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EARLY YEARS


In 1989, Orbital recorded a track called "Chime" on their father's Four-track and got it signed to Oh Zone Records. When it was re-released on FFRR Records , it became a Rave anthem, a UK Top 20 hit in early 1990 , and a benchmark for the rest of their career.

They eventually became known for their live shows, wearing their trademark head-mounted flashlights behind banks of equipment, and giving an improvisational element to live electronic music as the brothers mixed and sequenced their tracks on the fly. They are one of the acts to be known to have played in Woodstock 2. One of the highlights of their career was their headline appearance at the Glastonbury Festival in 1994. Possibly as a result of this show, Q Magazine included them in their "50 Bands to See Before You Die".

Their third album, '' Snivilisation '', features vocals from Alison Goldfrapp on two tracks.


SOUNDTRACK WORK


Orbital remade the theme tune to the 1997 film '' The Saint ''; the song "The Box" also appeared in that film. "The Saint" is featured on some editions of ''In Sides'', their fourth album. They made a version of the '' Doctor Who '' Theme Tune , featured on ''The Altogether''. They also created the original soundtrack for the film ''Octane'', and collaborated with composer Michael Kamen on the soundtrack album of the film '' Event Horizon ''.

Orbital created the song "Technologicque Park" for the film '' XXx '' in which they actually appear during the night club/rave sequence. A shortened version of Orbital's song "Halcyon + On + On" was the theme to the 1995 film '' Hackers '' and was featured in the soundtracks for 1995's '' Mortal Kombat '', 2000's '' Groove '', 2001's '' CKY2K '', and 2004's '' Mean Girls ''. Their song "Sad But True" was used in the soundtrack to '' Johnny Mnemonic ''. The song "P.E.T.R.O.L" from the album "In Sides" appears in 1998 's Pi .

Some of their music has also been used as soundtracks for differing versions of the game " Wipeout ", latest "Wipeout Fusion"

In 2000 their mix on Angelo Badalamenti 's melody appeared in the soundtrack to The Beach with the words of Leonardo DiCaprio from the film.


2002 AND BEYOND


In 2002 the duo released '' Work 1989-2002 '', a retrospective compilation of singles and rare tracks.

Orbital split up in 2004. They played a final series of gigs from June through July 2004 at the Glastonbury Festival , the T In The Park Festival in Scotland , the Oxegen festival (formerly known as Witnness ) in Ireland, and the Wire Festival in Japan , concluding with a live Peel Session gig at Maida Vale Studios in London on July 28 , 2004 . The release of their seventh and last original album, ''The Blue Album'', coincided with this final wave of shows.

Paul Hartnoll is continuing to record music under his own name, including tracks for the new ''Wipeout Pure'' game for the '' PSP ''. Phil Hartnoll is concentrating on DJ gigs and is also collaborating with other electronica artists.


TRIVIA

  • Orbital are known for incorporating political and social comment into their music. For example, "Desert Storm" on their first album is a response to the first Gulf War , while much of their fourth album ''In Sides'' is inspired by ecological themes. On a more personal level, "Halcyon" was inspired by a family member's Tranquiliser Addiction . They also have a few songs that relate to Environmentalism , such as "Dŵr Budr" ("dirty water" in Welsh ), "P.E.T.R.O.L.", and "Kein Trink Wasser".


  • Orbital is sometimes confused with The Orb , a similarly named band that has also been very influential in the realm of electronic music. In its early days, The Orb often did Remix es of other artists' songs and called the result an "Orbital Mix", but these remixes have nothing to do with the band Orbital. The Orb stopped this practice after Orbital became popular, hoping not to cause any more confusion.


  • Paul and Phil Hartnoll are brothers-in-law of David Gray , who did guest vocals on the track "Illuminate" from ''The Altogether''.



  • Tilda Swinton appeared in the music video for the Orbital track ''The Box''.


  • The track Planet of the Shapes from the Brown Album features a sample from the film Withnail & I , voiced by Paul McGann : "Even a stopped clock tells the right time twice a day".



SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY



Albums



Singles/EPs

  • "Chime" ( 1990 )

  • "Omen" ( 1990 )

  • "Satan (III EP)" ( 1991 )

  • "Midnight/Choice" ( 1991 )

  • "Mutations" ( 1992 )

  • "Radiccio" ( 1992 )

  • "Lush" ( 1993 )

  • "Peel Session/Diversions" ( 1994 )

  • "Are We Here?" ( 1994 )

  • "Belfast/Wasted" ( 1995 )

  • "Times Fly" ( 1995 )

  • "The Box" ( 1996 )

  • "Satan Live/Satan Spawn" ( 1996 )

  • "The Saint" ( 1997 )

  • "Style" ( 1999 )

  • "Nothing Left" ( 1999 )

  • "Beached" (In collaboration with Angelo Badalamenti ) ( 2000 )

  • "Funny Break (One is Enough)" ( 2001 )

  • "Illuminate" ( 2001 )

  • "Rest" ( 2002 )

  • "Play" ( 2002 )

  • "One Perfect Sunrise/You Lot" ( 2004 )



SEE ALSO



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