Orbital are an English

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means (electroac ...

duo from Otford, Kent, England, consisting of brothers Phil and Paul Hartnoll. The band's name is taken from Greater London's orbital motorway, the M25, which was central to the early

rave A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mus ...

scene during the early days of acid house. Additionally, the cover art on three of their albums showcase stylised

atomic orbitals In atomic theory and quantum mechanics, an atomic orbital is a function describing the location and wave-like behavior of an electron in an atom. This function can be used to calculate the probability of finding any electron of an atom in any sp ...

. Orbital have been critically and commercially successful, known particularly for their live

improvisation Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...

during shows. They were initially influenced by early electro and punk rock.

Career

Early years

In 1989, Orbital recorded " Chime" on their father's 4 track tape deck, which they released on Oh Zone Records in December 1989 and re-released on

FFRR Records FFRR Records (sometimes credited as Full Frequency Range Recordings) is a dance music label previously run and founded by English DJ Pete Tong. Originally the dance music label of London Records, FFRR is currently a sublabel of Parlophone, ...

a few months later. The track became a rave anthem, reaching number 17 in the UK charts and earning them an appearance on ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of ...

'', during which they wore anti- Poll Tax T-shirts. According to Paul Hartnoll, the track was recorded "under the stairs" of their parents' house in "a knocked-through stair cupboard that my dad set up as a home office". The track received its first live airing at a club night hosted by the promoter Que Pasa (Mark, Andrew and Nick Maddox) in a local Sevenoaks venue called the Grasshopper on Boxing Day. Next was a gig at the Town and Country 2 in Islington, performing for the first time under the name Orbital. Several singles and EPs followed, and their first self-titled album, a collection of tracks recorded at various times, was released in late 1991. In late 1992, the ''Radiccio'' EP barely reached the UK top 40, although it included one of their most popular songs, " Halcyon". The track featured a sample of

Kirsty Hawkshaw Kirsty Hawkshaw (born 26 October 1969) is an English electronic music vocalist and songwriter. In addition to her work as a solo artist, she is known as the lead vocalist of early 1990s dance group Opus III, and her collaborative work with oth ...

from "It's a Fine Day" (a chart hit for Opus III earlier that year). The

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

"The Naked and the Dead" was similarly based on a line from Scott Walker's rendition of

Jacques Brel Jacques Romain Georges Brel (, ; 8 April 1929 – 9 October 1978) was a Belgian singer and actor who composed and performed literate, thoughtful, and theatrical songs that generated a large, devoted following—initially in Belgium and France, l ...

's song "Next". "Halcyon" was dedicated to the Hartnolls' mother, who was addicted to the tranquiliser Halcion (Triazolam) for many years. The duo's popularity grew rapidly with the release of their second self-titled album, in 1993. The album included complex arrangements and textures, opening with the two-minute track "Time Becomes". The track consisted of two slightly delayed, looped samples of a line from the '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' episode ''Time Squared'' spoken by actor

Michael Dorn Michael Dorn (born December 9, 1952) is an American actor best known for his role as the Klingon Worf in the ''Star Trek'' franchise. He has appeared more times as a regular cast member than any other ''Star Trek'' actor in the franchise's histo ...

as the character Lieutenant

Worf Worf, son of Mogh is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' franchise. He appears in the television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (''TNG'') and seasons four through seven of '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (''DS9'') as well as t ...

: "... where time becomes a loop" being played simultaneously through the left and right channels, respectively (until one cycle of

phase Phase or phases may refer to: Science *State of matter, or phase, one of the distinct forms in which matter can exist *Phase (matter), a region of space throughout which all physical properties are essentially uniform *Phase space, a mathematica ...

difference has happened). The same sample was used at the beginning of "the Moebius", the opening track in the previous album. This audio pun was intended to make listeners believe that they had bought a mis-pressed album (''Orbital 1'' packaged as ''Orbital 2''). The album reached #28 on the UK album charts, staying in the chart for 15 weeks. "Halcyon" was

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

ed for the album, as "Halcyon + On + On". Versions of this song played live by the band have incorporated diverse samples, including " You Give Love a Bad Name" by the band

Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American rock band formed in 1983 in Sayreville, New Jersey. It consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarist Phil X, and bassist Hugh McDonald. Original bassist Alec John such qu ...

