The last time we featured a new Orb song on here a few years ago, I told you about listening to “Little Fluffy Clouds” on repeat in the 90s. It had a profound effect on me. It’s been a long time since I’ve been in the type of headspace that fosters those kinds of epiphanies, but that’s alright. Their stuff always sounds good.
This song’s been out for a while and they’ve got a new album, SETI, due February of next year that promises “acoustic instruments and nostalgic samples” and “glacial-paced melodies, Nyabinghi percussion, mandolin, and acoustic guitar.” So that should be interesting.
The Orb is back to celebrate its 30th anniversary with a new album full of collaborations with a wide range of artists including Youth, Jah Wobble, Roger Eno, Guy Pratt, Michael Rendall, Roney FM, and the new single features Merge recording artist Hollie Cook.
I spent a lot of time in the 90s listening to the Orb’s “Little Fluffy Clouds” on repeat while studying the patterns in nature. If you look closely enough you can find all kinds of designs and sequences within individual blades of grass or pebbles of sand. I could stare at the sky for hours. And the clouds would catch the colors everywhere. It’s neat.
On the Fourth of July in 1991 President George H.W. Bush came to my hometown to watch our parade. My friends and I thought it would be a good idea to take part in this historical event, so we got an older brother to drop us off downtown. We never made it to the parade because we got distracted, opting instead to hang out in a little park with an Apollo space capsule. There was Secret Service everywhere, on top of roofs, armed with binoculars and sniper rifles. It was quite a scene. We eventually got hungry and decided to walk to Arby’s, a little disappointed that we had missed the parade and hoping we didn’t run into any of our parents. Independence Day. As we were crossing a street the police slammed down some barricades in front of us to close off the route. Before we could even figure out what was happening, Secret Service officers surrounded us and the presidential motorcade drove right by. We could clearly see President Bush grinning and waving to us through the bulletproof window of his limousine. We made eye contact. I may have not been a fan of his policies (no blood for oil!), but I was flattered that the President of the United States of America came to us that day. A sense of sincere patriotism overwhelmed me, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t shed a tear.
Listening to the Orb always makes me think of that day.
