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Orbital tell SDE of archival reissue plans

Paul Hartnoll spills the beans

By John Earls

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18

Remixes and rarities collection • New album • Reissues

Electronic Music duo Orbital have signed a new record deal which will include a major reissue campaign, SDE can reveal. The duo’s new label is Because Music, home to the relaunched London Records imprint which, back in the day, released Orbital’s first six albums.

Much of Orbital’s non-album music remains unavailable on streaming, but the band’s Paul Hartnoll told SDE this will change as part of the new deal with Because Music. Orbital will release two albums next year, with a remixes and rarities compilation in the spring followed by a brand new album next autumn. A reissue series of Orbital’s albums by Paul and older brother Phil Hartnoll will begin in 2023.

Paul Hartnoll told SDE: “One of the first projects we’re doing for the new deal with Because is getting streamed the half of our music that’s not on streaming: our B-sides, single versions, remixes and EPs. It’s all up on YouTube, but that’s not the same, is it?”

While that’s great, SDE readers will probably be more interested in next spring’s compilation, Thirtysomething. This was originally due to be released in 2019 for Orbital’s 30th anniversary, but was delayed when they signed to Because Music, which meant rarities could be added to the track listing. It was originally intended to include new remixes from the likes of David Holmes, Jon Hopkins and Special Request, plus new versions of old Orbital tracks. Paul said: “Hopefully, Thirtysomething will be a real set for the connoisseur. It’s not only remixes and re-recordings, it’s become archival too, which wasn’t the plan until the Because deal materialised.”

Tracks from ‘Radiccio’ should end up on the new Thirtysomething album

Old tracks now intended for Thirtysomething include 1992’s EP Radiccio, rare songs Sunday and The Naked And The Dead plus the Eye And I remix of 1991 single Choice, previously only available on 12-inch. “We want to include tracks that hardly anyone has heard,” said Paul. “I got some of those tracks out the other day and thought ‘God, this is great!’ We did a lot of it with friends back in Sevenoaks, where we started. It’ll be great to get it out there again. The digital release of Thirtysomething is going to be massive, much longer than a normal album.”

Thirtysomething might also feature unreleased songs from Orbital’s early days, including Acid Horse. “That depends on sample clearance,” Hartnoll explained. “Acid Horse was a favourite, but it’s a mess of samples. If we get clearance, we’ll release it. We’ve also been working on another old song, One Day. We’ve updated both of those tracks. It’s me and Phil working with ourselves from 30 years ago, which was an interesting prospect.”

The Eye & I remix of ‘Choice’

The new versions of previous Orbital tracks sees the brothers release studio versions based on how songs are played in concert now, compared to their original studio recordings. Paul commented: “It’s a given that Bruce Springsteen doesn’t play Born In The USA the same in concert now as when he wrote it, but people don’t think of electronic music like that. We don’t just play stems: every time we work on a live set, the tracks become reinventions. Tracks like Impact and Belfast sound quite different now, though we don’t really notice how different at the time those songs have become. It’s a shifting whisper over the last three decades so that, when we listened to them recently, we thought the anniversary celebration justified including these new versions.”

Orbital’s debut album Orbital (The Green Album) was released in September 1991, featuring the singles Chime, Midnight and Belfast. It was released on London Records imprint FFRR, which then issued Orbital’s albums Orbital (The Brown Album), Snivilisation, In Sides, The Middle Of Nowhere and The Altogether. The duo then released 2004’s Blue Album and 2012’s Wonky on their own label, Orbital Music, before most recent album Monsters Exist was released in 2018 on ACP. Paul said: “We’ve got a brand-new album coming next autumn after Thirtysomething. Then we’ll start a series of reissuing each album properly. I’m not sure what extras we’ll include yet, but tracks like the nine-minute Untitled, which was only ever on the cassette version of our first album, will find its way onto vinyl.”

Paul was talking to SDE ahead of Orbital’s first full gig since lockdown, at Playground Festival at Glasgow’s Rouken Glen Garden Centre. The event, on September 24-26, also stars The Libertines, Boy George & Culture Club, Nile Rodgers & Chic, James, Sister Sledge, Razorlight, Kelis, Roisin Murphy, Glasvegas, Macy Gray and Vitalic. Full details are at www.playgroundfestival.co.uk

London Records relaunched under Because Music’s aegis in 2019 with reissues of Shakespears Sister and Fine Young Cannibals. SDE will offer more coverage on Thirtysomething as and when details are officially announced.

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18 thoughts on “Orbital tell SDE of archival reissue plans”

  1. hey paul, just a heads up that they’re officially announced the “30 Something” releases for this summer – a 2CD and 4LP set of a few new tracks, “30 something” reworks, and a bunch of new remixes (some of which are quite good and out already). Would be interested in a post here mostly to see what others think of the tracklist!

  2. Reading that looks like CD fans are gonna be left disappointed. I get the impression it’ll be vinyl reissues and then expanded versions of the same on streaming platforms.

    1. The whole point of such reissue program, IMHO, is to get digital versions of the many tracks that to date have only surfaced on vinyl, commercially or promo-only.

      If the reissue program is to be vinyl-only, then hopefully they’ll provide access to lossless downloads. Or at least sell the digital files on quality platforms like Qobuz…

      Oh, and I don’t count streaming databases updates as releases. Never will.

