The Beat Surrender

I can remember getting into The Orb when I was just a wee scrap of a lad, it was one particular track that did it for me, Little Fluffy Clouds. A brilliant song that was heavy on sampled vocals and had that sort of pulsing beat in the background that just edged the track smoothly along.

The double CD Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld followed and they were also amassing an ever growing live reputation, not just at their own gigs, but also on the summer festival circuit where their dubby beats went down an absolute storm.

Things really took off for them though with U.F.Orb , it featured a cut down version of their epic chart busting single Blue Room, which saw them ‘perform’ on Top Of The Pops as they refused to mime, instead opting for a four minute game of chess, much to the shows displeasure, they were a band that weren’t just breaking rules, within dance music they were making them as well.

That was the band at the top of their game and after that things did start to fade a little, that said they have been busier than most with remix albums, mix albums and various other compilations over the years and have stumbled on to a point where they are now releasing their 8th studio album proper.

The Dream see’s a return to their more dub beat sound although their are other influences at work as well, it might not be up their with their two classic albums but it’s a more than worthy addition to their discography. The opening title-track gives the game away straight from the off, chilled out, open sounding track and is quickly followed by the single Vuja De which is a definite dance-floor track.

After that it follows a similar pattern, they’ve used far more samples throughout the album and it does hark back to their glory days in that sense, although in fairness they do put a modern spin on things with tracks like A Beautful Day featuring some delightful gloopy beats.

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