Strange Cargo III

Music from the hearts of space!

I was a freelance editor for 14 years, so trust me when I tell you this is a great album to freelance edit to.

Pleasant ear candy that doesn't demand too much of the listener.

6.3/10 Not exactly my tempo, like I’m not really into this type of electronic music however for its time it was super innovative and cool which is pretty interesting

i expected more form this, quite boring

Not sure what the term would be but… progressive/experimental chill/trance music? Not bad, if not a little obscure in moments.

Makes for some good background music for when you’re playing games. This does also sound like video game soundtrack. ?/10

Its fine I guess??? I don't know Im not cut out for this. 2/5

it starts off really strong and interesting but then becomes a bit tedious

вчера была накануте умершая Долли Партон. Сегодня недавно умерший Орбит. В целом альбом неплох, понимая что он был записан в 1993.

Look at me, I’m a little dancing robot. *beep-boop* I said LOOK AT ME. *bidi-bidi-bidi* (Yeah, it’s been a long week)

Strange one this. For 1993 it sounds very modern and progressive. But found it not so much something to listen to, as to just hear. Like atmospheric background more than a collection of tracks to critique. In that context it was about 15 mins too long too.

Another artist I was aware of but just passed me by somehow.

I hated the stupid sexualized female vocals on nearly every track. Why does music like this always have women doing that breathy moaning thing with their singing. Fuck that.

Hmmm. Fine, but didn't wow me! Too long, I think. Some enjoyable parts, but not really something I'd seek out again. 2.5 stars, maybe?

Forgettable background music.

So 90s. Sooooooo 90s. I was taken back. It's good music, but I don't think it's a must-listen as of 2026.

Not sure about this one. British ✔️ Belongs on the list 〰️ this really is a question for me, and I am not sure I am in a proper position to judge. But I wouldn’t tell someone they needed to hear it before they died. My feelings 🤷‍♀️ 3 Boolean- I’m going false

Ambient is so fire

Very Enigma or Moby feeling.

Would not buy

Solid

Erneut einfach pure Langeweile!

Ett album jag inte visste att jag gillade! Första två är otroliga, sen dippar energin en aning. Fortfarande jävligt bra dock!

Pas grand interêt pour moi. Mais surement que pour les plus aguerris du genre, ça peut être interessant.

Not UNpleasant, and very engaging and familiar in parts, but this would be purely background music for me.

Artiste inconnu. Musique d’ambiance, pas désagréable mais sans plus. Les morceaux sont inutilement longs, comme l’album. Pas de seconde écoute envisagée. =>2/5

cheezy '90's action movie soundtrack music Best Song: Water from a Vine Leaf Rating: 4.5/10 Stars: 2

Stunning album art, I got excited just staring at it and reading up on the effort. I know beforehand the album recently charted again because this artist passed just a few months ago. I begin to hear this odd electronic groove and I dig it, and then it keeps on... it's a bit on the monotonous side, which is normal for electronic genres, I guess I was just expecting something less meditative. It took a few listens before I put it on speakers, loud, and started working on my own stuff. That's when everything clicked. This is some pretty sophisticated background music. It's back there without being insulting, your ears have the capacity to enjoy details despite dedicating the rest of your senses to something else. This is very well produced, well executed, but not trying to be the protagonist. I can see myself listening to this one in the future, I'm not sure to what capacity. For now, I find it interchangeable with a handful of records that feel made for a productive mood. Time will tell just how much I end up enjoying it. 3.6/5

My 666th album. I was hoping it would be metal, but it isn't.

I'm usually not into electronic music, but I found my head bopping to the beats on this album. There are lots of great beat drops, which I could see getting a crowd going on the dance floor. As this album went on, I found it got a little less interesting.  Too bad, after such a strong start. Liked Songs Added: Water From A Vine Leaf Time To Get Wize

I enjoyed and abhorred a roughly equal amount. I ahoy’ed it.

Sounds like 1993

Взагалі не знаю що це.

album

Good for a walk alone

Yeah, not exactly my cup of tea. But I get why it's on the list.

