Strange Cargo III

I often wonder whether albums like this are made for people to actually enjoy....or whether they're made for hi-fi nerds to boast about how great the plinky-plonks sound through their speakers (they sounded awesome through mine)

Man, this started off so promising…Some processed guitar creating an ethereal ambient soundscape. Then like 30 seconds in, forget about that guitar, here’s some hard-panned arpeggiated synth out of nowhere. No build up, just whiplash. This dude killed his own vibe in first minute of the record. I’m gonna try not to let my disappointment at that production choice ruin my listen, but man, William Orbit, you played yourself hard. Could’ve been a good song, if you let it breathe. I get why the generator is recommend this record, I’ve given two Air records 5 stars and this is generally in a similar ball park and might be considered a predecessor, stylistically. There’s something that Air has, though, that William Orbit lacks. Air feels very deliberate, their songs unfold smoothly and don’t try to do too much. These songs on Strange Cargo III are clunky as fuck. …and honestly after the fifth song just started, I’m here thinking “I’ve just heard this one, haven’t I?”. Not a good sign on an hour long, 11 track LP. Maybe I should have taken ecstasy back in the 90’s, perhaps that was the key to unlocking an appreciation for this type of music. I don’t know, but so far, 210 records in, I’ve found the vast majority of 90’s electronica on this list to range anywhere from highly annoying to completely underwhelming. This record falls exactly in the middle of that spectrum. It’s like the worst of both worlds. If it was just annoying, it’d be one thing; I could just turn it off. As it is, there’s enough of a glimmer of “good” to keep me thinking that William Orbit might get it together and turn this into a decent record by the end. Spoiler Alert: He doesn’t.

It’s music, I guess. I’m sure someone likes it

So then, mood music. Not often my thing, especially this version, which dumbly apes what they think 'peaceful' sounds like without realising that isn't enough to make people feel at peace. Broad brush approaches only creates greater distance from the listener. As with lyrics, specificity is what allows them to grab hold of the song, clamber in and find their own way to those feelings. These sounds are so washed out with generalisations that there's no chance of that.

I liked this in a very calm and non-threatening way. There are some nice sounds here. It makes you realise how much this genre needed Aphex Twin and Boards of Canada though.

This feels like background music for a '90s heist movie montage where the tech guy is sneaking into the mainframe to hack all the cameras as a setup to the final heist at the end of the movie.

In the early 90s I was a DJ at this local, publicly-funded, alternative radio station. Certain songs were in rotation and we had to play those at certain times so that they got played a specific number of times per day. If there was time left before the next required song we could pick out a song of our choice that wasn't in rotation as long as it fit in with the format. Because of this I hated having to play long songs, I wanted the world (or at least the part of Western New York State that was in our small listening area) to hear what amazing taste I had. "Water From a Vine Leaf" the seven minute leadoff track from this album was my bete noire. Now when I listen to it and the rest of "Strange Cargo III," especially on some good headphones I really appreciate it.

It was a trip listen to it with my eyes closed on my way home back from work. Great tracks overall

Boring

No wonder it’s not available in Apple Music in the US.

I was not prepared for how much I would love this album. Like, I thought "oh hahah college raves and video games soundtracks." Then it played and I can't describe how immediately I loved it. Track after track, too. Listened to it twice because I didn't want it to end. So, I guess I should listen to William Orbit more and just let go of the electronica stigma.

Study music

Another pleasant surprise, some enjoyable Electronica dance music.

Das pendelt erstmal so rum zwischen ganz interessant (hätte ich damals noch besser gefunden als z.B. Orbital) und zeitlos schlimmer Esoterik. Findet sich dann, nachdem man sich hörbar deutlich bei Andrew Weatherall und The Orb bedient hat aber letztlich in so Ralf Hildenbeutel/Sven Väthschem Ibizasphärengedudel, das damals sicher nicht weh tat, anschließend aber auch nicht gut gealtert ist. Und dann hört man auch schon raus, was er 6 Jahre später auf z.B. Madonnas Ray of Light perfektioniert hat. Naja. So wegweisend finde ich dieses Album jedenfalls nicht. 2,7 reichen völlig aus.