  3. I really hope they plan to release CD versions of these reissues. Double or triple CDs with lots of stuff and maybe a DVD (better yet, a Blu-ray) with related video stuff. Oh, and I do hope Thirtysomething will include Omen and especially Belfast Wasted. I love that version, and there was a single when it was originally released, but I missed it…

  5. For me, best music reissue program in a long time!
    I have bought/collected every 12inches, EPs, LPs, CDs, CD singles (and the odd 5.1 surround DVD) since the mid 90’s and cannot wait for proper completist deluxe multi-CD and multi-LP reissues per album/era. I guess, I’ll have to wait until 2023!

    There should be both CD sets and LP sets made. CD sets obviously because of the number of vinyl-only tracks to date. And LP sets because Orbital artworks are gorgeous.

    Packaging wise, I look forward to CD sets be made like Underworld box sets; alternatively, good old fashioned CD single box sets with original artworks in miniature.

    For the vinyl, nice multi-disc boxes like the limited 4xLP set they for their latest album Monsters Exist would be very welcome; alternatively, box sets reissuing the original 12inches, à la Depeche Mode.

    Live wise, I hope Satan Live will be part of the reissue program, and packaged of course in the classic “Evil Santa” slipcase…

  6. I imagine Orbital and Underworld are different enough in their recording that a re-issue like Dubnobass… had for an Orbital album wouldn’t be possible. But Orbital’s run of Green/Brown/Snivil/In Sides is worthy of it. I wish more artists did the strict singles collections like James Brown’s archivists did… or even a smaller band like A.R.Kane. Just put the complete stuff out as it was in the era. Orbital could do it in 3-4 CDs or 6-8 vinyl sides, probably, if they left off the album versions and stuck to 7″ and remixes.

    And I roll my eyes a bit when electronic musicians fawn over their live tracks. Has there ever been a live track from an electronic artists that has been better than studio? Unless they go novelty and radical like Orbital’s own Halcyon (live) with Belinda Carlisle/Bon Jovi mash-up.

    1. Daft Punk’s live performances were pretty cool, mixing and cutting up their own tracks in one long medley/mash up. It was certainly more inventive than live stuff by the likes of Chemical Brothers, whose live sets omitted a lot of their “classic” stuff and segued into each other by mucking about with key changes etc. and just started to feel a bit old hat very quickly.

  7. I am as excited as you all are about these, although I must admit their first albums are the best and I am excited for those.

    Interesting that Paul Hartnoll noted the Choice (eye and I mix) is not available on cd. It was released on a guerilla compilation:

    https://www.discogs.com/Various-Survival-The-Dance-Compilation/release/50876

    I don’t know if it’s a vinyl rip or not but it sounds decent and I bought it just to have it in a digital format, other than my own vinyl rip! It’s a great mix and glad it will be remastered.

    Other mixes that they should consider would include
    Nothing left (Breeder mix) – yes brilliant I agree
    Illuminate (Charlie May!!)
    Belfast (Sasha mix) – also excited for David Holmes mix who we know inspired the song in the first place
    Chime (jzj mixes)
    Deeper (full length)
    Omen (all mixes, none have been on any reissues but we do have the cd single of the original mixes)
    Satan (rhyme and reason 12”)
    Untitled from the cassette – as mentioned by Paul above

    I realize this post highlights the first two albums most – but I do love Are We Here (rabbit in the moon) as well :)

  8. News about these reissues is exciting. Agreed that CD would be most interesting/useful to me; but 5.1 audio mixes on Blu-Ray would make these releases essential!

  9. Great news, but must confess all the references to vinyl and streaming had me worried regards the humble old CD. They will release these on old-fashioned digital disc, won’t they?

  10. Good stuff… 2022 and 2023… Hopefully they follow similar reissue pattern to the early Underworld album Deluxe CD reissues, with remaster, extras info and hi res download…

  11. This is absolutely overdue. Slightly concerned that Paul made some comments about “nobody buying CDs anymore” on Twitter a few years back, but given their age I’d imagine the label will appreciate they have a sizeable CD-buying fanbase. I have a load of b-sides on my computer, it’ll be wonderful to have hard copies of this stuff. Also very glad that Thirtysomething is finally coming out, I’d actually given up on it when it didn’t appear. And a new album of course, which was also originally due in 2019.

  12. Ooooo this is exciting! All that old Orbital stuff makes me smile (“Belfast” is just mind-blowingly great), so getting to hear tracks I’ve never heard before has me over the moon! And it’ll be nice to be able to stream the single versions of things (like “The Box”) which aren’t available that way yet. I got to briefly say hi to Paul and Phil at the Harvard Square HMV around the time Snivilisation came out and they were very nice – got my CD cover autographed, too!

    Would be nice to get a either the original 5.1 or a new Atmos mix of The Altogether out there on Blu-ray also. :-)

  13. I was just thinking the other day that Orbital were due a reappraisal. I had started hunting for a vinyl copy of ‘In Sides’, too, but was priced out! New versions with archival material sounds good to me though! I wonder what rarities they’re putting on
    ‘Thirty something’ as opposed to on the album reissues when they happen?

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