The group was formed in 1988 by Dr. Alex Paterson (full name Duncan Robert Alex Paterson) and Jimmy Cauty (one half of The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu and later The KLF). The Orb's first release was the acid house anthem "Tripping on Sunshine".
In May 1989, The Orb released the "Kiss EP", which was heavily influenced by New York's KISS FM. Paterson began DJing around London, England at this time when he met Paul Oakenfold. At Oakenfold's behest, Paterson began DJing at Land of Oz, the chill-out room at Heaven.
Paterson mixed samples of BBC nature recordings, NASA space broadcasts and everything in between into the music of ambient pioneers such as Brian Eno. Around this time, Paterson met Steve Hillage and Hillage later contributed guitar to the Orb's "Blue Room" single. In return Paterson worked on Hillage's System 7 project.
In October 1989 The Orb released the 22-minute single "A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules From the Centre of the Ultraworld", which contains large chunks of Minnie Riperton's "Loving You". The single managed to reach the lower end of the UK chart. Although Paterson and Cauty had been working on a debut album, the two split in April 1990. Cauty removed Paterson's contributions to the album and released the remainder as "Space".
Killing Joke's Youth, who'd recently found dancefloor success with Blue Pearl assisted with the single "Little Fluffy Clouds", but existing commitments made it impossible for him to be anything more than a part-time member. In his place, Paterson recruited Kris Weston (aka Thrash), a young studio engineer who had worked on "Little Fluffy Clouds" and recently left Fortran 5.
In April, 1991, The Orb's debut album, "Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld" was released in the United Kingdom to critical acclaim. The double-album obtained a top 30 placing in the UK.
"U.F.Orb" was released in July, 1992. It featured the 39 minute 59 second "Blue Room" which was their third single to reach the UK charts, although the album version was only 17 minutes long. Early pressings of the album were available in three differently coloured sealed plastic packs (black (10,000) and blue (5,000) in the UK and green (1,000) in the US) containing an additional disc with the soundtrack from Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld (Patterns & Textures edition), a mail order only long form video released by the Orb.
During 1993 and 1994 The Orb were dismayed by Big Life's intention to re-issue some of the Orb's earlier material. As a result, Paterson and Thrash opted out of their contract and Paterson signed an international deal with Chris Blackwell's Island Records. The double-album "Live '93" soon followed. It was a mix of recordings made in Glastonbury, Copenhagen and Tokyo. The album's credits included, Simon Phillips, Nick Burton, Kris Weston, Fluff and of course Paterson.
In June, 1994, they released their first studio album for Island, "Pomme Fritz (The Orb's Little Album)". The album reached number six on the UK, but critics hated it, even comparing Paterson to Pink Floyd's Syd Barrett.
August, 1994 saw the release of a collaboration between Robert Fripp, Paterson, Weston, and Thomas Fehlmann, hence the name FFWD or Fripp, Fehlmann, Weston and Duncan. Weston's input was already diminishing by this time and following the release of FFWD, he finally parted company with Paterson. He was replaced by Thomas Fehlmann.
"Orbus Terrarum" was released in March, 1995. In February, 1997, following an ambitious world tour, they released "Orblivion".
The retrospective "U.F.Off" came in October, 1998 and was initially available in a Limited Edition double CD.
"Cydonia", although recorded in 1999, was delayed by Island until its release in February, 2001. Several different versions of the album were leaked on the Net some time before the official release.
The 2004 released album "Bicycles & Tricycles" strongly departed from their earlier ambient sound, and incorporated strong hip-hop influenced rhythms, including rap on one of the tracks.
In 2005 The Orb released a new studio album, "Okie Dokie It's The Orb On Kompakt", which focused heavily on the microhouse and pop ambient sounds that the Kompakt label is well known for.
2005 also saw the release of "Orbsessions Volume 1", which was an album of rarities from throughout The Orbs' career.
Sadly, Andy Hughes, long-time mixer and producer of many of The Orb's works, passed away on June 12 2009, following a 'short illness'.
Captain Korma
The Orb Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Neki bo'lsa o'zingdan, buni zamondan ko'rma.
O'g'ling yurmas izingdan, bosh egilsa qizingdan,
Neki bo'lsa o'zingdan, buni zamondan ko'rma.
Kibr tutsa qo'lingdan, adashsang o'z yo'lingdan,
Ilon chiqsa qo'yningdan, yaxshi yomondan ko'rma.