This is okay as background noise for other activities, so I guess 2 stars or D- would be a suitable rating.

Ambient techno is not something you sit down to listen to. It's something that's on in a hipster coffee house while the surly barista takes your order. This feels like the music that plays over the opening credits of a 90s movie about shady stockbrokers. This album is a chore already. It's hard to focus on the quality of the album because it is designed to be on at a speakeasy as background music. Seriously, this is the score to a movie about computer hackers working against the government until they realize they were being used and were working for the government the whole time and then they take down the rogue agent who ran the whole operation. This is like the alternate soundtrack for the Matrix. Someone has definitely tried to sync this album up to a movie at some point. This is like the Dust Brothers' Fight Club soundtrack if instead of fighting they got high the whole movie and sat around a pretentious club all night. I bet this is Moby's favorite album and, to quote Eminem, he can get stomped by Obie...nobody listens to techno. The Monkey King is in the movie Heat. The whole thing sounds like an demo tape for someone trying to score films. Another album where there is no telling when it ends even when a new album starts on Spotify.

I was hooked

I very much enjoyed this. Earlier than I was expecting, from William Orbit. Some other comments on here about how it sounds great on good headphones, or high-end speakers. Can confirm.

This is a great instrumental album that spans a number of genres but is also definitively ‘80s. Definitely worth repeat listens.

beauty..... there is beauty in everythingg... mahtavaa elektro kikkailua! perjantai-iltaa.. kamalaaa.. parantaa hiukan... se jo hirmutyö... Jag ville träffa Annel För jag visste att den fortfarande letade efter mig Livet gav inte mycket Regnbågen slutade vid godiskiosken De som kräktes vid restaurangbordet blev utskrattade.... Jag ska till Norra Karelen Jag byter jeans till träningsbyxor Hem till Norra Karelen Jag dricker kalya tills solen går upp... joka paikkaan sattuu... ai vittu... erityisesti päähän... oispa kuuro... noh heh... ehkä ei tarvi... into the paradise

Gorgeous and atmospheric.