More of the same boring EDM. I kept feeling moments of engagement, but it was very fleeting as a majority of the runtime is just not interesting. I wanted to like it much more than I did

Really liked this. Neat early trance stuff. Great work from home album. Not a lot of standouts but that's to be expected

4/10 - I expecting more but it felt disjointed and too generic unfortunately

overall: 2/10 just white noise lol

Got so quiet near the end I thought my car stereo broke

Wow. Another one entirely new to me that I'm simply blown away by, within a matter of days. Talk about the algorithm grinding you down and then rewarding you handsomely for your persistence. I've always admired William Orbit's production credits on a number of landmark downtempo/electronic albums from throughout the 90s, but have never really explored his own output. That was a glaring oversight on my part. I'm not sure I've heard a fusion of dub, house, ambient and world music that sounds anything quite like this. The production is absolutely phenomenal – timeless, wonderfully lush and spacious, it truly sounds as though it was made for headphones and it really does hold up well in 2026 unlike many albums of its era. The bass lines on here have a snug sense of liquidity and pulsating rhythm to them, in a way which constantly feels like having your brain massaged. The beats are often club-like but not too forceful or rigid in tempo, varying from trip-hop to techno-like rhythms. You then have the echoing delay to the guitars when they feature, in a manner which brings shoegaze/dream pop to mind, and the Jarre-esque synthesisers bringing introspective calm. Maybe not strictly in terms of sonic similarity, but in how expressive they are. Purchase material and five stars without a shadow of a doubt.

I’d never heard of William Orbit before. It’s a shame he died a couple of weeks ago, but his recent death doesn’t change my opinion of this album. It was boring and sounded like the soundtrack to a bad movie.

Beep boop boop beep (repeat 12 times) drums and bass comes in for 24 bars then drops out and beeps and boops get quiet while some ambient noise fades in… a woman’s voice whispers something indecipherable, a phone is left off the hook, the drums and bass come back in, the woman starts whispering again, drums and bass fade beep boop boop beep… just a whole album of that. 12 “songs”! Mr. Orbit made 3 of these? It’s not that I don’t like electronic music, I just need it to be a little more interesting. It’s not awful, but it’s pretty low effort and boring. 2.3

Dated

Weird but cool, extremely 90s

Really enjoyed this one; super fun listen and I dig the emphasis on the bass and the trip-hop connection.

Never heard of William Orbit, despite being pretty big into electronica in the 90s when I was a kid (though from what I read of his passing, his fame came more from being a producer for Madonna, Blur, Pink and All Saints). From the beginning of "Water From A Vine Leaf", it has that quintessential lounge electronic vibe to it that was very much a part of that zeitgeist; sounds like a track from a Spyro level. The shrill little beeps lessened enjoyment of this one for me; it was a sound too harsh to continue repeating for me to see it as the 'chill' track I think it's supposed to be. "Into The Paradise" was good in places but, once again, let down for me with the repetition of a harsh sound, this time a harsh synth beep that takes on life in places and a muffled bass beat (which honestly works better). Not terrible, but I have not found in it a track I would want to listen to again and again. "Time To Get Wize" had the typical spoken vocals to add a layer of 'sophistication' to the track, but ultimately it comes off as a cliche now. The guitar instrumental at the end, though, was very enjoyable; really worked with the drums and pianos. "Harry Flowers" started with promise, but then devolved into a muted beat that was just a snooze fest, despite having something like a afuche cabasa and tambourine playing in tandem. The dreamy synth effects didn't help to elevate this either... I'm not sure what's going on here. On paper, all these things work for me, but Orbit's arrangement of it all seems not to be. Tracks enjoyed, ultimately: "Water From A Vine Leaf", "Story Of Light", "A Hazy Shade of Random", "The Monkey King" and "Deus Ex Machina".

I have nothing against ambient music, but this is banal stuff.

