Bleep

The Orb return to Kompakt after a 10 year hiatus away from the legendary imprint with a no-less-than-epic new LP Moonbuilding 2703 AD. Having started life in 1988 The Orb are an institution within UK electronica and over the past 27 years have constantly, if not quietly, rolled along with their dub-rooted ambient sound. Moonbuilding is a return to form for the ever-evolving group and while its roots are buried in the deep history of ambient electronica ranging from early selected works of AFX, B12's deep space exploration, and Eno's empty airports, Moonbuilding is shimmering with fresh insights and echos with the influence of more contemporary producers as wide ranging as Substance & Vainqueur, J Dilla (who the group have crafted two tracks in tribute to on the deluxe edition) and the library referencing work produced undercover by the Modern Love crew. Opening up with God's Mirrorball there is a cheeky nod to the Towers Of Dub intro on their classic U.F.Orb LP with a sampled spoken word piece about believing in God and being whacked with a stick, before the shimmering chords swallow it and plucked strings soar into view while get hit with a great wave of bass primed with a healthy bowl of fizzing chords. The track glides along with a weightlessness before morphing into a dub techno number akin to the finest Basic Channel and Deepchord. After 14 mins in this state (or there about's) things shudder into more house-rooted waters with Moon Scapes 2703 BC before slowing down for the moonraker dusk of Lunar Caves. The group tail off into low-slung trip-hop for the last quarter of the LP ending in a haze of skunk smoke and distorted funk beats that rounds off possibly the strongest work since U.F. or Live 93 and a perfectly stoned soundtrack to any late night adventure beyond the ultraworld.

Sleeve designed by THE DESIGNERS REPUBLIC.

Formats and Track List

180 gram vinyl LP:

A. GOD'S MIRRORBALL - 14:44 min B. MOON SCAPES2703 BC- 14:40 min C. LUNAR CAVES - 13:06 min D. MOONBUILDING 2703 AD- 13:06 min

Limited deluxe vinyl LP:

A. GOD'S MIRRORBALL- 14:44 min B. MOON SCAPES 2703 BC- 14:40 min C. LUNAR CAVES - 13:06 min D. MOONBUILDING 2703 AD- 13:06 min E. DILLA'S MOON QUAKE (The Orb's tribute to J Dilla) - 10:39 min F. MOON QUAKE (slice of silver) - 08:44 min MOON QUAKE 6 - 04:22 min

CD & download:

1. GOD'S MIRRORBALL - 14:44 min
2. MOON SCAPES 2703 BC - 14:40 min
3. LUNAR CAVES - 13:06 min
4. MOONBUILDING 2703 AD - 13:06 min