, "

Heaven Is a Place on Earth "Heaven Is a Place on Earth" is a song by American singer Belinda Carlisle from her second studio album, '' Heaven on Earth'' (1987). Written by Rick Nowels and Ellen Shipley, the song was released as the lead single from the ''Heaven on Earth ...

" by

Belinda Carlisle Belinda Jo Carlisle ( ; born August 17, 1958) is an American singer. She gained fame as the lead vocalist of the Go-Go's, the most successful all-female rock band of all time, and went on to have a prolific career as a solo artist. Raised in ...

, and in 2004 "

I Believe in a Thing Called Love "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" is a song by English rock band the Darkness, released as the third single from their debut studio album, '' Permission to Land''. When released as a single in September 2003, it peaked at number two on the U ...

" by the band The Darkness. The first two albums are commonly known as "The Green Album" and "The Brown Album", after the colours of their covers (although the first album's cover is yellow, one of the first printings had a misprint causing the cover to be yellow-green).

1994 breakthrough

Orbital won an '' NME'' award for Vibes Best Dance Act early in 1994, but it was their headline appearance at the

Glastonbury Festival Glastonbury Festival (formally Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts and known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts that takes place in Pilton, Somerset, England. In addition to contempo ...

on 25 June 1994 that brought them most attention. ''Q'' magazine classed it as one of the top 50 gigs of all time, and in 2002 included Orbital in their list of "50 Bands to See Before You Die". Crucially, the expanded TV coverage of the 1994 Glastonbury Festival by

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service i ...

meant that Orbital's set reached a huge audience, in what is regarded as a pivotal moment. Speaking to The Guardian in 2013 about the gig, Paul Hartnoll commented: "I didn't know how much of an impact it would have. Being young myself, I just thought, 'It's about time – of course we should have acid house at Glastonbury'. It used to annoy me. I just used to think it should be happening." Orbital gave an improvisational element to live electronic music as the brothers mixed and sequenced their tracks on the fly, wearing their trademark head-mounted torches behind banks of equipment. Orbital were one of the few electronic acts invited to play at

Woodstock '94 Woodstock '94 was an American music festival held in 1994 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the original Woodstock festival of 1969. It was promoted as "2 More Days of Peace and Music". The poster used to promote the first concert was r ...

. The third album, ''

Snivilisation ''Snivilisation'' is the third studio album by British electronic music duo Orbital, released on 23 August 1994 by FFRR Records. The album peaked at number 4 on the UK Albums Chart, and had sold over 80,000 copies in the United Kingdom by Ap ...

'', was released in August 1994.

Alison Goldfrapp Alison Elizabeth Margaret Goldfrapp (born 13 May 1966) is an English musician and record producer, known as the vocalist of English electronic music duo Goldfrapp. Early life Goldfrapp was born on 13 May 1966, in Enfield, London, the youngest ...

provided vocals on a couple of the tracks, including the single "Are We Here?". This track also included a sample from "Man at C&A" by

The Specials The Specials, also known as The Special AKA, are an English 2 tone and ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry. After some early changes, the first stable lineup of the group consisted of Terry Hall and Neville Staple on vocals, Lynv ...

. Among the remixes of "Are We Here?" was "Criminal Justice Bill?" – four minutes of silence, a reference to the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, which was in part intended to clamp down on the rave scene which had given birth to Orbital. The other track with Goldfrapp vocals, "Sad But True", was remixed for the ''Times Fly'' EP, the band's only release in 1995. The single " The Box" was released in April 1996, reaching number 11 in the UK, and its parent album '' In Sides'', released in May 1996, became their second Top Five album. ''In Sides'' has since come to be one of their most critically well-regarded works. As with the previous album, there was a vague theme of ecological disaster and dissatisfaction with society. The following year, the duo contributed to film soundtracks ('' The Saint'', ''

Event Horizon In astrophysics, an event horizon is a boundary beyond which events cannot affect an observer. Wolfgang Rindler coined the term in the 1950s. In 1784, John Michell proposed that gravity can be strong enough in the vicinity of massive compact obj ...

'', '' Spawn'') and enjoyed the biggest singles of their career, with a live version of "

Satan Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an entity in the Abrahamic religions that seduces humans into sin or falsehood. ...