Better than Coldplay

Good

Fun music

03/08/2026 A strong 2 stars. I just couldn't get behind the futuristic/space age vibe. Spotify listeners: 649.2k

1993 electronica ambient Into the paradise The story of light

Lugnande lite soundtrack liknande, 6.5/10

Couldn’t get this album on my streaming service, but I listened to the other strange cargo albums. Not really my thing - repetitive 80s electronica.

wiedermol en fall vo: ok interessant wieso isch das do? harry flowers isch jo huere nervig. es isch echt amel afoch en beat. ich check wies chan meditativ sii aber BRUDI WISO. hazy shade of random beschribt das album recht guet. Es gti mir so oft meeega moodmusik. so komisch. er het mega viel so electronica shit produziert fürd beth orton und madonna und so aber ich wür lieber songs lose als die komische sphärische zemeschnitt do.

s albumcover isch schomal hard, nach wikipedia chönnts jz aber seeehr in beidi richtige gah, aber ich lehn mich mal usem feister und behaupte, s album wird z lang sii oke 3 lieder glost und ich finds sooo unglaublich langwilig sogar als hindergrundmusig isches eifach langwilig leider joo es tutmer fast echli leid aber oof kei spass gha.

yessss~!!!!! this was a vibe for sure.

Oh shit this is a jam. Of all the albums I've listened to on this list from artists I had never heard of, this was the one I most quickly decided was a 5 star for me. To be fair I'm only 112 in as of writing this, but that's not nothing! I can see why some people might dislike this: too ambient to be danceable, too upbeat to be ambient, synths that are too beep-boopey, but those reasons are what I'm here for on this thing. I fw ambient jungle for sure and this scratched the spot for me. For once I'm that guy praising the list instead of bemoaning it.

kinda fire would only listen at a party tho

not for me but not bad

I really enjoyed this. I must admit it started out really strong and by the last few tracks I was ready to move on, but it was still such a great time overall

I found this one quiet enjoyable. Background beats that were soothing and not overbearing.

I imagine this is what the highest-calibre of background music sounded like in the 90s. Reminded me of Enigma, 3.5 rounding up.

I listened to this about a day before he died. I appreciated reading about his long career, particularly in producing bug albums like one of Madonna’s best, “Ray of Light.” Unfortunately, I can’t be more generous in my review of this solo record. It has more texture and interesting diversions than many electronic albums, but goes on far too long at 63 minutes. I became bored.

Bleep bloop boring

Heard Before? Maybe? I've indulged in way too much second rate electronica over the years. Plus I still mix up William Orbit, Orbital and the Orb. Notes: - these drums should stay in the 90s where they belong. - fun for a game of "name that famous synth preset". - some interesting builds and transitions, but just as many awkward ones. that and the horribly dated cheeseball sounds keep it from rewarding close listening. - 1993 was a banner year for electronic music. It's sad that this utterly undistinguished album is someone's introduction. Verdict: Ideal soundtrack for buying very expensive shoes. Or for packing up gear and sweeping the floor after a rave. Listen Again? There's no point and I wouldn't even notice.

Before starting the actual review, just wanted to mention that I have listened to this album four times. The first two ones were as background, so I could have a initial taste of it. The third one was the active one supposed to be the final, but Apple Music decided to screw me up by playing this album in random order, and I didn't notice until half way there. I decided to give it another try just in case an active listen in the intended order would be more rewarding. Turns out I felt the same way and gave it the same score as before... Okay, now time to talk about the album. It is a fine ambient album, mixing elements of techno, house, downtempo, dub and Asian music. It is very soothing, meditative and spiritual. The last time I listened to it I was at the beach, so it fit the relaxing scene well enough. But it is impressive or remarkable? Not really. For an ambient album, I don't think it is as immersive as I think it tries to be, and while there are some beautiful passages, nice electronic textures and a lot of really groovy bass lines (the best element of the album by far), nothing of it truly stuck with me. On top of everything, it felt really long. Ultimately, I think it is a decent ambient album. The sound quality is actually impressive, specially for a release from 1993.

horrible album cover

No

Good electronic music

Pretty great!

Not really my thing

Really like this. Will deffo listen again it’s like dance trip hop love it.

Notable Textzeile: Nothing more You surround me Break on through Release me Ich denke wirklich selten von Anfang an „was für ein Scheiß“, aber hier ist es so. Das konnte ich wirklich nur leise im Hintergrund und mit einigen Pausen hören. Uff. Why? Da hab ich nicht mal Lust auseinander zulegen, warum das furchtbar ist. Ist es einfach. Faithless bei Schrotthändler bestellt. 0 Sterne wenn es ginge.

