Ambient duo and Steve Hillage and David Gilmour collaborators The Orb are to release a career-spanning 2CD and limited-edition quadruple vinyl octagonal set, Orboretum: The Orb Collection, through Cooking Vinyl on October 25.
Compiled by founding member Dr. Alex Patterson, the new set features new and rare mixes, stretching back to 1991's The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld and A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules From The Centre Of The Ultraworld and Little Fluffy Clouds all the way through to recent albums such as Abolition Of The Royal Familia (2020) and Prism (2023).
“I don’t want The Orb to end up milking it like Roxy Music, who were always cranking out another best-of, although we did release the History Of The Future best-of in 2013, and its part 2 in 2015 to be fair," says Patterson. "We have such a gigantic catalogue though, that sometimes even I need a reminder of what I’ve done, especially these days. This is a sort of director’s cut, reframing our output, making new neuro pathways, and new juxtapositions. Some of these tracks are 30 years apart, but there are clear through lines, a continuum."
Orboretum will be available on colour vinyl, in an octagonal 4LP set, with sleevenotes by Prog writer Kris Needs. Each side of vinyl is pressed on a transparent colour green, lilac, orange and blue, grouped by Patterson to represent the 4 seasons, hence its botanical title, collecting the band's work for Universal Records across discs A and B, whilst discs C and D explore their music for indie labels Cooking Vinyl, Kompakt, Malicious Damage, and Liquid Sound Design. In addition, it will also be available on 2CD and digitally.
You can view the vinyl artwork and full tracklisting below.
The Orb: Orboretum: The Orb Collection
4LP Vinyl
Side A
1. ‘A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules From The Centre Of The Ultraworld’ (Orbital Dance Mix)
2. ‘Little Fluffy Clouds’ (Ambient Mix 1)
3. ‘Perpetual Dawn’ (2024 version)
4. ‘Blue Room (7" Radio Mix)
Side B
1. ‘Pomme Fritz’ (Meat 'N Veg)
2. ‘Asylum’ (7" Edit)
3. ‘Oxbow Lakes’ (Sabres No. 1 Mix)
4. ‘Once More’ (Scourge Of The Earth Long Mix)
Side C
1. ‘Toxygene’
2. ‘Gee Strings’
3. ‘Aftermath’ (LP Version)
4. 'Lunik’ (Komplott E.P. Version)
5. ‘Dilmun’
Side D
1. ‘Captain Korma’
2. ‘From a Distance’ (Blast Master v The Corporal)
3. ‘Appletree In My Back Yard’ (Abakus Remix
4. ‘Ghostdancing’ (Version)
Side E
1. ‘Vuja De’ (Gaudi Remix)
2. ‘DDD’ (Dirty Disco Dub) (Belka & Strelka Remix)
3. ‘Golden Clouds’
4. ‘Fussball’
Side F
1. ‘Metallic Spheres In Colour’ - Round Side (2024 Edit)
2. ‘Alpine Morning’
3. ‘Doughnuts Forever’
4. ‘Rush Hill Road’
Side G
1. ‘Pillow Fight @ Shag Mountain’ (Radio Edit)
2. ‘Wish I Had a Pretty Dog’
3. ‘Daze In Dub’ (98.7 Kiss FM Mix)
4. ‘Hawk Kings’ (Oseberg Buddhas Buttonhole)
5. ‘Say Cheese’ (Siberian Tiger Cookie Mix)
Side H
1. ‘AAA’ (Violeta Vicci Remix Hung, Drawn & Quartered)
2. ‘Why Can You Be In Two Places At Once, When You Can’t Be Anywhere At All’
3. ‘H.O.M.E.’ (High Orbs Mini Earth)
2CD
Disc 1
1. ‘A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules From The Centre Of The Ultraworld’ (Orbital Dance Mix)
2. ‘Little Fluffy Clouds’ (Ambient Mix 1)
3. ‘Perpetual Dawn’ (2024 Version)
4. ‘Pomme Fritz’ (Meat 'N Veg)
5. ‘Blue Room’ (Radio 7")
6. ‘Oxbow Lakes’ (Sabres No. 1 Mix)
7. ‘Toxygene’
8. ‘Asylum’ (7" Edit)
9. ‘Once More’ (Scourge Of The Earth Long Mix)
10. ‘Ghostdancing’ (Version)
11. ‘Gee Strings’
12. ‘Aftermath’ (LP Version)
13. ‘From a Distance’ (Blast Master v The Corporal)
14. ‘Dilmun’
Disc 2
1. ‘Lunik’ (Komplott E.P. Version)
2. ‘Captain Korma’
3. ‘Appletree In My Back Yard’ (Abakus Remix)
4. ‘DDD’ (Dirty Disco Dub) (Belka & Strelka Remix)
5. ‘Metallic Spheres In Colour - Round Side’ (2024 Edit)
6. ‘Golden Clouds’
7. ‘Fussball’
8. ‘Pillow Fight @ Shag Mountain’ (Radio Edit)
9. ‘Rush Hill Road’ (Radio Edit)
10. ‘Doughnuts Forever’
11. ‘Daze’ (Missing & Messed Up Mix)
12. ‘Hawk Kings’ (Oseberg Buddhas Buttonhole)
13. ‘AAA’ (Violeta Vicci Remix (Hung, Drawn & Quartered))
14. ‘H.O.M.E.’ (High Orbs Mini Earth)
