TOTD #36: Orbital (Feat Zola Jesus) – New France

Orbital New France 608x319

In 1989 Orbital hopped on the dwindling synth driven dance scene that played a major role in making the eighties the worst decade ever in contemporary music. Then in the nineties, indie dance emerged and Orbital were mopped up. They contributed very little, released three great singles in 96/97, then dwindled through until they split in 2004. One can only presume they have reformed to grab some cash, for their new album “Wonky”, is not that good. Not bad enough to be a Bummer but has no affinity with the current scene. So why Track Of The Day? Well, to create such an affinity, they’ve drafted in Zola Jesus for one track and it works! If you like it, don’t waste too much time tracking down old Orbital stuff, just check out the Zola Jesus albums, which one does recommend.

  1. The only moment it works is at 1:51 when Nika’s voice cuts in. I’m glad the lion went back where he belonged, I would have been upset otherwise

  2. What a bizarre review. Some extremely ill informed statements, bordering on plain ignorance about the evolution of electronic music in the late 80s. Orbital hopped on “dwindling synth driven dance scene that played a major role in making the eighties the worst decade ever in contemporary music”.? The sounds they were making in 1989 were forward thinking, not backwards. We’ll start with Chime. Its sound is in no way an 80s synth influenced piece. They didn’t hop on anything and it wasn’t dwindling. Their sound wasn’t synth driven. It was sequencer driven. And while there was some awful music in the 80’s there is nothing to be gained by describing it as the worst decade ever – it makes the decade sound like it was completely without value and that Orbital were a has-been band before they ever got started. The emergence of dance music was one of the best things about the decade. They are firmly a 90s act. Lastly, Orbital contributed nothing? Even if you insanely dismiss Chime, The Brown Album, Snivilisation and their triumphant 1994 Glastonbury performance they contributed In Sides which broadened the reach of what electronic music could do.

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God is in the TV is an online music and culture fanzine founded in Cardiff by the editor Bill Cummings in 2003. GIITTV Bill has developed the site with the aid of a team of sub-editors and writers from across Britain, covering a wide range of music from unsigned and independent artists to major releases.