Three years after Abolition of the Royal Familia, the Orb return with their seventeenth studio album, Prism. Over the last 35 years, The Orb have built a solid reputation for producing music that exists to be really listened to and not just heard.
Its details demand attention, yet its nature offers an escape for the mind. The Orb have always sought to take listeners on mystic journeys, both musically and otherwise. In this sense, Prism is classic Orb. It’s a sprawling, genre-bending work that is able to showcase both Orb’s continued creativity and their sonic exploration.
Prism opens with the almost 11-minute ‘H.O.M.E.’—a winding voyage featuring co-founder Alex Paterson’s poem. It’s a dark ambient track full of swirling soundscapes that slowly builds to a crescendo at around five minutes. Up until this point, it sounds deeply spiritual with sci-fi elements fitting of the song’s title (the acronym standing for ‘High Orbs Mini Earths’). The track’s second half takes the form of upbeat house and makes you want to get up and move. The sampled vocals in this section can seem somewhat jarring initially, but oddly feel right at home after repeated listening.
The upbeat vibes carry over into the following track, ‘Why Can You Be In Two Places At Once When You’re Not Anywhere At All’. This afrobeat-inspired number is delightfully fun, packed with tasty rhythms and lots of funk. It features a comical verbal exchange about a guy called Gary, delivering some of the humour that The Orb are known for.
The Orb also have a long history of incorporating reggae sounds into their music. Paterson, in particular, has made it his thing to experiment with mixing Jamaican sounds. This time, The Orb go all out reggae with ‘A Ghetto Love Story’, giving listeners a full-flavoured taste of Jamaica. Prism retains the Jamaica theme for ‘Picking Tea & Chasing Butterflies’. There are samples galore here, including one rather amusing cat.
Prism continues to mix and match genres as it heads into the pop-inspired ‘Tiger’ (Tiger is both the name of Paterson’s son and the nickname of his late brother). For this track, Orb has covered everything in a dusting of bright, shimmering disco dust. The Japanese samples add additional character, not that it needs any extra charisma. The next track, ‘Dragon Of The Oceans’, starts with a very ethereal introduction before taking listeners back into the realm of dub. It’s a strong track with a thunderous bassline and surprisingly catchy lyrics.
‘The Beginning of the End’ is another lengthy track, which is by no means a bad thing here. This time, the sound has its roots firmly planted in 90s trance, but again, it feels otherworldly, tying it in with the album’s theme. It’s a simple track, yet it’s as individual as any other on Prism. The album then begins to wind down with ‘Living In Recycled Times’. Though, perhaps ‘wind down’ is the wrong term. Stepping out of Orb’s comfort zone, ‘Living In Recycled Times’ is largely classic full-fat drum and bass. While this genre may not be familiar territory for the group, it retains Orb’s distinctive feel. ‘Living In Recycled Times’ begins to slow down the album at around six minutes. Here, Violeta Vicci adds an evocative touch with her violin contribution. Sampled news clips are used to reflect the track’s title, too.
The album’s final track is the title track, ‘Prism’. It’s a ten-minute ambient epic that closes the album on a suitably magnificent note. It’s a beautifully crafted piece that lifts you out of this world and leaves you floating in another. It’s a fitting end—completing a journey that the opening track begins.
Prism is an expansive album that rewards listeners with beautifully textured tracks in a range of heavenly flavours. If Prism were a restaurant, it would be one of those all-you-can-eat places that serve up dishes from every corner of the globe. It showcases The Orb’s wonderfully colourful diversity and adds as much spice as you could ask for. It’s a real feast for the ears that only sounds sweeter and richer with each listen.
That’s a fair review, I listened about 5 times before I bought it,growing on me with each listen. I love it’s upbeat mix, coupled with deeply Orbish wonderousness! It puts me in a festival mood and vibe. Prism is yet another brilliant addition to the collection, I’ve been reconnecting with some of their recent stuff and love NSAOOB, and The Cow remixes, Moonbuilding. I still have my original Adventures Beyond Ultraworld vinyls, Blue, Perpetual Dawn, etc which just prove to me Orb have stood the test of time, well they keep ticking all the boxes for me.