The Orb: Orbvs Terrarvm

Written by Mat Mckenzie

last updated 2009-05-30 01:47 CET

A worthy addition to the Orb catalogue. The Orb were at the forefront of the ambient house movement and songs like Little Fluffy Clouds were a huge success for them.

Music critique

Artist: The Orb

Album: Orbvs Terrarvum

Playtime: 01:19:18
Record label: Island
Released: 1995

planet origo rating

Being a fan of all styles of electronic music from the most ambient to quite industrial, I took an instant liking to the way The Orb mixed the whole lot up. Strange and interesting vocal and other samples became part of their signature sound along with rhythms based in dub, and sounds based in various forms of electronic music.

As their output increased they gained popularity and I'm sure their skills with sampling made it a natural progression to get into remixing other groups. Like most successful groups in the dance music arena their talents are often essential for a limited period only however. If you haven't been remixed by the darlings of the day you just aren't "in" and The Orb certainly had their fill of remixing in the early to mid 90s countless groups. I always found their remixes were highly sought after initially but the supply of remixes eventually tailed off.

It wasn't just about remixes though, they had plenty of quality output of their own which has no doubt been reviewed many times over the years. That leads me onto the album in question, Orbvs Terrarvm (sic). Maybe it was Orb-fatigue but this album kind of passed me by first time round, to be honest. I did get the Oxbow Lakes 12" coloured vinyl and there's a fair chance I have the album on vinyl somewhere, but it certainly never made a lasting impression on me like their earlier material did. Listening to it now though, maybe I should have tried it again a lot sooner.

The album is made up of seven tracks, ranging from seven to seventeen minutes of Orb soundscapes. There's a lot of sevens in that statement but it is nevertheless true. We kick off with Valley and I like this track a lot. I guess you'd describe it as deep ambient dub; the pace is constant throughout and for me that's good. It has a nice uninterrupted warm vibe going on.

Next up is without a doubt my favourite track Plateau. It's a long hypnotic piece which could almost be Klaus Schulze's Timewind for the 90's. The delicate sequencer work has warm ambient overtones and creates a wonderful warm sound to sit back and relax to.

Oxbow Lakes was released as a single and is definitely a good track. Its bold piano melody leads gradually into a System 7 like sound. The main difference between the first two tracks is the variety of pace and sounds which adds interest but makes it less good as a drifting piece of ambience.

Montagne D'Or reminds me of The KLF's Chill Out at the start but gradually the pace increases and becomes more frantic. For me, the last few minutes of this track really spoils the mellow vibe as to put it bluntly it's a right racket! End of Occidental follows the same pattern but is only very brief.

White River Junction returns to a more laid back pace, as does Occidental. I see these as more traditional Orb fare featuring mixed up beats, samples and sounds, though more interesting than relaxing. The album finishes with Slug Dub which does exactly what it says on the in – it's very dubby!

Personally I like the more ambient and hypnotic pieces from this album best, I'd love to hear a whole album in that style. What you would then end up with is something more like Sun Electric's astoundingly good 30.7.94 live album. No loud surprises just relaxing blissful electronic music.

As a complete work, I feel Orbvs Terrarvm is more in keeping with The Orb's Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld than say KLF's Chill Out and Space by Space which they are loosely related to, but as a concept in mashed up sounds and effects I would say the Future Sound Of London's ISDN and Lifeforms are more successful.

How much you enjoy this album largely depends what mood you are in. If you want the music to drift over you there are some passages which will seriously wake you up. If you want to actively listen to it, you should be suitably entertained. The Orb has created some brilliant music over the years and I would definitely say Orbvs Terrarvm is an album that all Orb fans should own.