" and their reworking of the aforementioned '' The Saint'' theme both reaching number three in the UK. The ''In Sides'' track "Out There Somewhere (Part 2)" was also included in the long-awaited game series relaunch of ''

Test Drive 4 ''Test Drive 4'' is a racing video game developed by Pitbull Syndicate and published by Accolade for PlayStation and Microsoft Windows in 1997. It offers 14 supercars and muscle cars, and tasks the player with beating computer opponents in track ...

''. Orbital would go on to aid the ''

Mortal Kombat ''Mortal Kombat'' is an American media franchise centered on a series of video games originally developed by Midway Games in 1992. The development of the first game was originally based on an idea that Ed Boon and John Tobias had of making a ...

'' film soundtrack in reaching Platinum selling status during 1995, with a remix of "Halcyon", which can be heard during the final scene of the film.

Later albums

In 1998, they returned to the studio to work on their fifth album '' The Middle of Nowhere''. This was released in 1999, becoming their third top five album, and was a return to a more upbeat style; with Alison Goldfrapp returning on vocals and the single "Style" using the stylophone. In 2000 the single "Beached" was released from the soundtrack to the film '' The Beach'', mixing the brothers' musical style with a melody by

Angelo Badalamenti Angelo Daniel Badalamenti (March 22, 1937 – December 11, 2022) was an American composer, best known for his work scoring films for director David Lynch, notably '' Blue Velvet'', the ''Twin Peaks'' saga (1990–1992, 2017), '' The Straight St ...

and the words of Leonardo DiCaprio from the film. ''

The Altogether ''The Altogether'' is Orbital's sixth studio album and was released in 2001. It features guest vocals by the Hartnolls' brother-in-law David Gray, a sampled Ian Dury, a sample from " Sober" by Tool and a version of the ''Doctor Who'' theme. ...

'', released in 2001, included guest vocals by the Hartnolls' brother-in-law David Gray, a sampled

Ian Dury Ian Robins Dury (12 May 1942 27 March 2000) was a British singer, songwriter and actor who rose to fame during the late 1970s, during the punk and new wave era of rock music. He was the lead singer and lyricist of Ian Dury and the Blockheads ...

, and a version of the ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the ...

'' theme, and was mixed for 5.1 surround sound. It was to be their last album for FFRR, and had a mixed critical reception. The following year, '' Work 1989-2002'' collected various singles from "Chime" onwards. Orbital recorded the track "Technologique Park" for the 2002 film '' XXX'' and can be seen in film playing the track live in a club. In 2003, Orbital recorded the soundtrack for the horror film ''

Octane Octane is a hydrocarbon and an alkane with the chemical formula , and the condensed structural formula . Octane has many structural isomers that differ by the amount and location of branching in the carbon chain. One of these isomers, 2,2, ...

''. Orbital split up in 2004. They played a final series of gigs in June and July 2004 at the

, the

T in the Park T in the Park festival was a major Scottish music festival that was held annually from 1994 to 2016. It was named after its main sponsor, Tennents. The event was held at Strathclyde Park, Lanarkshire, until 1996. It then moved to the disused ...

Festival in Scotland, the Oxegen festival in Ireland, Istanbul, Turkey and the in Japan, concluding with a live Peel Session gig at Maida Vale Studios in London on 28 July 2004. The release of their seventh and last original album, '' Blue Album'', coincided with this final wave of shows. The album included Sparks (on "Acid Pants") and

Lisa Gerrard Lisa Germaine Gerrard (; born 12 April 1961) is an Australian musician, singer and composer who rose to prominence as part of the music group Dead Can Dance with music partner Brendan Perry. She is known for her unique singing style technique ( ...

(on the final single, "One Perfect Sunrise").

Following the breakup

Paul Hartnoll continued to record music under his own name, including tracks for the 2005 game '' Wipeout Pure'' for the '' PSP''. He released his first full length solo album, entitled '' The Ideal Condition'' on the ACP record label in June 2007. Alongside

Flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrolog ...

, he also jointly produced '' Strength in Numbers'' by band

The Music The Music are an English alternative rock band, formed in Kippax, Leeds in 1999. Comprising Robert Harvey (vocals, guitar), Adam Nutter (lead guitar), Stuart Coleman (bass) and Phil Jordan (drums), the band came to prominence with the relea ...

