ORBITAL
RELEASE ACID HOUSE-INSPIRED NEW TRACK “SMILEY”
AHEAD OF FINAL SUMMER FESTIVAL SHOWS
NEW ALBUM – ’30 SOMETHING’ OUT NOW
Ahead of a series of late Summer festival appearances, ORBITAL, have revealed a brand new single: “Smiley”.
The single follows the release of their acclaimed new album: ‘30 Something’ and comes ahead of headline slots at Stowaway Festival (Bucks), Moovin’ Festival (Stockport) and Solfest (Cumbria). Dates and details are listed below. Final remaining tickets are on sale here.
The brilliant animated video for “Smiley” sees Orbital – the hugely influential electronic music duo comprised of brothers Paul and Phil Hartnoll – reunited with the award-winning video/film director Luke Losey, who co-directed the groundbreaking video for their 1998 single “The Box”, which starred Tilda Swinton, and also directed the video for their 1999 single “Style”.
“Smiley” is inspired by Orbital’s origins as part of the late 80s rave scene and also references the iconic Smiley Face pop culture symbol that is officially 50 years old this year. Trademarked by French journalist Franklin Loufrani in 1972, the image was famously adopted as a symbol of Acid House. The track samples the infamous ‘A Trip Round Acid House’ edition of ‘World In Action’, the ITV documentary which introduced millions in Middle England to what their kids were getting up to at the weekend and which includes an interview with a 20 year old Paul Hartnoll, describing how he was beaten up by police while attending a house party in Sevenoaks.
“We wanted to do something that represented where our heads are at now but wearing the clothes from back when we started,” comments Paul of “Smiley”. “So to chronicle thirty years of Orbital you’ve got this track that chronicles the very start of dance music in Sevenoaks. It’s our origin story.”
“And to make the very important point that, in civil rights terms, basically we all got beaten up by the police for having a party,” adds Phil. “Could never happen now, everyone would film it on their phones. Instant police brutality case.”
The video for “Smiley” surreally recreates the look and feel of the era through an amalgamation of actual hand-crafted sock puppets, high-end CGI, background stock footage, specially filmed elements, stop-motion and stills photography.
“There was a moment in the late 1980’s that bridged the gap between free festivals and big raves,” comments director Luke Losey. “These events had a strong DIY ethos that was a kindred spirit to punk. We would go and put great big metal sculptures in the woods or perhaps an abandoned railway station, hang a few lights and power up a sound system. That handmade DIY feel of the time was something we wanted to imbue into the film from the start, but also the sense of unity that existed amongst us despite Thatcher’s authoritarian desire to sew division, divide and conquer, with her foot soldiers in blue and her red-tops with their morally dubious claim to offer a better version of Britain than the one we could clearly see unraveling before our eyes. Hindsight has given us the opportunity to rectify past misdeeds with the happy ending we didn’t get at the time. No unicorns were hurt in the making of this film.”
The pandemic meant that Orbital missed their actual thirtieth anniversary, but it gave Paul and Phil pause to think and find a way to celebrate their past that was actually about the future. Unlike other Best Of’s, the ‘30 Something’ contains reworks, remakes, remixes and re-imaginings of landmark Orbital tracks based on the duo’s unrivalled live show.
‘Chime’, ‘Satan’, ‘The Box’, ‘Impact’, ‘Halcyon’, and more appear in new ‘30 Something’ guises, familiar yet new, time reversing, yesterday becoming tomorrow. The album involves Orbital-inspired artists and DJs, including Joris Voorn, Dusky, Jon Tejada, Yotto, and long-time supporter David Holmes, who reworks ‘Belfast’, the iconic track that got its name in his hometown.
“What’s been amazing for me is looking at our past and thinking of all the people who’ve come to see us, they are absolutely brilliant, warm and create such an amazing vibe. They are now bringing their kids to our gigs, they love it,” says Phil.
“Now we’re diving into our past and reminding ourselves, blimey, we really did that,” adds Paul. “And it’s still got something to say.”
ORBITAL LIVE, SUMMER 2022:
August 19 Stowaway Festiva – Stowe, Bucks
August 27 Moovin Festival, Stockport, Cheshire
August 28 Solfest – Cumbria
Remaining tickets on sale here: https://www.orbitalofficial.com/live/
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My life is a soundtrack, i track my life through music, photography is my passion, my escape, my expression. Without both i have pieces missing, thankfully i’m blessed and get to combine both.
Born in Manchester, lived in Australia for 22 years where i was heavily involved in the Australian Music Industry, firstly in bands (Singer) and then managing bands (all original), I moved back to the UK, Wales specifically 10 years ago
