Alex Paterson (also known as Dr Alex Paterson, born Duncan Alexander Robert Paterson; 15 October 1959) is an English musician and co-founder of

ambient house Ambient house is a downtempo subgenre of house music that first emerged in the late 1980s, combining elements of acid house and ambient music. The genre developed in chill-out rooms and specialist clubs as part of the UK's dance music scene. It ...

group

the Orb The Orb are an English electronic music group founded in 1988 by Alex Paterson and Jimmy Cauty. Known for their psychedelic sound, the Orb developed a cult following among clubbers "coming down" from drug-induced highs. Their influential ...

, in which he has worked since its inception.

Life and work

Paterson attended

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...

Kingham Hill School in

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

between 1970 and 1979, at the same time as

Killing Joke Killing Joke were an English rock music, rock band formed in Notting Hill, London, in 1979 by Jaz Coleman (vocals, keyboards), Paul Ferguson (drums), Geordie Walker (guitar) and Youth (musician), Youth (bass). Their first album, ''Killing Joke ...

bassist Martin "Youth" Glover. Paterson was a roadie for Killing Joke in the 1980s and later worked in the A&R department of

E.G. Records Virgin EG Records (formerly E.G. Records until 1991) was a British artist management company and independent record label, mostly active during the 1970s and 1980s. The initials stood for its founders, David Enthoven and John Gaydon. The pair ...

, to whom the band were signed. New York radio stations were a force driving his musical direction, especially the Chuck Chillout shows on 98.7 KISS FM. In the late 1970s Paterson sang for the band 'Bloodsport' while also DJing at Killing Joke gigs. In 1989, Youth and Alex Paterson started the WAU! Mr. Modo label. Their early releases of a selection of

industrial techno Industrial techno is a subgenre of techno and industrial dance music that originated in the 1990s. Characteristically, it incorporates influences from the bleak, noisy sound and aesthetics of early industrial music acts, particularly Cabaret Vol ...

dubs and heavy sound system dubs from artists such as Napthali, Manasseh,

Bim Sherman Jarret Lloyd Vincent (12 February 1950 – 17 November 2000), better known by one of his stage aliases Bim Sherman (others include Jarrett Tomlinson, Jarrett Vincent, Lloyd Vincent, J. L. Vincent, and Lloyd Tomlinson), was a Jamaican musician a ...

and

Jah Warrior Jah Warrior is a United Kingdom roots reggae/ dub production team, record label, sound system, and musical group centred on Steve Mosco. Overview Mosco first got interested in reggae as a teenager in Manchester. He started attending sound sys ...

are long deleted and fetch high sums in private sales. In 1990, Paterson's collaborations with his fellow Orb co-founder

Jimmy Cauty James Francis Cauty (born 19 December 1956), also known as Rockman Rock, is an English artist and musician, best known as one-half of the duo the KLF, co-founder of the Orb and as the man who K Foundation Burn a Million Quid, burnt £1 million ...

ended, following Paterson's concerns about the Orb being perceived as a side-project of

The KLF The KLF (also known as the Justified Ancients of Mu Mu, the JAMs, the Timelords and other names) are a British electronic band who originated in Liverpool and London in the late 1980s. Scottish people, Scottish musician Bill Drummond (alias Ki ...

. Paterson retained the Orb name. More recently, Cauty and Paterson collaborated again, as Transit Kings. Paterson was also involved in ''

FFWD ''FFWD'' is an eponymous album by FFWD – Robert Fripp, Thomas Fehlmann, Kris Weston, and Dr Alex Paterson. The title is also a play on the abbreviation often used on the fast forward control of a tape deck or CD player, also referenced i ...

'', a collaboration with

Kris Weston Kristian "Kris" Weston (a.k.a. Thrash) (born 1972) is a British electronic musician, producer and remixer best known for his work as a member of the Orb. Around the beginning of his career, he worked with Andrew Weatherall on remixes of Meat ...

Robert Fripp Robert Fripp (born 16 May 1946) is an English musician, composer, record producer, and author, best known as the guitarist, founder and longest-lasting member of the progressive rock band King Crimson. He has worked extensively as a session mu ...

, and

Thomas Fehlmann Thomas Fehlmann (born 1957) is a Swiss composer/producer who lives in Berlin, Germany, and has been active in electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based m ...

, and SCREEN alongside music producer Gaudi. In 2021 Paterson started his own record label, Orbscure Recordings.

References

Sources

External links

Alex Paterson discusses his vinyl collection on BBC radio
* 1959 births Living people The Orb members English electronic musicians Paterson, Alex Road crew People from Battersea People educated at Kingham Hill School Record collectors {{UK-electronic-musician-stub