surely i don’ need to explain who william orbit is ?
ever since i picked up the classic bassomatic single, ease on by, on cd even before owning a player, (mainly for the renegade soundwave remix of fascinating rhythm if truth be told), i have loved williams way with widescreen ambience, bubbly synths and dubby production.
of course over the last few years, he has jumped all over place genre wise, whether helping out some guitar toting experimenters, (blur and their 13 album), giving madonna the hands in the air euphoric trance-pop makeover she clearly needed, or adding some coffee table ambience to advertising friendly pieces of classical music, he has always been of interest.
so, i’m pleased to report that after drifting around experimenting with orchestras and suchlike, he has decided to have another go at where it all started to go right for him (his early strange cargo release didn’t do much for me as it sounded like someone finding their way around a studio a lot of the time), ambient-dream-dub-pop.
this self released ep is a 5 track precursor to the album, my oracle lives uptown, and if like me you have no idea what the title means, then might i suggest you have a dig around his regularly updated blog through which the man answers all manner of questions, and is generally building up a nice little online community.
the majority of music on offer on the ep is very easy on the ear laid back ambient pop, that carries a heavy bass, acoustic guitar strum, and sunrise beauty.
it’s a gorgeous throwback to more innocent times, though admittedly in its natural radio edit form, the foundations where inconsequential female vocals float over layers of synths and strummed guitars creating a warm glow of audio comfort, may be a little too light and airy to get noticed by those that prefer things a little more spiky and adventurous in these intense times.
however, deeper in to the various remixes, interesting developments kick in.
aaron jerome dubs the underlying beat and bass line out, and in so doing makes his variation of dubstep more commercial than you’d expect, whereas, the so called dr meaker remix starts off all dreamy, before a d-n-b beat takes the track off in different directions. including extra vocal overdubs by verb t, the mood twists and turns, made all the more delicious by the appearance of old school piano house riffs that ride on top of the polished studio shine. clearly the most upfront version on offer, and one that will have the floor jumping.
finally, the billy buttons remix then steps off the dance floor, and heads for the all important chill out room revival. expect to hear snippets of this blissed out trip-pop as phil-n-kirsty go on a goa special of ‘location location location’.
while it’s clear that cutting edge production is no longer on the cards with william orbit, i have to admit, it’s great to hear him making beautifully produced pop music once again.
more detail : here