Front page	From the Event Guide archive! This article refers to an event which took place on, or until, 04 June 2006 Music Interview – Alex Paterson/The Orb Okie Dokie - It's The Orb  It is over fifteen years since Alex Paterson’s soothing sample of Minnie Riperton’s ‘Loving You’ announced his arrival. Who knew then that The Orb would release a forty-minute single (‘Blue Room’) and the longest track title ever? (‘Huge Ever-Growing Pulsating Brain that Ruled from the Centre of the Ultraworld’) That is, until George Clinton gets wind of it. Paterson was part of the 1980’s London squat scene where he met Jimmy Cauty. They formed The Orb in 1990, “it was clear that we were for a new generation – we weren’t Pink Floyd”. He saw this as a natural evolution – “it basically came from spilling out of clubs at three in the morning and ending up at someone’s house.” Paterson started an ambient room in London club Land of Oz, introducing ravers to the joys of Led Zeppelin. Then The Orb released that long-titled long single (twenty-three minutes precisely).  As a teenager in south London in the early ‘70’s, he got involved with the local black community and taught people how to play chess, for which he was paid in reggae albums “the Mighty Diamonds, the Abyssinians, and Bob Marley.” He continues to love reggae, but electronic music is his muse and he first heard Cluster when he roadied for Killing Joke (in Neuss, a small town outside Düsseldorf where they were then based). Naturally Kraftwerk are inspirations and he is proud to have had two of them in his flat. “They sat cross-legged on the floor and said ‘vot is this thing called DJ’ing all about then?’ They were exactly as you would expect: black shirts and ties, very serious. They didn’t accept the joint I offered them, but without Kraftwerk, I can’t imagine what modern music would be like. Techno, which has been the mainstay of dance music for the last fifteen years, stems entirely from them.” Part of Paterson’s charm is his restless imagination and his enthusiasm as both a listener and a musician. This is why The Orb’s career has been so interesting and has taken in ‘Little Fluffy Clouds’ and ‘Bicycles and Tricycles’ along the way. His eclectic taste is evidenced in his instalment in the ‘Back to Mine’ series that takes in Aphex Twin to Chi-Lites and Julee Cruise. His first ever record was ‘Electric Warrior’ by T-Rex which happily survived the theft he endured in the ‘80’s. He is something of a sage (“I am 44 and I shall play 4/4”) and has been involved in so many parts of the process it would be impossible to definitively list them. The Orb’s ‘chat boards’ pre-date the web and they are legends of dance music, but Paterson remains modest - “I’m not the sort of person that gloats in my own glory, or bathes in my own milk”. Siobhán Kane talks to him before The Orb’s attendance at the Garden Party.  You once said, “we’re the ones that send everyone to sleep at the end of the night, that’s what we’ve been doing for the past ten years. We use dance rhythms, but on a chilled out level.”  Well that’s different innit! I wasn’t stoned, I suppose?  There is an atmospheric, cinematic quality to your records; do you approach making music as conceptual compositions?  We take everyday sounds and try to add melodies of distant memories that give us a sense of attachment.  Early inspirations include Grosses Wasser by Cluster, and Music for Films by Brian Eno, what other artists continue to inspire?  Silver Apples, John Barry, King Tubby, Harry Nilsson, T-Rex, Kompakt Artistes, Thomas Fehlmann, Can, Stones Throw Records, Jaylib, Quasimoto, Lou Reed, Marvin Gaye, Slum Village, last and not least J Dilla!  Your music sits well in large spaces, almost in communion with the sky, so the Garden Party will be perfect for you. Can you think of any festival experiences where you have thought, ‘this is special’?  Lots! Glastonbury ’93, Woodstock ’94, Nimes Roman Theatre ’95, Rainbow 2000 on Mount Fuji ’97, The Gorge (Area1 Tour ’01). The one that is very special is Trekkoner in Copenhagen when we played on a pontoon in the sea to an island of people. We did a sunset and sunrise set, with Darren Emerson and Dreadzone, DJ Lewis and more in-between. The lights were so good, they closed down Copenhagen airport until 7am – how cool is that?  'Bicycles and Tricycles' was fairly beat-heavy in comparison to a lot of your work. You have an affinity with beats and rhythm – where does this come from?  My background of being a drum roadie for Killing Joke - it’s a love-hate sort of thing; maybe I wanted to be a drummer!  The Orb and KLF are bound up together for so many reasons, not least the common feature of Jimmy Cauty.  I used to roadie for Brilliant – that’s how I got to know James C. We are still mates (just).  Last year you played The Big Chill as Transit Kings – what was the idea behind it, and do you find yourself collaborating for different musical experiences a lot?  Yes. Last year I did play The Big Chill as ‘Transit Kings’ (without James Jimmy Cauty, he has left the building to stamp forever, that’s class!) - we are Guy Pratt, Dom Bekken and myself. The idea was to make an album in five years, not release it and see who is left when we do release it! The album is out in August 2006. It’s called ‘Living in a Giant Candle Winking at God’ on Malicious Damage and we have three 7” releases out before that on MD. See press for details…..  Your company www.badorb.com was great; you did a good service for people who like vinyl, especially in the face of this so-called ‘digital revolution’.  I wish I had more money to carry Badorb on but alas, it’s over and we are no more. Virtual life no more, but alive and kicking still. See TK Orb and Root Masters – vinyl junkie indeed!  I hardly want to remind you of this sad time, but have to ask – is it true that you had most of your immense record collection stolen sometime in the 1980’s?  No but yes! I hid my reggae records behind the front door, they never thought to look there, but everything else went! But it’s all good. That was twenty years ago. When I had my 7” collection stolen in the ‘70’s is another story. Plus me Kiss 98.7FM cassettes lost in the barrier block in Brixton at a squat party in ’85. We stopped the party and found the kid with the cassettes on his person down the road at 2am. That was lucky!  Lastly, can you explain your relationship with Michael Mayer’s Kompakt label and your most recent work on that ‘Okie Dokie it’s The Orb on Kompakt Disco’ as well as work for Malicious Damage and any other projects we can look forward to?  Kompakt is the perfect label for us, as is The Orb with Thomas [Fehlmann]. ‘Okie Dokie it’s The Orb’ was great for all of us – a label with beautiful ears. There’s more to follow. Malicious Damage is sound and I trust them (I know his mum). There’s a new album by The Orb called ‘The Dream’ – singles to be released on Dragonfly (Youth’s label) after September 2006. Plus a single release for ‘Roots Masters’ on Monika. Transits are Fuji Rock this year and The Orb are at T in the Park….see you there or jump off the square. Check MySpace for Transit Kings and The Orb dotcom for coming attractions…it’s enough innit?  The Orb play The Garden Party, Ballinlough Castle, Athboy, Co. Meath on Bank Holiday Sunday 4th June. Gates 2pm – 2am. Tickets are €65/ Event and Shuttle Bus ticket is €90 and are available from all usual outlets and Ticketmaster. Presented by Westmeath Co. Council by arrangement with POD Concerts and Bodytonic Music. www.theorb.com / www.backsideoftheorb.com / www.kompakt.de / www.maliciousdamage.com / www.gardenparty.ie / www.pod.ie / www.bodytonic.ie / www.meathtourism.ie / www.irishtimes.com / www.ticketmaster.ie