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'.
Little Fluffy Clouds
The Orb Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To the traditional sounds of the English summer
What were the skies like when you were young?
They went on forever and they, when I, we lived in Arizona
And the skies always had little fluffy clouds
And they moved down, they were long and clear
And there were lots of stars at night
And when it would rain it would all turn, it, they were beautiful
The most beautiful skies as a matter of fact
The sunsets were purple and red and yellow and on fire
And the clouds would catch the colors everywhere
That's neat, 'cause I used to look at them all the time when I was little
You don't see that
Layering different sounds on top of each other
Layering different sounds on top of each other
Little fluffy clouds and little fluffy clouds and
Little fluffy clouds and little fluffy clouds and
What were the skies like when you were young?
They went on forever and they, when I, we lived in Arizona
And the skies always had little fluffy clouds
And they moved down, they were long and clear
And there were lots of stars at night
And when it would rain it would all turn, it, they were beautiful
The most beautiful skies as a matter of fact
The sunsets were purple and red and yellow and on fire
And the clouds would catch the colors everywhere
That's neat, 'cause I used to look at them all the time when I was little
You don't see that
Little fluffy clouds and little fluffy clouds and
Little fluffy clouds and little fluffy clouds and
When I, we lived in Arizona
And the skies always had little fluffy clouds
And they moved down, they were long and clear
And there were lots of stars at night
And when it would rain it would all turn, it, they were beautiful
The most beautiful skies as a matter of fact
The sunsets were purple and red and yellow and on fire
And the clouds would catch the colors everywhere
That's neat, 'cause I used to look at them all the time when I was little
You don't see that, you might still see them in the desert
The most beautiful skies as a matter of fact
Purple and red, purple and red and yellow on fire
And red and yellow on fire
The clouds would catch the colors
The Orb's song Little Fluffy Clouds is a nostalgic reflection on the beauty of the skies in Arizona, seen through the eyes of the singer when they were young. The song captures a longing for a time when skies seemed endless and filled with fluffy clouds that would move slowly across the horizon. The singer reflects on the beauty of the colors that would be present during sunsets, with purple, red, and yellow clouds which would catch the colors of the sky everywhere. The lyrics are layered with different sounds, adding to the dreamy quality of the song.
The repetition of certain parts of the lyrics in the song helps to emphasize the emotion and memory that the singer is trying to convey. The phrase "little fluffy clouds" is repeated several times, recalling the natural softness of the clouds in the singer's memory. The incorporation of different sounds from traditional English summer music adds to the nostalgia and longing of the singer for a time that has passed.
Overall, the song is a reflection on the beauty of nature, memory, and the passage of time. It captures the wonder and splendor of the skies, and how they can transport us to a different time and place.
Line by Line Meaning
Over the past few years
To the traditional sounds of the English summer
In recent years, The Orb has been exploring and incorporating the classic sounds of English summers into their music.
What were the skies like when you were young?
They went on forever and they, when I, we lived in Arizona
And the skies always had little fluffy clouds
And they moved down, they were long and clear
And there were lots of stars at night
The singer reminisces about the vast, fluffy cloud-filled skies they saw as a child living in Arizona, where the stars shone brightly.
And when it would rain it would all turn, it, they were beautiful
The most beautiful skies as a matter of fact
The sunsets were purple and red and yellow and on fire
And the clouds would catch the colors everywhere
That's neat, 'cause I used to look at them all the time when I was little
You don't see that
The singer describes how the rain in Arizona would transform the sky into a breathtaking display of colors, particularly at sunset. They reflect on how much they enjoyed gazing at the sky as a child and express disappointment that these sights are no longer common.
Layering different sounds on top of each other
Layering different sounds on top of each other
The Orb emphasizes their music production technique of layering different sounds on top of one another for a unique listening experience.
Little fluffy clouds and little fluffy clouds and
Little fluffy clouds and little fluffy clouds and
These repeated lines highlight the importance of the fluffy clouds in the artist's memories and how they have inspired The Orb's music.
When I, we lived in Arizona
And the skies always had little fluffy clouds
And they moved down, they were long and clear
And there were lots of stars at night
The singer repeats their descriptions of the skies in Arizona to emphasize the impact that the experience had on them and their music.
That's neat, 'cause I used to look at them all the time when I was little
You don't see that
The singer expresses appreciation for the beauty of the Arizona skies and frustration that these sights are not as common anymore.
The most beautiful skies as a matter of fact
Purple and red, purple and red and yellow on fire
And red and yellow on fire
The clouds would catch the colors
The artist reiterates how stunning the Arizona skies were, particularly at sunset, and how the clouds would amplify the colors.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Written by: DUNCAN ALEXANDER ROBERT PATERSON, MARTIN GLOVER, STEVE REICH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@AJ-qv9yo
A classic. Haven't heard it for ages, they made real music back then.
@JoHnAnDjAnEdOe81
Bro Evil 39
@thewokefindergeneral7631
They just mumble nowadays and there's no melody
@Gyva02
AI nanny has taken your name and will deal with you shortly...
@kaustubhx4624
@@Gyva02😭🤣.
@goldiffworks
This song gives me weird desert vibes I can't explain. It's pretty common for me across the Southwest, especially in Arizona and New Mexico. It's a brutalist, commercial type feeling. It makes me think of alien tourist attractions, 70s government buildings, sodium lights, sterile tiles, and this foreboding, aged feeling.
@TheNeverPlayedSymphonies
One of my favorite songs ever , and lol I was never even into techno , but this song is love
🎼🎼❤️ ☁️ ☁️☁️
2/1/23
@geneosullivan3338
The orb were not techno far from it more like ambient house chill out
@elektrovert
This is ambient / chill out, but sure, it's awesome!
@wendybarrett6309
Love her voice.