Ambient Album von dem Ray of light Produzenten. Klingt auch genau so. Das ist wie ein Matmos Album hören statt Vespertine (oder ein Dre Album hören statt Eminem). Unnötig. Gibt es so wenig Alben, um auf 1001 zu kommen ? Hallo?!?? ....plimplingplimzhhh

Eine der längsten Stunden meines Lebens. SCHERZ! Habe nach Song 1 nur noch durchgeskippt und reingehört. Das ist doch kein Zustand. Und das kann doch nicht der Ernst sein. 1001 Alben die man gehört haben muss um davon zu sterben.

Meh

2,83 Highlights: Into the Paradise, A Hazy Shade Of Random

Yeah, pretty uninspiring heady atmospheric chud. Could be good in the right setting or mood but ultimately just occupies space beyond your ears. Akin to background noise, BUT. I have to commend the casual use of dub reggae beats and simply divine classical pop melodies on the synth. I have to call that as I see it, bloody brilliant. However for every positive characteristic I identify, a chuddy trope is right around the corner off to spoil my listen. 2 stars at best.

This didn’t do much for me at all. It reminded me of a lot of game and movie soundtracks from the early 90s but without any real recurring motifs to tie it together. Maybe they were some but the whole album just kind of passed me by without grabbing me.

music i would hear in a spa or shopping mall toilet

Very cool bit of ambient from an artist I haven't heard of before who turns out to be an successful mass market producer as well. I disliked the vocals when they were comprehensible, they have that 90s corny sound. Water from a Vine Leaf really had me cringing there. Gringatcho Demento had Hawaii vibes including the guitar. Matrix if it was set in Hawaii. Prefer the more upbeat pieces, or just soft textural sounds - the organs are not for me, and the twangy 90s guitar. Another really creative album. Outros are blissful. Wonder how much he influenced BoC's work.

It sounds nice, a mix of ambient and sounds like a DJ just experimenting stuff. But in the end, weird and a bit boring... I have no other words. A few times he changes beat mid song and I appreciate that, but other than that this music does nothing for me. Feels like most songs lack a hook or a melody to cling to.

Repetitive ambient soundscape. I often feel like this exact time period got dated extremely quickly. This kind of music underwent a huge stylistic transition in the 90's up until the 2010's and therefore, music that was originally interesting, novel, or even groundbreaking was quickly becoming monotonous and dusty. This album is an example of this, in my opinion. 2.0

4.5

This is like if a robot was asked to make the soundtrack of dine using water elements-simply not my taste at all

I enjoyed it, although enjoyment was somewhat inconsistent throughout

eh

Not too bad for electronic exotica music but feel no need to revisit… not sure if it needs to be included.

A lot of hate for this album. I rather enjoyed it. More than just background, enough of a hook to keep my toes tapping at the office. Had to go Spotify for this one. Ads….that’s a ding.

Incredibly dated, maybe even by 1993 standards. Or maybe not, but I have definitely heard electronic music from that year that still holds up pretty well. It's not completely awful, but very uneventful. It's background music, which I'm not sure it was supposed to be. Orbit did eventually go all in into background music with his pretty good record Pieces in a Modern Style, but in my eyes his best work still remains his production on Madonna's Ray of Light. Key tracks: Into the Paradise

This was a tough one to get through, the starts of the songs were quite interesting and the vocals were sometimes cool but there was not much musical development and to me the songs were quite boring and too long

An hour in ambient noise shouldn't qualify for this list.

Loved it. Giving it a 4/5.

Yeah. Ended up looking at others reviews. I was curious. Have to say I am in the mainstream on this one. I found myself wanting to like this more than I actually did. Consistently the instrumental or vocal “intros” were WAY more interesting than the synth beats that generally dropped out of nowhere to usher in the proper songs. Someone said “clunky.” Yep. It’s like Orbit had a bag with all the elements for compelling edm/ electronica and just reached into it at random without understanding how to actually put it together. Why it’s THIS volume of Strange Cargo that made the list is a mystery. Also a mystery as to why I needed to hear William Orbit before I die. Though I can believe this represented a moment and was actually influential in ways I do not understand. I will say that letting go and letting the experience take me was a much better approach. By the end I was far more open to what was going on. I would say Deus Ex Machina and Water Babies worked for me as electronica. IMO the album ends well. And I believe this may be the issue. When Orbit just lets go himself and dives fully into electronica, he has a much better intuition. So. I have multiple projects going. This is the first time hitting this album. This time it gets a 3. Next time it may get a 4. 3 Boolean: true?