Kibr tutsa qo'lingdan, adashsang o'z yo'lingdan,
Ilon chiqsa qo'yningdan, yaxshi yomondan ko'rma.
Qolib juftu haloling, o'zgalarda hayoling,
Tang bo'lganda ahvoling, qoshi kamondan ko'rma.
Qolib juftu haloling, o'zgalarda hayoling,
Tang bo'lganda ahvoling, qoshi kamondan ko'rma.
Oy bo'linib duodan, kulfat yog'sa samodan,
Har bitta ish xudodan, aslo osmondan ko'rma.
Oy bo'linib duodan, kulfat yog'sa samodan,
Har bitta ish xudodan, aslo osmondan ko'rma.
Tinglab boshing qotsa gar,
Senga og'ir botsa gar,
Topsang foyda yo zarar,
Buni Davrondan ko'rma,
Buni Davrondan ko'rma.
O'g'ling yurmas izingdan, bosh egilsa qizingdan,
Neki bo'lsa o'zingdan, buni zamondan ko'rma.
O'g'ling yurmas izingdan, bosh egilsa qizingdan,
Neki bo'lsa o'zingdan, buni zamondan ko'rma.
Yaxshi yomondan ko'rma, aslo insondan ko'rma...
Akbarshohziyomadad
The lyrics to The Orb's song Captain Korma are in Uzbek, a language spoken in Central Asia, and they speak about staying true to oneself in the face of temptation and societal pressures. The first two lines translate to "Don't look elsewhere from your own eyes, don't start your head from someone else's. Whatever it is, don't look for it outside of yourself." The song urges the listener not to succumb to pride ("kibr") or to be distracted by others' paths, as everyone has their own journey to take ("olon chiqsa qo'yningdan"). The lines "qolib juftu haloling, o'zgalarda hayoling" tell the listener to stay balanced and true to themselves, not getting too caught up in their emotions or their ego.
Line by Line Meaning
O'g'ling yurmas izingdan, bosh egilsa qizingdan,
Don't let your eyes stray from what's ahead of you, even if it may seem difficult.
Neki bo'lsa o'zingdan, buni zamondan ko'rma.
Don't hesitate to face something that comes from within yourself, because it may be necessary for the current time.
Kibr tutsa qo'lingdan, adashsang o'z yo'lingdan,
If you let go of your pride and embrace others' guidance, it may lead you down a better path than you would have found on your own.
Ilon chiqsa qo'yningdan, yaxshi yomondan ko'rma.
If something beautiful crosses your path, don't be afraid to embrace it and see where it takes you.
Qolib juftu haloling, o'zgalarda hayoling,
Stay connected to those around you and don't isolate yourself from others, especially during difficult times.
Tang bo'lganda ahvoling, qoshi kamondan ko'rma.
Don't lose hope, even when you're feeling trapped and overwhelmed.
Oy bo'linib duodan, kulfat yog'sa samodan,
If something is dividing you, try to find a way to unite and find mutual benefit. There is beauty in unity, and a shared reward is greater than an individual one.
Har bitta ish xudodan, aslo osmondan ko'rma.
Don't underestimate any task, for even the smallest task leads to something greater. Everything you do contributes to the world around you.
Tinglab boshing qotsa gar,
If you are constantly looking over your shoulder, you will never be able to move forward.
Senga og'ir botsa gar,
If you focus too much on your own problems, you may lose sight of how you can help others.
Topsang foyda yo zarar,
Sometimes it's hard to weigh the pros and cons of a situation, but it's important to try to do so to make the best decision for yourself and others involved.
Buni Davrondan ko'rma,
Don't ignore the lessons of the past, but also don't let them control your future.
Yaxshi yomondan ko'rma, aslo insondan ko'rma...
Try to see the good in everything, including those around you. Everyone has the potential for growth and change.
Writer(s): Thomas Fehlmann, Alexander Doctor Paterson
Contributed by Eliana C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Shane Nolan
Excellent
G4sSy 0il3d Wh4L3 -BaleiaPeidorreraOleosa-
T R I P P Y
Daniel Bodonyi
Test Drive Unlimited..what a good game with good songs
Jupiter
Daniel Bodonyi this song was on there? Nice!
noname grandmaster
😎
sped23
charging forward...
Chris Davis
mmm korma!