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Orbital
Hammersmith Apollo
THE Hartnoll brothers known as Orbital, an album techno institution, are back with bells on as they gear up, with trademark head lights, to assault the senses with their legendary high-octane performance boosted by a vibrant visual display.
Their latest offering, Optical Delusion, is a mixed bag featuring some of the duo’s most unlikely collaborations including the Mediaeval Babes and Sleaford Mods.
The gurning face of the latter’s vocalist Jason Williamson is projected on a big screen to sing the words from their track Dirty Rat, an acid-tongued take-down of the anti-immigration brigade “blaming everyone at the bottom of the English Channel.”
It’s a definite highlight and a reminder that Orbital are never ones to shy away from making a political statement, with their visual projections switching seamlessly from geometric patterns to references to the climate crisis and anti-war sentiment.
The only two non-collaborative tracks from said album, The New Abnormal and Requiem For A Pre-Apocalypse, both performed tonight, stand out as classic Orbital — who still manage to bring a touch of early ’90s acid rave to everything they do.
There’s a touch of corn too, doing away with playing their Doctor Who theme sampled live favourite this time around in favour of Spicy, which samples The Spice Girls’ Wannabe, but they pull it off with such fun dynamic charm that it’s hard not to smile, despite what your opinions might be of the quality of the remix.
The two-hour set pays plenty of respect to the old school ravers too, many of whom are in the venue’s seated balcony area, with most of the big bangers like Satan, Chime and Halcyon + On + On blasted out.
But it’s the encore to end all encores that brings everyone to fever pitch with the rarely played dark techno brilliance of Out There Somewhere? Parts 1 and 2 off album In Sides and Lush 3-1/3-2 from Orbital 2 rounding off a barnstorming night.
Orbital play Leeds O2 Academy April 5, Cambridge Corn Exchange April 6, Nottingham Rock City April 7 and the Brighton Centre April 8