A relatively different genre, love it. From people's comments I think this one has no lyrics. Electronica seems fun, plus Spotify takes the music as trip hop and down tempo, which are really good to me. Just yesterday I was listening to aphex twin's one album on repeat while reading a book, basically the album is book's soundtrack and this album makes me feel like it could be some book's soundtrack too, just it's short, but in this case that's good, I don't like spending 2 hours rating each song. First song, it was quiet and when I started writing the beat came in and it sounds so good on laptop, it'd be so much better in headphones. Ouuuu the beat came in, love iiit already. Oh nevermind, this is the most listened track on the album, it'll get worse, I thought otherwise. It's progressing in the electronic sense. Oh someone's talking, one guy said it's his girlfriend. Just put my headphones on and it's SO MUCH BETTER. Nah the sound is so playful to my ears. This song isn't annoying that it's long. One of the best things is, he changes the vibe quickly while maintaining a same aura, cool as fuck. It's fading away like expected. Second song, amazing guitar start I'm hooooked. There's no lyrics in Spotify, but he talked a little. AAAAAAH THE BEAAAAT I LOVE THIS MAN. It's so dancey and gothy. This is what I mean by good down tempo and trip hop. Feels like Portishead plus there's this woman vocalising. THE BASSSS MY GOD. I want this on speakers immediatelyyy, someone said, did he made this album for someone to flex their speakers and now I totally get it. I feel digitalised with these new sounds. He worked with Madonna on MDNA, love that album, NO WAY RAY OF LIGHT TOO? THAT ALBUM HAS THIS ONE'S VIBE LITERALLY, I love this man too much now. Katie Melua, he produced her album, she's Georgian and IM FUCKING GEORGIAN WTF. He is connected to me like that and I just found out, this is more than a 5 star album already, I'm spiritually connected. Shit I was distracted to listen to the song with full attention, but I loooved it. Third song, a little piano I see, with electronic beats in the background. Ohh his voice for the first time. This one's more chill. It's kinda jazzy. What's wize tho? He has a good voice, addicting. He's not singing tho, just talking kinda fast. Forgot to say I looove the album art, it's different and caught my attention the first time I saw it, it's too unforgettable yk. The piano is the best part. Smn said they play this kinda songs during heist stealing, but in a bad way, and I see it, though it doesn't make it bad for me. Wish songs transitioned tho. 4th song, it's eerie already. Ooooo the bass came in. Kinda basic, nevermind the violins and piano made it better. This one's more romantic than dancey and cunty as before. Oh vibe fully changed, feels like a movie scene, too lazy to come up with one. Aaand it started all again. This was quite short, and loved it less, but still good. 5th song, a much better start than the last song, feels like a medical series start, in a good way. It's giving nightclub in its way now. Woman is talking, seductively I think. There is men screaming for one second and then vocalising for a little time on repeat. There was no sonical plot twist, NEVERMIND IT SLOWLY GOT SLOW. It's giving loftr somehow. 6th song, ambient start. Alien sounds. Piano is playing with pauses. I'm gonna continue this tomorrow, because it's night now and I have to charge my headphones, tomorrow tho I can have it on full volume to fully experience the songs. I'm back. Started this one again, and amazing beat drop like ma god. The vocals are quite good too. It's so repetitive, but somehow in the best way possible. Beat was gone was for some time and now it's back in business. Same happened and only piano is playing with ambient sounds in the background. It's guitar now and it's getting kinda louder, but also fading away. Loved this one too. 7th song, loud and noisy start. Ambient sound is over surfacing the noise. Weird instrument is playing and there's no beat that backs it up. Russian guy talking I think. Beat came, but kinda blandly. Russian woman talking now. Melting my brain with those alien sounds wtff, in a good way tho. It's rocky now with that electric guitar. The beat opened after guitar finished and that was too satisfying. Spanish woman now slayy, she's the best part of the song tbh, cunty and girlboss vibes she brought with that lyrical delivery. The overall vibe changes a lot in one song and I love that, like now it's slow and some kind of a piano is playing. Drums? Ohhh it's tropical now, water sounds and all too. It was afro beat for a second there I think. Shit now it's rock again‽ It's getting progressive and now faded away. Too much for one song if you ask me. 8th song, slow start, but clear sounds. It's kinda sad. Oooh definitely sad with that piano. This man can do production too well I'm afraid. Ohh the beat is unexpectedly fast and dancey, but also alien-like. Now it's Arabic with a glimpse of jazzyness. Ambientness came back. This is a whole adventure goddamn. It's giving mission impossible now. Different type of piano is playing. I'm transcending, this needs lyrics immediately, but also they would ruin the general goodness of all of this. From sad to dancey again, basically same genre bending happened now too, I expect Arabic now. It's afro beat drums rn. It's rare when I fully explain what happens in the song, but this is too fun not to do it. 9th song, quite a short song for him tbh. It's ambient with some snapping once in a while. Makes me feel like I'm in water. Idk why but this sounds makes me feel like some sword is shinning. Ooo the beat and Camelot woman is talking. It's giving Patti Smith in those experimental poetry sessions, Medea is one of the songs if I remember correctly. Arabic woman vocalising, at least that's how I hear it. Rather short, if there were more talking of that women I'd like the song more. 10th song, ambient start as expected. It's giving underground. Some experimental sounds randomly appearing. Omg I zoned out and this villainy sound started playing and It snapped me back, it feels like a monkey king is the final boss. There are African men saying something in the background and then women also saying smth after it, but they all sound weird. There was no beat drop here, unless when I zoned out it happened then. 11th song, fully different start, no ambient sound just some instrument. There are water sounds in the background, that's the one I can name others are random and weird in a good way. French talking I think I hear of a woman. There was a familiar instrument dunno the name in English tho. Without the beat it's so Aphex Twin, plus it's eerie. Bitch what what is retchie doing here someone said and then there was some exploding sounds, loved that, wondering where is it from. There's a weird beat in my right ear, makes me think of a tongue. Giving Sophie now, almost like ship sounds and it suddenly stopped. This was the weirdest one by far I think. 12th song, veeery short. It got a happy sound, movie is finishing. Dunno how he chose the names for the songs tho. It has piano in it, that's the one I can name lol. There are different sounds all at once if you pay attention. This one was also not as good as it should have been, the dancey beat is missing and it's making the vibe go bad. Overall it was a good finish up of the album tho I must say. I already said this is more than just a 5 star album because of the artist. Not gonna repeat all that tho. Each song was a new adventure and I expected so much less at first, but I was already happy it was electronica, trip hop and down tempo, and I've just gotten into ambient sounds, this might be my next book's soundtrack. Need more albums like this, but I need a little break from just instrumental sounds and need more lyrics.

