photo by Morgen Schuler
It’s hard to believe that it’s been 20 years since brothers Phil and Paul Hartnoll first topped the UK charts as Orbital. Back then, raves were all the rage, but the duo never settled for mere mind-numbing dance numbers and constantly pushed their listeners with experimental loops and political rants. Yet a string of successful albums couldn’t keep the brothers from wanting to explore their own projects, and Orbital broke up in 2004. Now, 8 years later, Orbital have returned in force with both a new album, Wonky, released this past spring, and a new soundtrack to the critically acclaimed film Pusher. And in all that time, the Hartnoll’s haven’t lost a beat, treating fans first to a series of reunion shows and then to a proper album tour. Seattle’s Decibel Festival booked them to headline this past October (read the review here), and beforehand they treated us to a rare moment: Performing live in the KEXP studio, Orbital!
Full performance:
