Words: Lance Robson 

Upon first listen, I was certain The Orb’s new CD The Dream wasn't "my” Orb, although it is The Orb, through and through. Surprisingly, The Dream is growing on me in much the same way Massive Attack’s Blue Lines did when it was first released in the States, slowly and surely. Un-sampled vocals have been missing from The Orb’s records for at least a decade, with perhaps a few obscure exceptions; with this release, mellow toasters and measured, soulful sirens replace the heady textures MIA Orbsman Thomas Fehlmann normally contributes. Over the past two decades, the music produced by Dr. Alex Paterson and his vast array of friends has inspired thoughts and dreams of creative movement: you choose the plain, or plane, to dance on or get comfortable in. There is a notable lack of over-the-top humor in this current incarnation, but make no mistake – Paterson and his cohorts abhor predictability, and doubtlessly are in the throes of forging new amalgams of future music whether as DJs, producers or players. Now, on to The Dream…

REAX: was there any specific the idea behind The Dream?
Alex Paterson: It's basically just going back to our roots, really, maybe too far to our roots, but no, it's fine. It's kind of a reflection of our first two albums. I think the next album needs to be totally revolutionary from that, kind of where we left off with 2005's Okie Dokie ... what I think it really is, is a mash of the two as opposed to having this kind of one or two-sided Orb. I think over time that will develop ... and it may not. Laughs It's down to the people I'm working with. With The Dream it's really a British pop element, even though it comes from The Orb of Okie Dokie, it's quite actually a European disco, kind of disco feel, which, quite honestly I prefer, because at the end of the day you can only take so much of vocals. If it's a good tune it can stand the test the time, like Autobahn By Kraftwerk or Oxygene by Jean Michel Jarre! Laughs

REAX: What about Tangerine Dream?
AP: I grew up with punk! People have this conception of me being this kind of space-aged, hippie sort of bloke, seeming to forget that I toured with Killing Joke for 8 years of my life. I'm hardly going to be listening to Tangerine Dream, or that lot, that's for sure!  Laughs

REAX: Before being given the job of fanboy interviewer, I sent an MP3 of the Peel Sessions version of “No Fun” to the magazine's general manager …
AP: Yeah, that's my roots, in all honesty! The Orbsessions CDs are being put out on Malicious Damage. The third one is just about to come out, but we're going to put out a fourth one ... it's gonna be all the early punk stuff that we can dig up. It will be a where-it-all-started-for-me kind of thing.

REAX: So it's just going to be the Peel Sessions recording?
AP: It's funny you should say that, because today, I got an email from the BBC saying they wanted to put out all of our Peel Sessions on a two-disc CD. It would be the first four sessions we did from 1998 to 2001. And to be honest I probably haven't heard any of them since we did them, apart from the first two, which were on CDs.

REAX: Are there any other punk-inspired projects in the works?
AP: Taking it away from The Orb, and the fact that it's just me screaming away, I have two projects: the Rootmasters and Transit Kings. Rootmasters is the stuff I'm putting out on Malicious Damage at the moment. There's a 10-inch EP, and there' s more to follow, but it's basically me shouting out vocals. We've also done a country & western tune called “Prozac Nation.” I wonder who that's about? I believe it's quite subliminally devastatingly brilliant, to be honest.

REAX: How much of The Dream was an actual collaboration and how much of it was developed in separate parts and then brought to the table?
AP: Most of it was done in that fractured way, like you said it. Some of it was put together, some of it was put together apart, and some of it was mixed by other people. Andy Hughes mixed a couple, trying to get back that old Orb style. Greg Hunter is on there too. In a lot of respects Thomas Fehlmann should have been doing stuff, as well. The new dynamics were Tim Bram and David Nock coming in; Youth coming in and playing some bass lines. I had him playing everything four or five times instead of just once. 'I like that, but do it again, a bit lower.' Laughs I mean, after 25 years of DJing I must have some kind of ear for drums and bass. I'm actually on tour right now, DJing around Europe.