This is making it into my rotation, 100%. LOVED it.

(Voiceover) Imagine a world where time drifts slowly. A world where music carries you away. Experience Pure Moods, the perfect soundtrack for your way of life. Direct from Europe, this multi-platinum collection has won the hearts of millions. Set adrift with the timeless pleasures of Water From a Vine Leaf. Or take a trip into the unknown with Deus Ex Machina. No other collection gives you the feeling of Pure Moods. (Lyrics) Hey yaiiiiy hiiiiiiii ohhhhhAAIIIIII HWAIIIAAY YA

I must admit I thought this was Orbital at first. Same but different. Anyway, I totally got into this album, right up my alley. Faves: Water From A Vine Leaf, Into The Paradise, A Touch Of The Night

Ambient enough to use as background noise but interesting enough to pay attention to as a stand alone experience. Great working/study music

Muy buen disco. Una de las pocas músicas ambientales que escucharía genuinamente.

What an awesome surprise this album has been! I wasn't sure what to anticipate with no knowledge of this artist at all, but I’m thoroughly impressed. As a fan of instrumental music, I'm happy to incorporate this album into my rotation and explore William Orbit's work. After listening to the first few tracks, I thought the sound reminded me of some of Madonna's work in the 90's. Turns out, he worked with her in that era. How interesting! Replay: "Water From a Vine Leaf," "Time to Get Wize," "Gringatcho Demento," and honestly almost every track from this album. Skip: "Deus Ex Machina"

Excellent! Inspiring. Really loved this.

Favorites: Water from a Vine Leaf, A Touch of the Night, Gringatcho Demento. Excellent mostly non-vocal trance.

really enjoyed the whole album

It's pretty great. I liked Water from a Vine Leaf, Time to Get Wise, The Story of Light, and many others.

When I first listened, I was a bit distracted trying to focus on other tasks at the same time. I liked what I had heard, but did I love it? I don't know, I needed a second listen. On second listen, it was much more clear...Love it is.

I listened to this at work and started it over as soon as it finished. Very pleasant background music. I listened again during my walking/bus commute and was pleased that it held up in that context as well. Some tracks are a mellow dance groove, some are gentle and floaty, some are noisy but with a thumping bass line. I can hear some of you asking, how much electronica do we need? And I say, lots!

Fabulous electronic music. Loved the groove.

Awesome album . loved it very much

I guess this is my jam. Never heard this before, but this is the kind of music that just fits a perfect night of thinking or working or chilling. An ambient, trancey vibe that doesn't stick itself out to far, but are all smooth and cool.

Super good electro!!

Me encantó, todas sus canciones encajan de excelente manera

Amazingly beautiful

Trippy af

This is what I came here for.

