A post about Orbital... thinking In Sides: The Box

Yesterday, the Orbital single The Box turned 20 years old. I know this because 6 Music tweeted about it.

On this day 20 years ago, @orbitalband released 'The Box'. pic.twitter.com/nzLj8GRbxa

— BBC Radio 6 Music (@BBC6Music) April 15, 2016

Actually, it's because Paul out of Orbital tweeted that 6 Music had tweeted about it.

Shocking isn't it? Still sounds good though, especially the harpsichord bit. Even if I do say so myself! https://t.co/kW9pKv726t

— Paul Hartnoll (@paulhartnoll858) April 15, 2016

The Box was a single from Orbital's fourth album In Sides. The band had transformed themselves from club-storming Chimers into paranoid techno charmers via their third album Snivilisation. Think Brian Blessed turning into Jeff Goldblum.

In Sides was full of fear and joy of a technological utopia. But The Box was different. It was nestled between the snarling machines of PETROL and the sinister choir of Dwr Budr. The Box's use of harpsichord and brushy shares made it feel antique, as if it were carved from old wood.

Indeed, we heard the titular container creak open, Hammer-style (horror not MC). We're pretty sure we know who was inside - hey, look, it's the amazing pre-Oscars Tilda Swinton.

The best thing about The Box, was the epic 12", lasting over 20 minutes: a four-part odyssey that was ambitious, frightening and strangely moving.

What is the box? Who opened it? And why do I keep thinking of coffins?

Have a listen to the full, er, Box set below. Even better, track down the vinyl. With two decades of hindsight, and that creaking noise haunting me ever since, I wonder if this release was Orbital's finest early-period moment.

Listen: The Field's technotastic The Follower

You clever sausage, The Field. The Follower is his new album on Kompakt, and just listen to this title track. Simple. metronomic house music that sucks you into its dub techno vortex before you're caught forever in a breathy loop. Joyous, addictive, hypnotising. #choon

The precarious future of Ed Sheeran's Thinking Out Loud

It looks like Ed Sheeran's Thinking Out Loud is about to fall out of the top 100.

I don't even know how that Ed Sheeran song goes. I've probably heard it a million times, but it has just trickled out of my brain like very, very beige sand.

What I do know is that is has been in the UK top 100 singles chart continuously for 94 weeks. As you can see in this Official Charts tracker (below), it debuted at number 26, took over four months to get to number one, and then just would not go away.

But look at the current week, highlighted in pink (click pic for bigger). It's dropped to 100.

What happens when it drops out? Do the charts lose their strength, like Samson getting a buzz cut? Does someone somewhere stop playing bingo? What happens when we reach number 100 in our own lives; is Ed Sheeran a metaphor for human existence?

Ed (frightened eyes, pictured at the top of this devastating exposé) has one saving grace: a statistical anomaly. In this week's chart, Kanye West scored nine new entries. Nine. For now, the battle is between Sheeran fans constantly buying Thinking Out Loud on CD, and Kanye fans streaming his album tracks on the backs of buses.

Who will win? Leave a comment under this-- actually, don't bother.

(11th June 2016 update: The single hung on for one more week, then dropped out of the charts. It reappeared again this week at number 98, its 96th chart week, giving hope to millions.)

Listen: a new Underworld track you may not have heard yet

Here's a new Underworld track that may surprise you. A Japanese edition of Underworld's Barbara Barbara, we face a shining future includes a bonus t-shirt - and this moody track. Here it is on Discogs. Listen to Twenty Three Blue above. I'm adding this to my new #choon list.

The new Underworld album's great, by the way. These guys are 36 years into their musical partnership: amazingly, they still have a lot of bass drum rattling about their heads. For that alone, I'm in awe. The album's middle section's a little soft for my liking, but If Rah gets constant play on the Fat Roland gramophonium.

I'm quite tempted by the collector's pack, full of Tomato goodness.

Listen: Ital Tek's Cobra

I'm going to start posting new choooons as and when I hear them. Quick and dirty, not much editing needed: I get to blog more, you get more new music. Sorted! One condition: I will only post things that properly excite me in some way - no filler. Here's Ital Tek's utterly poisonous Cobra. Love it. Taken from the Hollowed LP. #choon

Making history (geddit?) for Manchester Histories

Here I am under several shiny chandeliers and in front of a packed town hall at the Manchester Histories Community Awards.

The awards exist to recognise efforts to preserve and celebrate the city's history amid various creative and campaigner communities. I was chuffed to be asked to compere the awards: it's kind of like being a flight steward amid a turbulent running order, and I loved every moment of it.

I've got, er, history with Manchester Histories: in 2011, I performed what is still my bestest pieces, '1996 And All That'. And I ran a low-key but lovely event a couple of years ago called Ruined: Short Short Stories From Long Lost Places.

The shortlistees and winners were quite something. I fell in love with my home city all over again.

Thanks to @mcrhistfest for letting me loose at #mcrhistawards. I'm in awe of the nominees and the fire in the belly of Manchester.

— Fat Roland (@FatRoland) March 11, 2016

It was a delight to meet Julie Hesmondhalgh as she presented an award. And I'm glad I told the audience that the opulent room was my living room. I'm pretty sure they believed me. ("See those paintings? £9.99 from Ikea. They came as a set.")

New releases: Houndstooth, Bullion and Pantha Du Prince

Here are three forthcoming releases that may be worthy of your ears.

To mark their third birthday and slow transition into long trousers, the Houndstooth label (logo pictured) will release a compilation this week called Tessellations.

Houndstooth is partly run by Rob Booth of Electronic Explorations, who's kind of a don round these parts. The album should be good, and features loads of their artists including the compelling Call Super and the incredible junglist Special Request.

On the same day, Bullion plopped out his debut album Loop The Loop. This electronic popster was first mentioned on this blog seven years ago and it's nice to see him release a long-player.  It seems his influences include Can, Devo and Thomas Dolby.

Not to be left out, the ridiculously influential Pantha Du Prince has just announced his first album for six years. His previous one, Black Noise, was my fifth favourite album of 2010, and all of its haunting tinkles have stayed with me ever since.

Listen below.





And an old one from Pantha Du Prince:

Now that's what I call winning a CD

Last night, I won a copy of Now That's What I Call Music 37.

I'll give you a moment to process that amazing news.

I went to Rod Tame's Pop Tart, an autobiographical show about coming out and Jason Donovan that made me laugh and nearly cry. I really did enjoy it. But never mind all that. During a quiz segment of the show, I went and won the 37th volume of the most famous pop compilation in history.

And okay, it has I Believe I Can Fly by R Kelly alongside a triple stinking whammy of the Seahorses, Ocean Colour Scene and Cast. But it also has these tracks, each one of which is a choooon in its own way. Happy listening.