Orbital: Paul Hartnoll talks about their new show

Sónar 2009 | 16.06.2009

Orbital's tour is structured around their greatest hits: two decades of exhilarating, meticulous and hypnotic electronic music. Paul Hartnoll talks about the new live shows in an interview with the Spanish magazine Go Mag. He explains that they will be accompanied by good visuals –"similar to previous tours, but totally new"– the stage set will feature machines at the front –"this time they're programmed so that there's no breaks in the show, except for a couple of spaces to take a quick breather; we figured out that a lot of fans don't like silences between songs" – and a repertoire of classics that Paul prefers to keep under his hat –"that would be like explaining the plot of a book before someone reads it, so I won't ruin the surprise". But one suspects that the tracks they are going to play are all included on the compilation that the band is releasing soon - "Orbital 20". All of which are hits.

There is nothing new in Orbital's return: they are going back to where they left off, when they bid their fans farewell with "The Blue Album". Paul and Phil Hartnoll have reappeared on the electronic scene like cryogenically frozen astronauts in science fiction films, who after a long journey around the stars, awaken from their hibernation in the same state as when they fell asleep. There is just one essential piece of news: to coincide with the start of the reunion tour – the date at Sónar, on 20 June, is the sixth on the duo's trip around England and Europe, which kicks off exactly two weeks beforehand, on 5 June – the "Orbital 20" compilation album is being released. This contains two CDs featuring Orbital's greatest hits plus three exclusive remixes –“Halcyon”, by Tom Middleton;  “Lush”, by Hervé, and “Impact”, by James Zabiela. This album commemorates the 20th anniversary of Orbital's foundation with the legendary single "Chime".

Orbital will perform on Saturday night at SonarClub at 12:45pm.