REAX: How did it turn out that Thomas Fehlmann wasn't part of The Dream?
AP: I never wanted it to be that way, but Thomas and Youth are kind of, like, alter-egos, as far as Youth is concerned.  It was primarily me and Thomas who did Okie Dokie, but when me and Youth began work on The Dream it wasn't really just me and him. A lot of people got involved and it became like the first two Orb records, and to be quite honest, I've already done a new album with Thomas. It's a film soundtrack for a film called Plastic Planet, which is made by one of the directors of March of the Penguins. I'm actually quite proud because it's that European eclectic, but kind of experimental sounds that are fresh and very very trippy. It's soundtrack music; it's not like a twelve-inch mix off an album. Thomas and I have also been working on music for a video game. The makers of that game will be getting back to us shortly. As far as Youth goes, he's going on tour with Killing Joke. We won't be working together again until he's off tour.

REAX: What's the news with Killing Joke? I had no idea they were still at it.
AP: Somebody offered them a lot of money to go back on tour with the original lineup and they said yes. I tip my hat to him, and wish him all the best on that one. I'd love to DJ with them when they come to London, that's for sure. Really open up and DJ! Which reminds me, there was one show when I was on the road with Killing Joke when we played with Joy Division in 1980. On the new remastered version of Closer, the extra disc is of their set at the show we played with them, which is actually pretty cool.

REAX: I've got a dubious snippet, here. I don't recall the source, but it reads: 'The Dream was created without pressure from record companies or the studio.' Please talk about this, if at all true.
AP: Wow ... it was certainly relaxed. Going back 18 months ago, Tim's girlfriend had a little baby and my girlfriend had become pregnant. We've since had a second daughter that we named Tiger. I have another daughter named Mia. Mia is a beautiful name but then Tiger is a great name as well. Laughs

REAX: It's no Budweiser, but it's quite nice.
AP: It's like Tiger Beer. Laughs Very, very good. I found a bottle called Tiger Best Bitter. I'm looking at it in this fridge. Light tapping sounds of full beer bottles in the background It came from Leicestershire when I was up in Nottingham doing a gig. I don't think I'll open it. I don't mind bitter. I can't stand lager. I'm a bit of a Guinness man.

REAX: As far as remixes from The Dream go, who might we see working their magic on the singles?
AP: We've got some happening with the 'DDD (Dirty Disco Dub)' tune right now. We've got a remix by Belkin Stelker, and by Thomas Fehlmann, and this other band Tripswitch, which I've been playing out at DJ gigs. The Thomas one is being couriered over at the moment. 'Beautiful Day' will (also) be remixed in the next month.

REAX: Do you have any recollections about putting together the Trojan Compilation I'll Be Black?  Was that work or play for you? 
AP: It was a great honor. Trojan asked me if I'd like to do a compilation album, and pick some tunes off their label, and a bit more. I asked if they could license some tunes in, which worked out very well. I brought in mixes I'd done for Mad Professor, as well as some mixes he'd done for me. I asked if Mad Professor was up for it, and asked if Trojan were up for it. There's four mixes of what, at the time, was called MadOrb, a project that never really took off. And then a big, monster record label called Universal came around and bought Sanctuary up, so now Trojan has ended up on Universal. It's bizarre, but that's life.

REAX: The track 'Mother Nature' on The Dream seemed to me like it could use a Mad Professor touch, especially the kind of massive effects passes he did on the Yellowman album. Did the Battersea Shield project pre-date the offer of doing the Trojan comp and was there a creative overlap?
AP: Yeah, I know exactly the one you mean. The Battersea Shield thing was done live with Jack from Meat Beat Manifesto. We didn't re-record it, we just did it live. There are so many samples in there they will probably end up popping up now and again, especially on compilation albums, because so many of the samples from the Trojan compilation are quite unique. For example, the very last sample on CD 2 has a sample of astronauts flying over Africa. To me, it's spot on, a nod to the whole reggae thing coming from Africa. If there's any overlap it's probably because I smoke too much. After twenty years, it's bound to happen now and again and people in the studio usually catch it before it goes anywhere. 'You've done that before,' you know...

The Orb’s new album, The Dream, is out now on Six Degrees.

theorb.com