COOL

Really good but he absolutely blue balled me with those first two songs, my expectations were set at Groove Armada style bang fest but it was more of a freaky experimental electronic exploration - not saying I didn't enjoy the journey but I think the first couple of songs would've been better placed dispersed throughout rather than as false expectation setters at the start. GIVE ME MORE BANGERS, WILLIAM

Wow! Great stuff!

skemmtilegt að studera þennan gaur

I am here for William and his Strange melodies. Brian Eno-esque in all the right ways, with a little bit of world music vocals and groovy Thievery Corporation beats.

Excelente disco! El primer 5!! Aca esta la base del lo que fue ese tremendo disco de Madonna, Ray of Ligth.

I love 90s electronica

chingón!!!

Cool electronic sound. Actually listened to it twice.

Great work music, love it

I liked it a lot! It sounds like the perfect soundtrack to listen to in the car while returning from a hardcore punk concert.

Fav: Harry Flowers Least Fav: The Monkey King Very relaxing, but I couldn’t help but feel that the album dragged on towards the end. Still, it was an enjoyable album

Very good sound. Not particularly distinctive but I like the genre

nice background focus music. reminds me a bit of chemical brothers but probably a precursor to that because of the amount of instrumentation and global influences involved here. i don't really have too many specific thoughts though...the songs with vocalists were nice too but i'm not sure i would return to any of it per se.

It's electronic music with some global influences. Good, although not jaw-dropping in a now-crowded field. Favorite track: probably "The Story of Light."

There are some low points for, but I give him some points for some Mike Oldfieldian moments.....Water Babies is 4 minute Mike Oldfield reminiscent track so gotta rate this high. I may have been drinking and not that into other tracks, but this and some weed...well I'm rating. May regret this later.

William Orbit's unlikely trajectory to the toppermost of the poppermost can very well be traced to Strange Cargo III. The final installment of the Strange Cargo series sees the electronic producer take on any and all soundscapes that could be bent to his well, becoming crafted into impeccable compositions along the way. It is obvious, going deeper into this album, why acts such as Madonna and Blur flocked to him at the turn of the millennium; Strange Cargo III is anything but. Favorites: Water From a Vine Leaf, Into the Paradise, Time to Get Wize, Harry Flowers, A Hazy Shade of Random, Best Friend, Paranoia, Water Babies.

People on this website don't usually jive with this kind of music, but I enjoyed it. Cool ethereal vibes

Kivaa elektronista, instrumentaalista musiikkia. Kappaleissa hämärä ja jännittävä fiilis. Osittain myös kivan ambienttia, varsinkin Deus Ex Machina. Parhaat: The Monkey King, A Touch Of The Night

A good album to study to. Mellow trip hop electronica. Well done.

Electronic but maybe a little trance? I don’t know but I liked it. Smaller doses instead of the full album would be enjoyable.

Oh goddamn. When was the last time anyone thought about William Orbit? There’s a lot going on here. Absolutely of its time. So many DJs popped up around then. A lot of them got exposure doing remixes and CD single bonus tracks. If memory serves, this guy did remixes for Bjork’s Post album. Those kinds of CDs were a challenge to hunt down, and it was a gamble if any of the tracks were good. Makes me want to dig through up the old CD binders. I like this. Thought it would be tedious, but it’s actually pretty good. Relaxed, loungy background music for disco naps, or working on projects. Mellow but not boring or cloying. 4/5

This is the perfect album to play at about 3 in the morning after a few pints, and not at 10 in the evening after listening to Motörhead. But that's my fault. It dragged on a bit too long for me.

There are quite a few 90s UK electronica albums in this list, this one has been one the best so far.

Somewhat interresting, a bit long but generally enjoyable. Good enough to get (just) 4 stars.

Fedt også med noget anderledes

William Orbit's music is an interesting compilation of styles. He makes dance music with ambient backgrounds, pushing towards genres that he helped develop, like trip hop and progressive house. Strange Cargo III is his fourth solo album, and the third in a series that experimented with ambient influences. Volume III is his most polished, and most successful of these albums. Orbit made fun, influential dance tracks created from the fusion of styles that Orbit made popular. .

nice sound tracks

83/100

Good ambience music, the kind of chill-out bar vibes. I guess it's not really designed to pay a huge amount of attention to it so I just kind of left it as background noise and thought about my own stuff - once I did that I actually enjoyed it.

