The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld
Studio album by
The Orb
Released2 April 1991
StudioDo Not Erase, Marcus Studios, Berwick Street Studio, and Trancentral, London
Genre
Length109:41
LabelBig Life
Producer
The Orb chronology
Kiss EP
(1989)		 The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld
(1991)		 U.F.Orb
(1992)
Singles from The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld
  1. "A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules from the Centre of the Ultraworld"
    Released: 21 October 1989
  2. "Little Fluffy Clouds"
    Released: 16 November 1990
  3. "Perpetual Dawn"
    Released: 24 January 1991
Alternate cover
Cover of original US release

The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld is the debut studio album by English electronic music group The Orb, released as a double album on 2 April 1991 by Big Life. It is a continuous, progressive composition evoking a two-hour psychedelic trip which draws from various genres (including ambient, house, dub reggae, and hip hop) and incorporates samples and sound effects. Much of the album was recorded after founding member Jimmy Cauty left the group, leaving Alex Paterson as the central member, with additional contributions by Andy Falconer, Kris Weston, and others.

The album was preceded by the charting (#78) 1989 single "A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules from the Centre of the Ultraworld," which closes the album. The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld was well received in Europe and reached number 29 on the UK Albums Chart. It has since been credited with popularizing the UK's nascent ambient house movement.

Background

Alex Paterson began his music career in the 1980s as a roadie for the post-punk band Killing Joke before eventually leaving in 1986 to pursue his own musical interests. Influenced by the growing popularity of Chicago house music in Britain during the decade, shortly thereafter he began working with another ambient house pioneer, Jimmy Cauty, who had been involved in the Killing Joke side-project Brilliant with Paterson's childhood friend[7] Youth.[8][9] Paterson, Cauty, and Youth also performed chill-out DJ sets in Paul Oakenfold's "Land of Oz" night at the club Heaven.[7] Paterson said of these events:

We'd build melodies up by overdubbing and mixing multiple tracks and then take an eight-track, or was it a twelve-track, into Heaven, just linking it up to three decks, loads of CD players, loads of cassettes... we used to keep it very, very quiet. We never used to play any drums in there. It'd be, just like, you know, BBC sound effects, really... four or five hours playing really early dub reggae... For All Mankind. We had white screens so we could put up visuals as well. We had home movies of ducks in the park. We'd go for everything. It was all layering on top of each other.[10]

Following success in the singles market with their releases as The Orb, including 1988's "Tripping on Sunshine" and the Kiss EP and "A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules from the Centre of the Ultraworld", both released in 1989, Paterson and Cauty started work on the first Orb album but split in April 1990 due to disagreements about releasing The Orb's work on Cauty and Bill Drummond's record label KLF Communications.[11] While Cauty released his portions of the planned album as Space and continued with his other group The KLF, Paterson moved on to his next collaboration, "Little Fluffy Clouds", in autumn 1990 with Youth.[7] The track was recorded by an 18-year-old studio engineer and future Orb collaborator, Kris "Thrash" Weston.

Music

Slant Magazine critic Sal Cinquemani called The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld a blend of "loping house beats and shades of reggae-dub with atmospheric sampladelia (film dialogue, wildlife, radio broadcasts, strings and choirs)" which defined the ambient house movement of the early 1990s.[12] Matt Anniss of International DJ noted the album's "then unique blend of head-nodding grooves (often recycled from old hip hop and dub reggae records), horizontal ambience, and all manner of tongue-in-cheek spoken word samples."[13]

Release

In April 1991, the Orb released The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld for an audience familiar with their groundbreaking singles and several John Peel radio sessions. The album was received in the United Kingdom and Europe with critical acclaim and reached number 29 on the UK Albums Chart.[14]

By mid-1991, The Orb had signed a deal to release the album in the United States but were forced to edit the double-disc 109:41-minute UK release down to one 70:41-minute disc. This version replaced "Perpetual Dawn" with a remix by Youth and "Star 6 & 7 8 9" with its "Phase II" version, both available on the "Perpetual Dawn" single; and removed "Back Side of the Moon" and "Spanish Castles in Space" entirely. The full double-disc version and cassette were later released in the US by Island Records.

