Orbital / Rock City / Nottingham

Apr 8

Apr 8 Orbital / Rock City / Nottingham

Tonight we embarked on a trip to the home of live music in Nottingham that is Rock City, for the much anticipated visit of Orbital. Electronic dance is a genre I’ve never really spent time on, so I was looking forward to this to see what it was like live. Formed in 1989 at the height of the techno and rave scene, and named after the orbital M25 motorway round London, Orbital are brothers Phil and Paul Hartnoll. Best known for their amazing live shows and lighting displays, on arrival I found that there were only 11 tickets left. No doubt they were all gone before the main set started.

Prior to Orbital taking the stage at 8, we enjoyed a DJ set from Manami. Originally born in Japan, Manami is a pianist, a DJ and a producer and based in the vibrant music scene in Bristol.

The stage was set ready for Orbital, with an impressive rack system of electronic gear. To a synth geek I was in heaven and it was great to see a real mix, from classic original Roland TB303 Bassline, to high end modern synths such as the Arturi Polybrute and Waldorf Quantum, mixed in with more affordable gear, such as a Novation BassStation. The lighting rig was huge and stuck out into the pit, I had to walk carefully, as I didn’t want any expensive damages claims lol. Touring on the back of the release of their recent album “Optical Delusion” the set was a nice mix of classics and new material.

The lights went out and the now full house roared as Phil and Paul too to the stage and they ripped straight into Smiley full of jungle beats and some great modulated sounds and hit the nostalgia button hard. The crowd is bouncing and loving every beat. Phil and Paul in their trademark glasses with twin torches that piece the mist with an almost alien feel to them.

From this we come right up to date with Ringa Ringa (The Old Pandemic Folk Song) the first track on the latest album with it’s vibrant beat and soft almost choral like vocal samples. This is followed by Where Is It Going from 2022’s “30 Something”. This one has a real different feel to it, with it’s Stephen Hawkin speech intro, followed by a very Krafwerk-like vocoder vocal, which sits well above the driving beats.

There had been much speculation and rumour beforehand about the possible appearance hometown singer Jason Williamson from Sleaford Mods. Knowing that they were touring in the UK I didn’t pay much attention to it (wisely) but it would have been the icing on the cake as they hit Dirty Rat from the new album. Although an electronic dance band, Orbital have that punk edge to them and this one is a hard hitting criticism of recent political, and Jason’s quirky and unique vocals, (delivered as a sampled track) are the perfect delivery mechanism. It pulls no punches at all and hits hard. Probably my favourite track of the night.

Other highlights from the set included the jungle rave of Requiem For The Pre-Apocalypse which has the loose bits of confetti dropping from the lighting gantry, and Nothing Left from 1999’s “Nothing Left album” and Belfast from 1991’s “Orbital”. I love this one, a slow burner, with a single sustained synth-line, giving way to a bright arpeggiated track and dreamy female vocals all before the drum rhythm kicks in properly.

The encore consisted of Out There Somewhere (parts 1&2) from 1996’s “In Sides”, before the show ends on Lush 3 (3-1 & 3-2) from 2009’s brilliant album “20”. A real dance classic with a deep pulsing bassline in sync with the lights as the crowd dance.

A full house, and a sublime performance. You wouldn’t think that two guys standing on a platform pressing buttons and twirling knobs making music would be great live, but it really is. Phil is waving his arms round, and the way their glasses mounted torches shine out like automaton eyes is dramatic and engaging. The beats integrate brilliantly with the lightshow making a truly amazing multi-sensory experience.