. Phil Hartnoll formed a new electronica duo, Long Range, with Nick Smith. Their debut album, ''Madness and Me'', was released on their own label, Long Range Recordings, in August 2007. Orbital released a two-CD/DVD compilation '' Orbital: Live at Glastonbury 1994-2004'' in June 2007, containing over two hours of music recorded at their various performances at the festival.

Comeback and ''Wonky''

On 21 November 2008, Orbital announced they would be reforming to play a gig together called "20 years after Chime" at The Big Chill Festival 2009. They preceded this show with a headline performance at RockNess 2009 in June. Orbital_-_Doctor_Who_(3960186404)

On 26 January 2009, their official website ''Loopz'' announced confirmed dates for their 20th anniversary tour. "The Orbital reformation gathers momentum with headline shows now confirmed for

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

and London this September." The concerts met with positive reviews. The band's first performance after the breakup took place in June 2009 at Selector Festival in Cracow, Poland. On 17 April 2009, it was announced that Orbital would be playing at The

Electric Picnic Electric Picnic is an annual arts-and-music festival which has been staged since 2004 at Stradbally Hall in Stradbally, County Laois, Ireland. It is organised by Pod Concerts and Festival Republic, who purchased the majority shareholding in 20 ...

in September 2009. On 16 June 2009, Orbital released a 2-CD collection of their favourite tracks. The collection, ''Orbital 20'' (stylised as "20rbital"), covered the 20 years since "Chime" and contained 20 tracks. A single, "Don't Stop Me" / "The Gun is Good" was issued in 2010 on 12" and digital download. At the

on 27 June 2010 to close their set,

Matt Smith Matthew Robert Smith (born 28 October 1982) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as the eleventh incarnation of the Doctor in the BBC series ''Doctor Who'' (2010–2013), Daemon Targaryen in the HBO series ''House of the Drag ...

, who played the Eleventh Doctor, came on stage and performed with Orbital their cover of the ''

'' theme tune. On 16 February 2011, Orbital posted a video diary on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

, via Loopz. The video diary reported their progress on the recording of their new album, along with remixes of existing material for their DJ sets. Subsequent diary updates have been published. In October 2011, Orbital announced a six gig UK tour (including a date at the Royal Albert Hall) and new album in April 2012. "Never", a track from the forthcoming album, was offered as a free download. The album titled '' Wonky'' was released on 2 April 2012, and included collaborations with singer

Zola Jesus Nika Roza Danilova (born Nicole Rose Hummel; April 11, 1989), known professionally by her stage name Zola Jesus, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Her music has been noted for combining elements of electronic, industrial, ...

and MC Lady Leshurr. The albums release was featured on US radio on PrototypeRadio, which also marked the bands debut radio appearance on American radio. Orbital appeared at the

opening ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.

for the London 2012 Paralympic Games, performing "Where Is It Going?" live with Stephen Hawking delivering a speech about the

Large Hadron Collider The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the world's largest and highest-energy particle collider. It was built by the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) between 1998 and 2008 in collaboration with over 10,000 scientists and hundre ...

. On 8 October 2012, Orbital released their soundtrack to the 2012 re-make of '' Pusher'', including vocals from Toni Halliday.

Second breakup

On 21 October 2014, Orbital announced on their official website that they were "hanging up their iconic torch-glasses and parting ways for the final time" but would continue to work on projects separately. Phil Hartnoll focused on a DJ career, including a performance at

Fuji Rock Festival is an annual rock festival held in Naeba Ski Resort, in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. The three-day event, organized by Smash Japan, features more than 200 Japanese and international musicians, making it the largest outdoor music event in Japan. ...

, while Paul Hartnoll worked on a variety of music projects, including a solo album under the name 8:58 in 2015, a collaboration with Vince Clarke of

Erasure Erasure () is an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1985, consisting of lead vocalist and songwriter Andy Bell with songwriter, producer and keyboardist Vince Clarke, previously known as co-founder of the band Depeche Mode and a member ...

called 2Square, and soundtrack work for ''

Peaky Blinders The Peaky Blinders were a street gang based in Birmingham, England, which operated from the 1880s until the 1910s. The group consisted largely of young criminals from lower- to middle-class backgrounds. They engaged in robbery, violence, racket ...

