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The
Altogether
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Info
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| Orbital
released their long awaited follow-up to the 1999 album, "The
Middle of Nowhere" through FFrr/London Records on the 30th
April 2001. The Eleven track release produced by Mickey Mann and
Orbital was called "The Altogether". The album was recorded
over a space of a year at Orbital's London studio. Final mixes were
carried out at The Strongroom where further mixes in 5.1 were completed. |
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 DVD 5:1 Mix Recording |
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The album mostly contains short electronic "songs" which, on occasion, feature the vocal talents of their friends David Gray & Naomi Bedford, along with a host of unlikely cameos in sample form courtsey of US "metal" band Tool, Gothic-rockabilly headcases The Cramps, erstwhile "Doctor" Tom Baker, Steve Ignorant of Anarchist punk outfit Crass and the sadly missed genius of Ian Dury (to name a few). "The Altogether" comprises eleven very different pieces of music. The sounds rage from Shockabilly with post-Gabba undertones ("Tension"), to the sleazy funk of "Pay Per View", the aching melancholia of "Illuminate", to the cyber-surf musik of "Waving Not Drowning". By the time BBC TV commissioned Orbital to provide the music for the "Doctor Who Night", the Hartnoll's version of the theme had already become one of the highlights of their live set. Two years later and in response to the many requests from those disappointed that the track could only be heard at gigs, Paul and Phil decided to re-record it for the inclusion on the album. The final track, "Meltdown" is a version of a piece of music commissioned for the South Bank Centre's festival of the same name in the year it was curated for Scott Walker. Here it appears in its ten minute incarnation, whilst the full twentyfour minute version will be made available on the DVD release. |
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Additional
Info - DVD
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Brothers Phil and Paul Hartnoll wanted to experiment with the 5.1 surround sound provided by the DVD format and have exploited the visual possibilities of DVD’s multi-layering capabilities with the help of producer Tracy Bass. |
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 DVD 5:1 Mix Recording |
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Phil Hartnoll explained: “The DVD format gave us the 5.1 surround that we’d wanted to use, but it also gave the opportunity to put some visual content in. We didn’t really want to go down the “ambient TV” route with fractals all over the screen… so we came up with the idea for each track on the album to have its own visuals.” Phil added: “I’m really pleased with the way the whole thing has come together. I’ve been overwhelmed by the enthusiasm that everyone has shown for the project.” Initially Orbital’s record company was unsure about the whole “DVD album” concept, which the band believes has not been tried before. However, after Phil and Paul demonstrated what they could do mixing the album in 5.1, the record company became very enthusiastic about the project. You can read more about the Pay Per View part of the DVD including an interview with Grant Fulton who was given the task of directing the video. There are also a few surreal advert mpgs taken from the video that you can download. Click HERE to visit the Pay Per View Video page. Reached Number 3 in the DVD Music Charts |
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| Navigate through a whole new world of interactive sound and vision | ||||
Click on image for larger view - taken from Altogether DVD |
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Track
Name
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| 1. | Tension | |||
| 2. | Funny Break (One is Enough) | |||
| 3. | oi! | |||
| 4. | Pay Per View | |||
| 5. | Tootled | |||
| 6. | Last Thing | |||
| 7. | Doctor ? | |||
| 8. | Shadows | |||
| 9. | Waving Not Drowning | |||
| 10. | Illuminate | |||
| 11. | Meltdown | |||
| Visit
http://www.real.com
to download Real Player G2 (RA Stream) Visit http://www.winamp.com to download Winamp (MP3) |
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Promos
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First CD Promo - 9 Tracks only but contains the 18 minute version of "Meltdown" |
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Second CD Promo - 11 Tracks |
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European Promo - 4 Tracks - Front 
European Promo - 4 Tracks - Back |
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USA Promo - 3 Tracks |
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USA Album Advance Promo - 11 Tracks |
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DVD
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First
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Additional
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Additional
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Additional
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DVD
Press Release
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| Navigate through a whole new world of interactive sound and vision | ||||
| Orbital
create a new world of interactive sound & vision with the release
of the highly innovative DVD version of their latest album The Altogether
through Warner Vision on Monday August 27th 2001. Orbital have embraced the exciting creative potential of DVD, collaborating with award winning film directors who together have helped to make Phil and Paul's ideas a reality. The Altogether DVD contains a video for each song and allows the viewer to navigate through a virtual world accessing hidden tracks. There is also the choice of three audio options, multi-angle viewing, randomise play, Internet options, a video game, cutting-edge design, stunning animation and a series of film interpretations that go way beyond the conventional pop promo. Recorded in 5.1 Surround Sound, The Altogether DVD was designed to create a compelling and meaningful interface to take the disc beyond just an illustrated album. "Tension" - in the attic, piles of abandoned consumer goods come out to play. "Funny Break" - the amazing girl in a suitcase filmed at London Zoo's storage depot. "Oi!" - inspired by Heath Robinson, contraptions. Watch as two giant, marauding robotic dolls destroy Paris. "Pay Per View" - a surveillance theme functioning on three layers. A straight music video, it's audio track creates a short film and a wall of commercials running for the duration of the track. "Doctor?" - a homage to the Doctor's original titles brought bang up to date. "Waving Not Drowning" - Brian Cant as the frustrated director of a new children's TV programme. Which window will we go through today to access another tune? "Meltdown" - the full twenty four-minute version of the track Orbital composed as part of Scott Walker's "Meltdown" project. "Funny Peculiar" - a behind the scenes glimpse of the making of the "Funny Break" video. Welcome to the play factory and prepare to take a trip. You can't just listen, you can't merely watch, The Altogether will engage, enrage and delight. |
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Media
Reviews
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Virgins Next Week Essential Purchase - 'Orbital's
much-anticipated new album is a breathtakingly diverse and assured
brew of cyber-po, sleazy funk and shockabilly-tingled electronica.
