the legendary property Golden Clouds located near his home.