Orbital - In Sides

Internal

Does music get much better? To tell the truth this may just be my favourite electronic release of all time. On this day 25 years ago, Orbital's fourth album was released. It's home to some of the most listenable and listener friendly sounds ever devised and put to tape. The Hartnoll brothers crafted melodic tunes that resonate on a level that quite literally transcends enjoyment and entertainment.

The tracks on In Sides meld together to create a sea of never-ending mood. You're seemingly only just around the corner from a completely reinvented track. In an off the cuff kind of manner its very structured but gives off the impression that it's all happening randomly. It couldnt be further from the truth however. Every nuance and pull in a given direction is stone cold calculated.

It has an untethered philospohy. Free, in essence, of constraints and limitations. The material on In Sides isn't necessarily trying to grab your attention, most of the enjoyable elements of the tracks that you would call ear-grabbing are buried deep in the background. I guess you could say it's the feel of the album that makes it special. It's the world of In Sides that is hard to come-by. A fun and fluid journey like no other. Jovial and rather blissful with hints of dark descents. This album flips from cloud nine to nightmares on cloud nine in the blink of an eye. Enigmatic and capricious, In Sides is a one of a kind trip. Album opener 'The Girl with the Sun in Her Head' and album closer 'Out There Somewhere' are as genre defining as they come.

Orbital capture a moment in time that I personally didnt get to experience but somehow relate to through this record. Some things just belong on your timeline for one indecipherable reason or another.

Favourite Track: The Girl With the Sun in Her Head

April 29th, 1996.