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| 'During their long reign as one of dance music's most endearing acts, the Orbital sound has rarely changed. The result: five albums of beautiful electronic space-symphonies, blunt dancefloor beats and eccentric cinematic themes. And so to album six, 2001's The Altogether. From the start, it's clear that this is no ordinary Orbital album. Gone are the space-opuses of old, replaced by rock-sampling instrumentals, what can be described as "techno skiffle" numbers and David Gray collaborations. Of the 11 tracks here, three are punk-sampling breakbeat romps (think 1996 hit Satan), two are full-on vocal numbers and one's a breakneck drum-and-bass tune about rioting (the Scott Walker-inspired Meltdown). Sure, all the familiar elements are here--tracks such as "Pay Per View", "Doctor Who" and "Shadows" are classic Orbital--but they're no longer the most dominant themes. While fans may find The Altogether uncomfortable listening at first, it's easily the Hartnolls' most varied album to date. Within its 60 minutes lies some of the duo's most inventive and enjoyable music in years. This is a real mixed bag, for sure, but one that demands repeat listens. --Matt Anniss ' - Amazon | ||||
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'There's a view that Orbital's career has been a long war
between the iconoclastic Hartnoll brothers and the forces of commercialism
at London Records. If so, this is only a pyrrhic victory for A&R
man Pete Tong, for while The Altogether contains "short" songs,
the crowd-pleasing Dr Who, and proper vocals (from Phil Hartnoll's
brother-in-law David Gray) it's also their spikiest, most experimental
in some time. The ex-punks have even acknowledged their roots by
sampling Ian Dury, The Cramps and Crass. The Altogether starts brilliantly with Tension - techno scripted by Ed Wood - and Tootled, all heavy metal jabs and rushing air. Funny Break (One Is Enough) is another high point, recalling the tinged-with-sadness euphoria of Belfast and Halcyon. However, with Oi! and Pay Per View, Orbital are in the strung-out, jazz-inflected place they last visited on 1994's Snivilisation. It isn't all great: the David Gray alliance is a doleful one that does few favours either to Orbital or the multi-platinum singer-songwriter. And, in stark contrast to their finest work (1993's "brown" album, 1999's The Middle Of Nowhere), the magic moments never add up to an epic, morphing whole. A mild disappointment perhaps, but Orbital's reputation as one of the best live bands in Britain will be undiminished.' . -- 3 stars - Rob Fearn - Q Magazine |
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'If the last two Orbital albums – ‘Snivilisation’ and ‘In
Sides’ – were something of an introspective retreat for the Hartnoll
brothers, the opening to ‘The Altogether’ immediately dispels any
fears that the elder statesmen of techno skiffle have gone permanently
soft. ‘Tension’ sounds like The Chemical Brothers at their very best, a rip-roaring prelude to the most eclectic mix of Orbital tracks heard to date. Their first single, ‘Funny Break (One is Enough)’, is a throwback to the spine-tingling vocal brilliance of 'Belfast' and by some distance the finest Orbital release since those heady days of the early 90s. ‘Last Thing’ is a thinly disguised rewind to the whistles and bleeps of the old skool, while ‘Tootled’ – a kind of Clash meets New Order - is best described as punk electro. ‘Doctor Who’, a cornerstone of the Orbital live show, adds a touch of the comic to the cultured, but as Paul Hartnoll says, "There’s an awful lot of play safe nowadays. Anyone getting funny is good." If any one track on the album encapsulates how Orbital have lifted themselves from the doldrums of the mid-nineties, it is the antithetical ‘Waving Not Drowning’ – a play on Stevie Smith’s eternally depressing early 70s poem, ‘Not Waving But Drowning’. A chirpy guitar-led piece of psychedelia, it wouldn’t be out of place on an Austin Powers soundtrack. If there is one blot amid the 11 tracks, it has to be ‘Illuminate’, which is ruined by Tina Turner soundalike David Gray and will surely be the next single. The drum ‘n’ bass chaos of closing track ‘Meltdown’ sees the pioneering pair pass off as Andy C before winding down blissfully into a System 7 soundscape. Never bereft of a dull moment and far from predictable, ‘The Altogether’ stops short of brilliance, but it is a treat for Orbital fans, especially Phil and Paul’s proud mum and dad, who have never missed a performance by their boys.' . -- 8/10 - The Base/Carlton TV |
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