'' and ''

American Ultra ''American Ultra'' is a 2015 American action comedy film directed by Nima Nourizadeh and written by Max Landis. The film stars Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Topher Grace, Connie Britton, Walton Goggins, John Leguizamo, Bill Pullman, and ...

''.

2017 reunion and ''Monsters Exist''

In February 2017, Orbital reunited and announced tour dates in June and July, at Forbidden Fruit in Dublin, Bluedot Festival at Jodrell Bank and Standon Calling in Hertfordshire, and announced that they were working on a new album, releasing "Kinetic 2017", an updated remix of an early single, alongside the announcement. At the Bluedot Festival in July, the BBC Radiophonic Workshop joined Orbital on stage to perform "Doctor?" live, and in August 2017 the band released non-album single "Copenhagen" after working on the song during their summer live sets. In December 2017, Orbital played two sell out shows over two nights at the Manchester O2 Apollo and the London Eventim Apollo. The sets included two previously unheard songs, "Phuk" (stylised "P.H.U.K.") and "Tiny Foldable Cities". These two shows were released on CD through Pledge Music. A third previously unheard song, "The End is Nigh", was debuted May 2018 at the Biggest Weekend festival in Belfast. A new album, entitled '' Monsters Exist'', was released on 14 September 2018. It was the first Orbital album since '' In Sides'' to feature artwork by John Greenwood, and featured physicist Brian Cox on its final track. In 2019, Orbital revealed plans for a 30th anniversary album, which would feature a compilation of updated versions of their songs created by themselves and their contemporaries. In early 2020, Orbital began performing two new songs tentatively titled "One Day" and "Treadmill" at live shows, including a live streamed "Stay-At-Home-Rave" hosted by United We Stream and The Haçienda, benefiting those impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in Greater Manchester. In 2022, the duo composed and recorded the soundtrack for the Netflix comedy series '' The Pentaverate'' created by Mike Myers. On 20 October, they announced a new album titled ''Optical Delusion'', scheduled to be released on 17 February 2023, along with a lead single titled "Dirty Rat", featuring Sleaford Mods.

Political commentary

Throughout their career, Orbital have sometimes incorporated political and environmental commentary into their music. Early single

Choice A choice is the range of different things from which a being can choose. The arrival at a choice may incorporate motivators and models. For example, a traveler might choose a route for a journey based on the preference of arriving at a give ...

samples a speech against militarization from

Crucifix A crucifix (from Latin ''cruci fixus'' meaning "(one) fixed to a cross") is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the ''corpus'' (Lati ...

's "Annihilation". The track "Forever" on ''

'' samples a speech by

Graham Crowden Clement Graham Crowden (30 November 1922 – 19 October 2010) was a Scottish actor. He was best known for his many appearances in television comedy dramas and films, often playing eccentric "offbeat" scientist, teacher and doctor characters. Ea ...

from the 1982

Lindsay Anderson Lindsay Gordon Anderson (17 April 1923 – 30 August 1994) was a British feature-film, theatre and documentary director, film critic, and leading-light of the Free Cinema movement and of the British New Wave. He is most widely remembered fo ...

film ''

Britannia Hospital ''Britannia Hospital'' is a 1982 British black comedy film, directed by Lindsay Anderson, which targets the National Health Service and contemporary British society. It was entered into the 1982 Cannes Film Festival and Fantasporto. ''Britannia ...

'', in which he lambasts humankind; and "You Lot" on the '' Blue Album'' included a confrontational, partially vocoded sample of

Christopher Eccleston Christopher Eccleston (; born 16 February 1964) is an English actor. A two-time BAFTA Award nominee, he is best known for his television and film work, which includes his role as the ninth incarnation of the Doctor in the BBC sci-fi series ' ...

playing the second coming of Jesus Christ in the TV two-part series '' The Second Coming'' written by

Russell T Davies Stephen Russell Davies (born 27 April 1963), better known as Russell T Davies, is a Welsh screenwriter and television producer whose works include ''Queer as Folk'', '' The Second Coming'', '' Casanova'', the 2005 revival of the BBC One sc ...

. Although only the phrase "New Age Travellers" from

John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997, and as Member of Parliament (MP) for Huntingdon, formerly Huntin ...

