Listen to The Orb’s Track “5th Dimensions”:
The Orb will release their 16th studio album COW / Chill Out, World! on October 14th via Kompakt. While the duo’s Alex Paterson calls the upcoming record “a protest album in reverse”, sonic partner Thomas Fehlmann further iterates,
“We didn’t intend to rehash old chill out vibes. On the contrary. It’s the 21st century and it seems like a good idea for people to sit back and chill the fuck out, before continuing to act destructively. To chill out is to act consciously, guided from a calm center.”
While the band’s most recent effort, 2015’s Moonbuilding 2703 AD (Kompakt), was meticulously constructed over a six-year period–as it was originally commissioned by the English National Opera and adapted for release after that production fell through–COW / Chill Out, World! was made in only six months. The duo credits their intense tour scheduling over recent years for cementing their creative bond, but at-hand tools like the iPhone and Abelton assisted in the creation of the many field recordings that make up the new album. The sensation of weightless drift accompanies “5th Dimensions”, as these ambient masters slow the pulsate rate layering myriad samples that slowly dissolve into bit-crushed audio space like the echo of forgotten memories.