Kinda cool sounds at times, but feels like the type of thing that's meant to be tuned out

It’s the early 1990s. You’re a movie producer who has just cast Will Smith and Nicolas Cage to star in a slick cat and mouse diamond theft caper. This is the soundtrack. It’s all very good for what it is but it doesn’t need to be in the list.

Decent enough background music

not strange but not exciting

Good ambient dancey background stuff.

I listened and it faded into the background, I wasn't fully conscious of it going on. Felt a bit middle of the road

bullshit

I read all the reviews implying this sounded like a 90s heist film. I agree. They've said it all

Very nice background music. Instrumentals much better than the others.

Really enjoyed it actually. Reminded me of Spyro the Dragon soundtrack in parts.

Meh its alright for background music. Sounds like a soundtrack to a B movie set in miami! 2.5

For some reason his name puts me off. And made me put off listening to it Big Billy Orbit has done himself justice though Strange Cargo 3? Is there a 1 and 2? Whys this better? Who am i asking? Id have said beforehand seems like itd be a pretentious 90's soundtrack album. I think thats pretty much what it is. Was nice background club music, nothing more

I liked it. Weird background music

Good to hear this right after Kraftwerk for the distinction between electronic and ambient music. This was a cornucopia of sounds painting broad canvases.

Interesting

oh yeah i liked it.

Don't mind it. Floated along on some bits.

It's the wrong side of EDM for me I'm afraid. Not into this 90s bleepy bloopy singy stuff.

★★★½

Interesting music. Need to spend more time with it.

Now I can sleep well!!!🌊🪷🏖

Music for YouTube videos. Or maybe tiktok.

Now I know where all those tinny-ass music pieces hidden in Minecraft come from. I generally like William Orbit and think he's a fantastic producer, but this was a pretty mid album.

I don't have a lot of love for ambient electronic music, so there is going to be a ceiling of appreciation for me. I liked this pretty well and it travelled some musical miles. If I weren't behind like ten albums I would probably listen a 3rd or 4th time to really form an opinion.

3/5 - I want to give this a 4, because this list should have more hidden gems than it does. That said, this started off pretty strong for me, but then didn't end up being all that much of a gem. Not entirely sure what this genre is, but I could probably favorite a track of it here and there.

I know William Orbit from his production of a couple Madonna albums, as well as his Pieces in Modern Style, which I heard when it came out and have loved it since. I never heard any of his earlier work, though, including Strange Cargo III, which was technically his album right before Pieces in Modern Style (though it came several years before and feels like a completely different era and person. Overall, I feel the Strange Cargo albums are good, sometimes ambient for some tracks and in general approach, but it does have some songs and pieces that are very active and engaging, similar to some electronica of the mid to late 90's. It doesn't feel ground-breaking, and I've personally never heard anyone talk about this album, but it is definitely very well produced and is good music and nice to have on.

My 100th album! 😁 It’s not quite my cup of tea, but luckily it’s not a total let-down either 😊 Two stars…

It's 90s and I'm doing some questionable activities

idk kind of mediocre. beep boop i'm a robot i have no emotions to convey through this organized sequence of sounds.

Good 90's electronic music. Feels like it would fit in in the background of the Matrix. Doesn't move the spirit for me like I would prefer, but it's good nonetheless

Hade varit ballt för nån slags immersive utställning eller nåt men håller inte riktigt för att bara lyssnas igenom

Rätt coolt men inget mer än något som jag skulle ha på i bakgrunden.

Härlig känsla!

Your call is very important to us. Please remain on the line for our next available associate. OK, maybe not as bad as “hold music.“ But definitely another album that is better in the background than the foreground.