Artwork

The cover for The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld was designed by graphic design collective The Designers Republic, who are credited for "orbsonic love deep space & sampling image" in the liner notes.[15] The album booklet features an image of the Battersea Power Station, as photographed by Richard Cheadle and "treated by dr/chromagene", as well as an image of cumulonimbus clouds over the Congo Basin, taken from the Space Shuttle Challenger on 1 April 1983.[15] The Battersea Power Station image was utilized as cover art for the US release of the album.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[16]
NME8/10[17]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[5]
Select3/5[18]
Slant Magazine[12]
Spin Alternative Record Guide9/10[19]

In a contemporary review, NME critic Sherman called The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld "an album sounding like Pink Floyd without all the self-indulgent solos", concluding, "Reality is inside a pair of headphones overflowing with The Orb. Life will never be the same again. The flotation tank beckons."[17] Select's Russell Brown wrote that "long and strange as it is, Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld is without doubt a good trip."[18] At the end of 1991, Melody Maker ranked it as the year's 22nd best album and commented that it "boasted some of the most unique sounds of the year."[20]

In the years following its release, The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld has received continued critical acclaim. It was voted the 45th greatest album of all time in a 1993 poll of NME staff members.[21] In 1999, it was included at number 82 in Spin's list of the best albums of the 1990s, with critic Richard Gehr opining that "Ultraworld is art at its most functional: It works equally well as both acid-peak booster rocket and as Prozac-ian relief from an ecstatic all-nighter."[22] In 2002, Muzik named it the seventh best dance music album of all time,[4] while Slant Magazine listed it as the fourth greatest electronic music album of the 20th century.[1] The following year, Pitchfork ranked it as the 100th best album of the 1990s, with Alex Linhardt's accompanying write-up noting that it "managed to make ambient house a perpetual 'next big thing' for the rest of the decade."[2] John Bush of AllMusic deemed The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld "the album that defined the ambient house movement."[3]

Track listing

Original UK release (double album)

Side one
No.TitleMusicLength
1."Little Fluffy Clouds" (Earth Orbit One)Alex Paterson, Martin Glover4:27
2."Earth (Gaia)" (Earth Orbit Two)Paterson, Kris Weston9:48
3."Supernova at the End of the Universe" (Earth Orbit Three)Paterson, Miquette Giraudy, Steve Hillage11:56
Total length:26:11
Side two
No.TitleMusicLength
1."Back Side of the Moon" (Lunar Orbit Four)Paterson, Giraudy, Hillage14:15
2."Spanish Castles in Space" (Lunar Orbit Five)Paterson, Jake le Mesurier, Guy Pratt15:05
Total length:29:20
Side three
No.TitleMusicLength
1."Perpetual Dawn" (Ultraworld Probe Six)Paterson, Eddie Maiden9:31
2."Into the Fourth Dimension" (Ultraworld Probe Seven)Paterson, Andy Falconer, Paul Ferguson9:16
3."Outlands" (Ultraworld Probe Eight)Paterson, Thomas Fehlmann8:23
Total length:27:10
Side four
No.TitleMusicLength
1."Star 6 & 7 8 9" (Ultraworld Nine)Paterson, T Green, Hugh Vickers8:10
2."A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules from the Centre of the Ultraworld" (Live Mix Mk 10; Ultraworld Ten)Paterson, Jimmy Cauty, Minnie Riperton, Richard Rudolph, Simon Darlow, Stephen Lipson, Bruce Woolley, Trevor Horn18:49
Total length:26:57
  • On CD, Sides 1 & 2 appeared on Disc 1 (the "orbit compact disc") and Sides 3 & 4 appeared on Disc 2 (the "ultraworld compact disc".)

Original US release

Side one
No.TitleMusicLength
1."Little Fluffy Clouds"Paterson, Glover4:57
2."Earth (Gaia)"Paterson, Weston9:48
Total length:14:15
Side two
No.TitleMusicLength
1."Supernova at the End of the Universe"Paterson, Giraudy, Hillage11:56
2."Perpetual Dawn" (Solar Youth Mix)Paterson, Glover, Maiden, Jeffrey Nelson, Simon Phillips3:48
Total length:15:44
Side three
No.TitleMusicLength
1."Into the Fourth Dimension"Paterson, Falconer, Ferguson9:14
2."Outlands"Paterson, Fehlmann8:20
3."Star 6 & 7 8 9" (Phase II)Paterson, Green, Vickers4:22
Total length:21:56
Side four
No.TitleMusicLength
1."A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules from the Centre of the Ultraworld" (Live Mix Mk 10)Paterson, Cauty, Riperton, Rudolph, Darlow, Lipson, Woolley, Horn18:47
Total length:18:47
  • On CD, Sides 1, 2, 3 & 4 appeared on 1 disc.