Entrancing

I really dig the vibe of this. It’s ambient but funky. Great chill music. It’s something I would’ve listened to in college for sure. I’m surprised I didn’t know of this group then.

This is straight up 90s vibes in a beautiful nutshell.

I do rather like downtempo electronica with a sprinkling of world music, and this is a competent (and pretty early!) example of the genre, but it's never really been one of my faves and I've never had that close of a relationship with it, so it's not gonna manage 5 stars. Now if we were talking about Banco de Gaia's "Igizeh", that'd be a different matter! Fave track - "The Story of Light" stood out to me, predominantly because of the non-English vocals. They seemed very familiar to me, and I was wondering if they'd been sampled in other songs, but after some googling I think it might be because that track was used in Chris Morris's surreal dark comedy series "Jam" 😆

Groovy EDM! Favorite track: Into the paradise Other picks: water from a vine leaf, gringatcho demento, the story of light

This was some cool chill music. Great to listen to late at night as a wind down. First half was pretty strong. Second half faded a bit. Will recommend to those who dig chill electronica with the occasional pulsating beat.

Very fun. I've never heard of this guy and each track is unique. I liked this album.

Rätt bra faktiskt!!

Really ethereal and mesmerising music

Decent chill electronic

Solid album

Liked this one more than I thought I would. I’ve been going through Blurs stuff nonstop so cool to see that he produced for them. Rating: 3.8

A cool chilled out electronic/ambient house album that was a nice ease into the day. There were some interesting textural layers to the sound that in headphones sounded pretty amazing. Best: Water From A Vine Leaf Worst: Water Babies

This guy jams. No wonder Madonna and so many other artists tapped him. A real musician and a lot of groove. Some tracks get pretty esoteric; however, this is not out of his nature…his love of interpreting classics and more traditional music into an electronic realm. He certainly follows in the footsteps of electronic innovators like Wendy Carlos, Edgar Froese, Jean-Michel Jarre, Brian Eno, etc.

Cool beans

I suppose I had some preconceived notions about this, but they were quickly dismantled. A pleasant mix of beats and more ambient textures. Like a dancey Eno, but doesn't go full Moby. Yeah, fun.

Very good. I spent too much time trying to figure out what's written on the cover. I think it says "ចៅខេមរភាសា", but "grandson, khmer language" sounds stupid and I can't find what other meaning ចៅ could have here. If it's just random words then I'm VERY trolled, pretend I rated it 1 star. The album worked great as background music to this process, it's very light. At times when my mind switched to listening to it, I was pleased with what I heard

Very hackers soundtrack esque, good listening

Ethereal background music. Listened while working and loved it.

Very nearly a 5 for me. Maybe it will be soon, but after two listens the second half really does lose me a bit. I'd actually listened to William Orbit nearly ten years ago, saved a bunch of tracks to Spotify and then forgot all about it, really enjoyed coming back to it.

Toimii.. Ymmärrä välillä liekö äänet ääniä.. objekteja vai tunteita.. Järjetöntä.. Enemmän kuitenkin musiikin nauttimisalbumi.. kaiken tämän voin uskoa.. kaiken tämän voin nauttia.. ulkopuolelle ei jää saavuttamatonta ilmaisua jonka takia pitäisi kuunnella uudestaan..

Unique and trippy listen. 4.5!

Loved it

Decent chilled album

a VERY interesting ambient electronic album with lots of the worldly influences with SUPER deep grooves. this is an album you listen to in the shower at 3am. this is an album that would serve as the soundtrack for a really unheard of exploration action game with tank controls for the ps1.

Love the variety of instrumentals

I wasn't sure if I wanted to go with 3 or 4 stars for this one. Its a good background album for writing and reading, which are always great, but some of it was a bit boring. The first track was great though!

Very lovely. Very soothing.