There’s a lot Apple is saying when it skips over an album in its list of works by someone. This one started off well enough, but it quickly became background noise that I had to keep checking to see if it was almost over. Also, I couldn’t always distinguish when a commercial was playing between songs.

eh, not my thing

alright

Really chill electronic ambiance! Nothing too crazy today to move this much from a middle rating but I had a decent listen. In the right headspace this could really be truly amazing.. 3.25/5

mm rarísimo, no me gustó.

this is a ‘dont judge a book by its cover’ situation

Sorry, Bill Orb, it’s a 2 for me. I didn’t even finish this album. I mistakenly listened to his first Strange Cargo initially, and I liked that one more. SC1 made me feel like I was listening to a soundtrack for a weird sci-fi action thing from late ‘80s or early ‘90s. SC3 made me feel like not listening to SC3.

Sometimes there are moments with a pretty melody or interesting riff and then it would get repeated a whole bunch and then I’d lose interest.

Not as bad as some of this stuff, but still not something I want to listen to.

This album is one of those albums that really makes you scratch your head as to why it is included on the 1001 albums to hear before you die as William Orbit had a pretty unremarkable musical career with his own outputs but has done some pretty amazing work for other people. As much as I’d love to praise William Orbit for his work, this album makes it really hard to give any love to the guy. Bass work is really funky at times, and I appreciate that. However, this was far less my taste and was rather dull in fact.

Not really my cuppa, which I feel like I am in need of after the intros make me somnambulent. Lot of dead space. Surprised after that cover art.

Super groovy.

I mean ... it's chill, but is this a must-listen?

513/1089 - It isn't bad. The robo-oboe on "Harry Flowers" is a bit too goofy for me.

Not bad. Honestly, this list has done electronic music a great justice if this is the weakest entry I've heard, so far. It's well made, but doesn't seem too influential or significant, more of a passion project from Orbit who will probably be more well known for his collaboration and production with pop artists.

Electronic music by and large is just seemingly not my thing. I just find it boring for the most part with few exceptions.

Strange, but beautiful

Tough to rate. Every song is good but it's not necessarily an album I would want in my library to reach for at any time.

Water from a Vine Leaf 3 Into the Paradise 2.3 Time to get Wize 2.5 Harry Flowers 2.4 A Touch of the Night 2.5 The Story of Light 2.3 Gringatcho Demento 2.4 A Hazy Shade of Random 2.4 Best Friend, Paranoia 2.2 The Monkey King 2 Deus Ex Machina 1.4 Water Babies 1.5 Score: 2.241666667

어우 듣기 좋아

Pleasant but ultimately pretty forgettable. Might listen to again at some point.

No way

Creative early 2000’s electronic music.

Dont really like the vocals

I'll preface this by saying that this is significantly more enjoyable than the other electronic stuff on this list, but it is pretty new age-y. This album kinda lives somewhere between Brian Eno and Gary Numan, but with a heavy emphasis on department store elevator music. All in all, I think it's deserving of a 3/5

Very ambient but spooky

This is a synth-y, atmospheric music with minimal vocals. I thought it was good background music that was mildly engaging.

could not find

I'm not really sure why this is an album I have to hear? There doesn't seem to be anything particularly notable about this album. Even the Wikipedia page is only about 5 sentences long. It is 100% nothing you have never heard before or won't hear again. Maybe I missed something? 2/5

Good background music when working on something.

Weird

Only thing I knew about him before was that he produced 13 but this was pretty good actually

not terrible background music with a sort of 'Massive Attack' vibe, though i question why it is considered an "essential" album.

I really enjoyed this and am exploring more of his material.

New to me. Started really well and I added Water From A Vine Leaf to a playlist, but that was the peak, as it just dissolved into forgettable

really nice to work to

trying to be receptive to these extended atmosphere albums that come from a different time, even if they drag as i listen to them now. i was surprisingly compelled by this all the same

Man, the hate years so unwarranted. Sure, all electronic music isn't great. But this is really deep and has a lot going on. Great atmosphere. Great rhythm, great vocals and sure you might not just turn it on to try and hear your favorite songs, but it's great background music whether you're working working out, or even just cooking. Or maybe you turn on and turn the volume down a little bit during a dinner party. You know, a dinner party with chill people

A little off the beaten path, but coming on the heels of a Bjork album it’s practically pure gold.

Chill but nothing special.

This was a cool album! Surprised at the low ratings that it got. Experimental chill electronica.

Was very concerned for this album for the first minute then the drums came in and it was the most awesome ambience music I’ve heard in a hot minute

This album is quite strange for me. