šŸ’æ Orbital listening club šŸ’æ

No idea. Just found that when I was looking for middle of nowhere reviews

Ah, right. I thought it was one of those classic bad reviews like the Kid A one and the Idlewild one

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I think we can all agree itā€™s a massive return to form after In Sides :wink:

:open_mouth:

:rofl:

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Loving the ā€œlimitations of electronic musicā€ line. What a weird review.

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Long review incoming. Make yourself comfortableā€¦

My favourite Orbital album. Itā€™s pretty much perfect to me.

As you were.

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Just sort of reminds you how much of a niche electronics was in the late 90s. I mean, by then acid house had largely been replaced by trance and eurodance which were both so abysmally shit that they caused nu-metal to take off (this may be a slightly esoteric take on history but Iā€™m sticking with it) and anything ā€œundergroundā€ (warp et al) was widely dismissed as deliberately abstract blooping.

Emblematic of a time when the mainstream of alternative music most started looking backwards for inspiration.

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This thread is making me realise how important Orbital are/were to me and how little I listen to them now. I am rectifying this, which is the whole point, eh.

So The Middle of Nowhere may be my favourite Orbital album. I still hadnā€™t seen them when it came out, I first saw them touring the next album and many many times after; I regret missing them playing this. Love the artwork too.

It came out when Iā€™d first moved to London and was sharing a flat with an old school friend. It soundtracked many a house party and the morning after so I have very fond - and suitably fuzzy - memories of that time; it holds a special place in my heart.

The first two songs are some of the best dance music I know (albeit the Newsround sample sounds a bit odd/dated to me now). Much more dance-y and ?playful than the previous two, and still so strong now.

I thought this was their peak, given what immediately followed, but the brothers pulled it out the bag again later (no spoilers - weā€™ll get there when we get there - but you can probably guess which one I mean) and thatā€™s why Iā€™m torn on my favourite to this day.

Iā€™m listening now and itā€™s wonderful.

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Still havenā€™t had the time to get my thoughts together on this album, but it is their best for me.

Now vote on your fav tracks please.

The Middle of Nowhere
  • Way Out ā†’
  • Spare Parts Express
  • Know Where to Run
  • I Donā€™t Know You People
  • OtoƱo
  • Nothing Left 1
  • Nothing Left 2
  • Style

0 voters

It was good to listen to this last night relatively soon after hearing In Sides, it gave me a chance to really compare. Although In Sides will remain as my overall favourite Orbital album, mainly due to the time I first heard it and what was going on at the time lending it extra meaning, it is clear to me now that Middle of Nowhere is the better album in terms of the music.

The bit in Spare Parts Express where the voice sample goes something like ā€œwhy canā€™t anyone hear meeeeeeeeeeā€ and then the beat drops, had me dancing around my living room last night! :grinning:

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TMON feels like the Snivilisation sound palette repurposed for raves. Itā€™s got that sense of fun and whimsy which (for me) is missing from In Sides. Like that farty drone which pokes its head into Spare Parts Express momentarily around 5 mins.

I think what this thread had made me realise is that my favourite Orbital is an unfocused excess of ideas.

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I meant to say in my post, when I first heard Middle of Nowhere when it came out and the John Cravenā€™s Newsround sample appeared, I think I did a little jig of joy! Such a random yet poignant sound for my generation, always reminds of sitting down after school eating my tea on my lap waiting for Grange Hill to come on :slight_smile:

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How good is the middle of nowhere?

The Middle of Nowhere
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10

0 voters

Event Horizon
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10

0 voters

The Altogether.

The Altogether is Orbitalā€™s sixth studio album and was released in 2001. It features guest vocals by the Hartnollsā€™ brother-in-law David Gray, a sampled Ian Dury, a sample from ā€œSoberā€ by Tool and a version of the Doctor Who theme. It was Orbitalā€™s last studio album for FFRR and received a mixed critical reception.

There is a second cd which isnā€™t on streaming, itā€™s well worth talking about.

Thereā€™s also the full 20 minute version of meltdown that is also impossible to get, but if youā€™d like to hear it message me.

Orbital_-_The_Altogether_cover

So what do we think of this one?

Shamefully never really explored Orbital and only heard The Box for the first time when Forest Swords put it on his DJ-Kicks compilation a couple of years ago, and Iā€™ve been obsessed ever since. What a great track.

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I like it. I remember it got a bit of stick for various reasons. Partly because it was a collection of songs rather than ā€œsuitesā€, partly because David Gray was not trendy with the cool kids, and partly because, well, itā€™s not as good as the records that preceded it. But the Orbital album that I never play is yet to come.

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May I interest you in this playlist of the top 2 tracks from each album? Iā€™ll add to it each week.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6dFMhC2EgvsTVVpOSVafsV?si=2MHXlreCSCCsY-bRHNYbIA&utm_source=copy-link&dl_branch=1

And welcome to the chat.

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Yeah so this is the first album I saw them tour and the show was GREAT. I got the t shirt with that album cover which aligned with my black skull t shirt vibe. I wore it til it fell apart. HOWEVER the album is awful. I listened to it again yesterday in anticipation of this, hoping it had aged well, but no. Itā€™s terrible. Oi! is an absolute low point, but the rest of it is just so lifeless and such a step down from what came before. Dr who is the only good track and, obviously, itā€™s not theirs. Booo.

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This album tour was also the first time I saw them live, at the Octagon here in Sheffield. The show was so great. I also bought a t-shirt, but went for a knock-off one from a hawker outside the venue :grimacing: Still got it though.

I canā€™t remember the last time I listened to this album - didnā€™t really like it much at the time. Trepidacious to give it another go now.

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This week is I think the first time I have listened to the Middle of Nowhere. I am not hugely in love with it, found large swathes of it a bit forgettable. Know Where To Run seems pretty derivative of the previous yearā€™s Decksanddrumsandrockandroll. It did pick up at the end though, my favourite two tracks definitely the last two.

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