The Orb - Orbus Terrarum

Jekyll & Hyde

I've owned this album for over ten years now and it remains one of my favorites by The Orb.
Reading reviews of many of The Orb's albums on Amazon, I find interesting the different approaches which listeners have to this style of music. There are those who like the solid dance rhythms and find the more spacey tracks incoherent and washy. At the other end of the spectrum are those who love the dreamy spaceouts and find the excessive trance beats monotonous and unimaginative.
I admit I am one of the latter. I think it is for that reason I only tend to like half of an Orb album, at best. The track 'Montagne D'Or' demonstrates this Jekyll & Hyde quality to the music, starting off as a wonderful drifting dreamscape and deteriorating (in my opinion) into a tedious rhythm that I have difficulty getting through.
Orbus Terrarum has a couple of standout 'dreamy spaceouts' in Valley and Plateau. I never tire of listening to these tracks, even after a decade.
'Slug Dub' is quirky to start, but again, ho hum, there's the boring thump thump thump again.
I have finally decided, after all this time, that the thing about one of Alex Paterson's albums is not to expect to like all of it. What I like, I will generally enjoy a great deal, what I dislike, I will hate just as passionately.
And my black will probably be someone else's white. July 10, 2008

One of The Orb's finest

Orbvs Terrarvm is perhaps the greatest release by The Orb.

It begins with the somewhat familiar Valley and Plateau (both appear on Live 93) and floats to one of The Orb's greatest singles, Oxbow Lakes.

Much like UFOrb, Orbvs Terrarvms's best qualities are subtle and repetitive. Best listened to with headphones, and relaxed, Orbvs Terrarvm is a unique aural experience.
June 17, 2008

Interesting update on the ambient style

Released in 1995, this is a fine album of ambient music from The Orb (Alex Paterson, Andy Hughes and Thomas Fehlmann). Although not critically well received upon its release, I actually enjoy Orbus Terrarum a great deal and appreciate the more soothing and atmospheric aspects of the music. In large part, it is very easy to put this album on and let it melt into the background, if the listener chooses to.

The seven tracks on the album are pretty long (four tracks are in the 10-20 minute range), which is perfect for this type of music. In large part, the music consists of fizzing and bubbling tone colors and sequenced rhythm parts generated on banks of synthesizers and other electronic devices. Guitars and acoustic instruments are used as well including the piano. Indeed, the appearance of the acoustic piano on Oxbow Lakes (7:28) provides a startling dynamic contrast to the smooth (and nearly static) ambience of the first two tracks.

Samples and found sounds are employed including pre-recorded snippets of the human voice on a few tracks. The last track Slug Dub (17:03) is a good example of this and features pre-recorded and electronically altered voices that narrate a tale of some troublesome garden pests (slugs) in amongst some quasi-reggae inflected rhythms. It is all fairly psychedelic actually and a fine example of ambient dub.

Although the pieces generally exhibit little variation with respect to timbre and melodies are both delicate and used sparingly, the music is not as static as one might expect. There are enough (albeit subtle) variations in dynamics (the "booming" lower frequencies are great) that it makes for a reasonably interesting listening experience. Moreover, while an integral part of the composition (yet never too insistent), the rhythmic element spices things up considerably - which may reflect a Terry Riley influence.

All in all, this is a fine album of ambient music that is slightly more rhythmically charged than other ambient albums that I have listened to. Music for Airports (Brian Eno, 1978) and Rainbow Dome Musick by Steve Hillage (1979) come to mind in fact. As a long-time progressive rock fan looking for newer (and interesting) music, this provided a fun listen and presents a nice update on the ambient style. May 8, 2008

A Seperate Orbit

I started with this Orb, and went on to others. This favorite leaves the others behind, in my cd case. Something to note about The Orb; it knows how to inject crazy, and sometimes charming humor in a way that causes you to laugh out of surprise in the midst of your reverie. January 10, 2007

Musical Opiate

This is by far the best Orb disc, and my 'most played' album ever, by far. There is something magical about this disc, as some members have attempted to explain.
It hits you, it fills you, and it moves you. I remember listening to this in college and having many odd experiences. Listening to this album, while sleeping, will also give you the most vivid dreams imaginable. Its music that truly escapes, transcends, and numbs you. Clear your mind of all and have a listen, you won't be disappointed. August 25, 2006

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