's 1992 Conservative Party conference speech is retained in the 1995 single release of ''Sad But New'', Orbital first unveiled the track including a fuller version of the speech in March 1995 as part of a live broadcast on

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, includin ...

"Interactive Radio Night", and as a response to the newly passed Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. The track "The Girl with the Sun in Her Head" from ''In Sides'' was recorded in a studio powered only by

Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by Irving Stowe and Dorothy Stowe, immigrant environmental activists from the United States. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth ...

's mobile solar power generator, ''CYRUS''. On the same album, "Dŵr Budr", Welsh for "dirty water", was inspired by the Sea Empress oil spill which took place just off the southern coast of Wales in February 1996. The album as whole is a

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

on that theme, for example the track "P.E.T.R.O.L". The video for 2018 single "P.H.U.K" (off '' Monsters Exist'') features photography taken from British news services, with loose references to

Brexit Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or ...

, the London fatberg, the

Grenfell Tower fire On 14 June 2017, a high-rise fire broke out in the 24-storey Grenfell Tower block of flats in North Kensington, West London, at 00:54 BST and burned for 60 hours. 72 people died, two later in hospital, with more than 70 injured and 223 esc ...

, moped crime, and the 2010s migrant crisis, among other current events, and the title "Please Help United Kingdom" reappearing. Although not strictly political, the track "There Will Come a Time" (also featured on '' Monsters Exist'') includes a spoken passage by the physicist Brian Cox, where he addresses the future of an expanding universe and the inevitable demise of the Earth, and urges mankind to care for the planet and maintain a peaceful existence while the Earth is still our home. Starting in 2019, live performances of the track "Impact (The Earth Is Burning)" have included a sampled speech from Swedish environmental activist

Greta Thunberg Greta Tintin Eleonora Ernman Thunberg (; born 3 January 2003) is a Swedish environmental activist who is known for challenging world leaders to take immediate action for climate change mitigation. Thunberg's activism began when she persuaded ...

, declaring "Our house is on fire. I don't want you to be hopeful. I want you to panic." Paul Hartnoll described his intentions behind Orbital's sociopolitical messages as "quite ambiguous. Rather than making social comments, I suppose what we’re doing is trying to put a score to the times we live in. I’d like to think that some of these are universal issues – the earth is still burning, even today, the world isn’t fixed, and governments are still fucking idiots. I’m not saying I could do any better, but they could. With our music, we’re saying 'go on then, sort it out!’"

Awards and nominations

{, class=wikitable , - ! Year !! Awards !! Work !! Category !! Result , - , 1994 , rowspan=2,

NME Awards The ''NME'' Awards is an annual music awards show in the United Kingdom, founded by the music magazine '' NME'' (''New Musical Express''). The first awards show was held in 1953 as the ''NME'' Poll Winners Concerts, shortly after the founding ...

, Themselves , Best Dance Act , , - , 1995 , Live Performance at

Glastonbury Glastonbury (, ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury ...

, Best Live Event , , - , 1997 ,

Brit Awards The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...

, " The Box" , Best British Video , , - , rowspan=2, 1998 , MVPA Awards , rowspan=2, " The Saint" , Directional Debut of the Year , , - , D&AD Awards , Pop Promo Video with a budget over £40.000 , style="background:#BF8040", Wood Pencil , - , 2019 , Berlin Music Video Awards , "Tiny Foldable Cities" , Best Low Budget , , - , 2022 , UK Music Video Awards , "Smiley" , Best Dance/Electronic Video - UK ,

Discography

* ''Orbital'' (Green album) (1991) * ''Orbital'' (Brown album) (1993) *''

'' (1994) *'' In Sides'' (1996) *'' The Middle of Nowhere'' (1999) *''

'' (2001) *'' Blue Album'' (2004) *'' Wonky'' (2012) *'' Monsters Exist'' (2018) *''Optical Delusion'' (2023)

References

External links

* – official site (run by Orbital, Loopz and Mondo Management) {{DEFAULTSORT:Orbital (Band) Breakbeat music groups English house music duos English techno music groups Musical groups established in 1989 Musical groups disestablished in 2004 Musical groups reestablished in 2009 Musical groups disestablished in 2014 Musical groups reestablished in 2017 Remixers Sibling musical duos Electronic dance music duos FFRR Records artists Male musical duos