at a glance...

Hometown: Sevenoaks, England
Year Formed: 1990

Members:
Paul Hartnoll
Phil Hartnoll

Notes:
Orbital made their name in the early '90s rave scene with singles like "Chime" and "Belfast" and performances at huge outdoor raves. They became the first successful live techno act, playing to huge festival crowds and selling out untraditional venues like London's Royal Albert Hall. After four albums and a technofied version of "The Saint" theme, they are one British techno's true crossover phenomena.

In Sides is one of the records in my collection that I rely on. I pull it out every few weeks or so and it leaves me feeling refreshed and rejuvenated. It's the sort of album that makes you feel grateful to the artists. This music reflects the intense effort and creative energy of these brothers. To my mind, it's one of the top five best techno LPs.

When In Sides came out in '96 the media had recently latched onto the idea that electronica was going to rescue the record industry after the death of grunge. "The Box", the first single off In Sides, got into the rotation on MTV and Orbital toured with Lollapalooza. Two years later electronica is still in the underground and Orbital don't have the US recognition that they deserve. Which is fine with you and me. It just sucks how MTV ruins everything it touches. Anyway, even though "The Box" is dark and gritty and great it isn't the best track on this record. That's a tie between "The Girl with the Sun in Her Head" and "Out There Somewhere". Both of these tracks are classics, and very typical of the older, post-rave Orbital. The former of these is, dare I say it, a highly spiritual song, dedicated to the memory of Sally Harding, a photographer friend of the Hartnoll brothers. "Out There Somewhere" is a 20-plus minute track in two parts, which next to "Sad But True" is Orbital's best work.