2006 UK deluxe edition

Disc one
No.TitleMusicLength
1."Little Fluffy Clouds"Paterson, Glover4:27
2."Earth (Gaia)"Paterson, Weston9:48
3."Supernova at the End of the Universe"Paterson, Giraudy, Hillage11:56
4."Back Side of the Moon"Paterson, Giraudy, Hillage14:15
5."Spanish Castles in Space"Paterson, le Mesurier, Pratt15:05
Total length:55:31
Disc two
No.TitleMusicLength
1."Perpetual Dawn"Paterson, Maiden9:31
2."Into the Fourth Dimension"Paterson, Falconer, Ferguson9:16
3."Outlands"Paterson, Fehlmann8:23
4."Star 6 & 7 8 9"Paterson, Green, Vickers8:10
5."A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules from the Centre of the Ultraworld" (Live Mix Mk 10)Paterson, Cauty, Riperton, Rudolph, Darlow, Lipson, Woolley, Horn18:49
Total length:54:07
Disc three
No.TitleMixed byLength
1."A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules from the Centre of the Ultraworld" (Peel Session) 20:14
2."Perpetual Dawn" (Ultrabass II) 7:12
3."Little Fluffy Clouds" (Cumulo Nimbus Mix)Pal Joey6:39
4."Back Side of the Moon" (Under Water Deep Space Mix)Steve Hillage8:42
5."Outlands" (Fountains of Elisha Mix)Ready Made8:39
6."A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules from the Centre of the Ultraworld" (Aubrey Mix Mk 11)Jimmy Cauty and Dr. Alex Patterson7:13
7."Spanish Castles in Space" (Extended Youth Mix)Youth13:39
Total length:1:12:18

Tracks details

Instrumentation and samples

Personnel

Credits for The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld adapted from liner notes.[15]

  • Alex Paterson – production, engineering, mixing
  • Jimmy Cauty – production ("A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules from the Centre of the Ultraworld")
  • Andy Falconer – production ("Into the Fourth Dimension"), engineering, mixing
  • Thomas Fehlmann – mixing
  • Miquette Giraudy – production ("Supernova at the End of the Universe", "Back Side of the Moon")
  • Steve Hillage – production ("Supernova at the End of the Universe", "Back Side of the Moon")
  • Greg Hunter – engineering (assistant)
  • Eddie Maiden – production ("Perpetual Dawn")
  • Guy Pratt – bass ("Spanish Castles in Space")
  • Tim Russell – engineering, mixing
  • Kris "Thrash" Weston – engineering, mixing
  • Youth – production ("Little Fluffy Clouds"), mixing

Release history

Cover of a 2006 reissued 3-CD deluxe edition
Year Format Label Catalogue no.[24]
1991 CD Big Life 314-511034-2
1991 Cassette Big Life 314-511034-4
1991 CD Big Life 511034
1991 Cassette Big Life 511034
1994 CD Big Life, Island Red 535005
1994 Cassette Big Life, Island Red 535005
1994 CD Big Life BRDCD5
2006 CD Island, Universal 948,002-2

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 Cinquemani, Sal (30 June 2002). "25/20: The 25 Greatest Electronic Albums of the 20th Century". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  2. 1 2 "Top 100 Albums of the 1990s". Pitchfork. 17 November 2003. p. 1. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 Bush, John. "The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld – The Orb". AllMusic. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
  4. 1 2 "The Top 50 Dance Albums... of All Time". Muzik. No. 81. February 2002. pp. 41–51. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  5. 1 2 Wolk 2004, pp. 604–605.
  6. ↑ "November: 18 albums you need to hear this month". Mixmag. 4 November 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  7. 1 2 3 Simpson, Dave (7 June 2016). "How we made the Orb's Little Fluffy Clouds". The Guardian (Interview with Youth and Alex Paterson). Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  8. ↑ Prendergast 2003, pp. 407–412.
  9. ↑ Bush, John. "The Orb". AllMusic. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
  10. ↑ Toop 1995, pp. 61–62.
  11. ↑ Toop, David (3 June 1994). "Don't make negative waves". The Times.
  12. 1 2 Cinquemani, Sal (19 August 2002). "Review: The Orb, Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
  13. ↑ Anniss, Matt (26 July 2016). "The Orb: Their continuing adventures beyond the Ultraworld". International DJ. Archived from the original on 9 August 2022. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  14. ↑ "Orb". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  15. 1 2 3 The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld (liner notes). The Orb. Big Life. 1991. 847963-1.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  16. ↑ Larkin, Colin, ed. (2011). "Orb". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (concise 5th ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
  17. 1 2 Sherman (13 April 1991). "Fit Your Space-Maker". NME. p. 33. Archived from the original on 17 August 2000. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  18. 1 2 Brown, Russell (March 1991). "The Orb: Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld". Select. No. 9. p. 76.
  19. ↑ Prince 1995, pp. 282–283.
  20. ↑ "Albums of the Year". Melody Maker. 21–28 December 1991. pp. 66–67. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  21. ↑ "Judged Hundred: The Greatest Albums of All Time". NME. 2 October 1993. pp. 28–29. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  22. ↑ Gehr, Richard (September 1999). "The 90 Greatest Albums of the '90s – 82. The Orb: The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld". Spin. Vol. 15, no. 9. p. 160. Archived from the original on 16 February 2001. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  23. ↑ "YouTube". Retrieved 21 December 2018 – via YouTube.
  24. ↑ "The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld – The Orb (Releases)". AllMusic. Retrieved 14 November 2015.

References

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