Metallic Spheres
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''Metallic Spheres'' is the tenth studio album by the
ambient techno Ambient techno is a subgenre of techno that incorporates the atmospheric textures of ambient music with the rhythmic elements and production of techno. It was pioneered by 1990s electronic artists such as Aphex Twin, Carl Craig, The Orb, The ...
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 ...
, released in October 2010. It features the
Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...
guitarist
David Gilmour David Jon Gilmour ( ; born 6 March 1946) is an English guitarist, singer and songwriter who is a member of the rock band Pink Floyd. He joined in 1967, shortly before the departure of the founder member Syd Barrett. By the early 1980s, Pink F ...
and the
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 Youth. It spent three weeks on the UK charts, reaching number 12. In 2023, the album was remixed, partially re-recorded and released as ''Metallic Spheres in Colour''.


Production

The album came about after David Gilmour released an online single, "Chicago - Change the World" (a re-titled cover of the
Graham Nash Graham William Nash (born 2 February 1942) is a British and American musician, singer and songwriter. He is known for his light tenor voice and for his contributions as a member of the Hollies and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Crosby, Stills ...
song "
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
"), in support of Gary McKinnon. It was remixed by the Orb, who asked if Gilmour would provide some extra guitar parts. These were recorded in one day in June, 2009, at
Youth Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood (Maturity (psychological), maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as bei ...
's
Wandsworth Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Toponymy Wandsworth takes its name ...
studio, the Dreaming Cave, resulting in a 25-minute track. Youth and the Orb expanded this to the eventual album. It was produced by Youth and engineered by Tim Bran (of
Dreadzone Dreadzone are a British electronic music group formed in 1993 in London by ex-Big Audio Dynamite drummer Greg Roberts and musician Tim Bran. They have released nine studio albums, two live albums, and two compilations. They gained a reputatio ...
) and David Nock. Mixing was done by Youth, with mix engineering from Bran, Nock and Michael Rendall at "The Study" in 2010. Mastering was done by Andy Baldwin at Metropolis Studios in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
. A headphone version was released as the second disc of the deluxe 2-CD edition, with
sound design Sound design is the art and practice of creating auditory elements of media. It involves specifying, acquiring and creating audio using production techniques and equipment or software. It is employed in a variety of disciplines including filmmaking ...
by Mike Brady, recording by Mike Brady, David Nock and Michael Rendall, and mixing by Youth.


Track listing

# "Metallic Side" (28:42) ## "Metallic Spheres" ## "Hymns to the Sun" ## "Black Graham" ## "Hiding in Plain View" ## "Classified" # "Spheres Side" (20:12) ## "Es Vedra" ## "Hymns to the Sun (Reprise)" ## "Olympic" ## "Chicago Dub" ## "Bold Knife Trophy" # "Cult of Youth Ambient Mix (Parts 1 & 2)" (Edit) (5:35) (
iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...
-only bonus track) All tracks written by David Gilmour, Alex Paterson, and Youth, except: * "Hymns to the Sun" written by Gilmour, Paterson, Youth, and
Graham Nash Graham William Nash (born 2 February 1942) is a British and American musician, singer and songwriter. He is known for his light tenor voice and for his contributions as a member of the Hollies and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Crosby, Stills ...
* "Black Graham" written by Gilmour, Paterson, Youth, and Marcia Mello * "Hiding in Plain View" written by Gilmour, Paterson, Youth, and Tim Bran


Personnel

*
David Gilmour David Jon Gilmour ( ; born 6 March 1946) is an English guitarist, singer and songwriter who is a member of the rock band Pink Floyd. He joined in 1967, shortly before the departure of the founder member Syd Barrett. By the early 1980s, Pink F ...
– guitars, vocals * Alex Paterson – sound manipulation, keyboards, turntables *
Youth Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood (Maturity (psychological), maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as bei ...
– bass, keyboards, programming * Tim Bran – keyboards, programming * Marcia Mello – acoustic guitar (on "Black Graham") * Dominique Le Vac – backing vocals


Charts


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Metallic Spheres The Orb albums 2010 albums David Gilmour albums Albums produced by Youth (musician) Ambient albums by English artists