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Loopz
Interview - 2001 |
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We
do intend to write some historic information on how Loopz started
but it may be interesting to read this interview we did on the 8th
June 2001 with Phillipa Norman of the Joystick Junkies website.
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When did you first really get in to Orbital?
It
was around 1990 - I had seen Orbital perform Chime on TOTP which
I thought was interesting but it wasn't until I heard LC1 that I
really took note of their music. I then heard Choice/Midnight ,
got the Green album and that was enough to start the ball rolling. |
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What's
all the fuss about? I mean, what's so great about Orbital?
Personally
I just couldn't believe how much was going on within one track.
Layers on top of layers, all carefully constructed, entwining and
looping together. Hearing them play live just convinced me that
they were very special and at that time…very unique. |
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How many Times have you seen them Live?
That's
a very good question and one I don't have the answer to. I was quite
a normal gig going fan up to the In Sides tour and then I found
the urge to go as much as possible. Last year I saw them 4 times
out of 9 as the majority was around the world and 1999 I saw them
16 times. |
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When and why did you set up the unofficial web site?
It
was around 5 years ago…probably longer than that. I was writing
a paper zine called Loopz at the time and it contained mostly articles,
interviews, music and live gig reviews on Orbital but I did include
other groups I was interested in. The zine was created to promote
the Orbital name to people who hadn't come across their music. I
used to advertise on BBS systems and teletext as I had no access
to the Internet. Finally my work got connected and I learnt about
the online experience. The website was created and hosted in Hong
Kong as that was one of the few places you could get free disk space.
I only had 200K of space but it was enough to inform people over
the internet of the paper zine. |
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Then what happened?
I
slowly built the site up with various articles and I mentioned about
the work I was doing to Paul Hartnoll at a gig. I never knew him
at the time and I think he was amused by the attention. Hyperreal
based in California then contacted me with an offer of a new home
and loads of disk space. Hyperreal generally host information and
activities surrounding music so this was a perfect location for
the site. The website just then grew and grew. I got to know Phil
and Pauls mother after finding out about the location of their pub
in the NME (a very long story…so I wont explain). They got me in
touch with the boyz and I was able to contact them occasionally
for news bits. The then official site contacted me asking if I could
update their site and Loopz as they never had the time. I quit updating
the then official site after a disagreement with the people who
hosted the old site. I explained the situation to Orbital and just
carried on updating Loopz as normal. The old site didn't attract
new visitors just cobwebs as it was neglected. I then arranged a
interview with Orbital at their studio just before the release of
The Saint and it was then that they asked if I would like to make
Loopz official. The old site suddenly disappeared ! |
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Do you make a profit from the site, or is it just a hobby you enjoy?
I
do get some money from the Record Company now, which is good news
because it helps me develop the site and follow Orbital on tour.
It's still classed as a hobby as I have a full time job working
in the IT industry and there is no way I could live with the money
I get from the site. |
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Would you say you are 'friends' with the Orbital crew?
I've
got to know the majority of the people behind Orbital, not just
Phil and Paul and I would class a lot of them as "friends". Not
the kind of friends you would constantly meet up with though. The
music industry is strange like that. You find you get to know a
lot of people and you will always remember who is who but everyone
is doing their own thing and living in different parts of the country.
I think most of them were naturally wary of me at first but not
anymore, they understand what I am about…. I think :) |
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What's your all time favourite Orbital tune and why?
It's
a FAQ and one I don't have the answer for. My favourites constantly
change but at the moment I do have a soft spot for "Impact (The
Earth is Burning)", The Girl With The Sun In Her Head", "Out There
Somewhere", "High Rise", "Choice", "Beelzebeat", "Tootled" and "Spare
Parts Express". Just a few ! |
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Do you think that you help the Orbital cause?
I
would like to think so. That was the whole point of starting Loopz
up them years ago. I do have a few people saying that they wouldn't
have brought this album or seen them live if they hadn't have got
the information from Loopz. |
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How many members do you have currently?
There
are 1640 Members of the mailing list at the moment with a lot of
members using the forums as a form of communication. |
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Do you have any particularly loyal members?
There
are quite a few that appear to be spending a lot of their time chatting
and discussing the world of Orbital. Paul and Phil and other people
within the Orbital camp visit the forums just to see what's being
written as well. There are quite a few people that I am in constant
email contact with. |
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Do you get many nutters in the chat forum?
I
wouldn't say we have the complete oddball in the forums as yet but
there are some very strong characters that can give the impression
that they could by psycho. Haha. |
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Do you make music yourself?
Like
most people, ive attempted to make music but the results are just
terrible. I don't really get enough time and I certainly haven't
got the patience to be a musician. |
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Have you ever DJ'd at a mates party?
Not
a mates party but we run infrequent music nights in Birmingham called
Open Minded (www.om-music.co.uk).
We play a mixture of electronica, IDM and experimental music with
the whole of idea of introducing the crowd to some new tunes. The
crowd has to have an open mind just to sit through the four hours
- it's a good test! |
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Do you follow Orbital around the globe?
Ive
been to Dublin a few times and last year I managed to get Athens
for one of the gigs but that's about it so far. I intend to go to
a few places this year depending on the money and work situation. |
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What are they like as people? Ie arrogant? Down to earth?…
They
are both really friendly. Im not just saying that neither, I was
quite surprised how normal they are. Both have their witty sense
of humour and don't appear to be affected by the music business. |
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Apart from Orbital, name your top four favourite groups.
In
no order I would have to say Autechre, Board of Canada, Plaid and
Higher Intelligence Agency. |
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Can we have a mugshot of you please?
If
you must! :) |
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Did you used to go to all those festivals/free parties in the 90's?
What
festivals/free parties? :) I missed out on a lot of things in the
early 90s because none of my mates were into the same music as me.
I found myself going to a lot of gigs on my own so I missed out
on the early "rave" scene. |
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Interview
conducted by Phillipa Norman |
No
data on/from this page can be used without written permission |
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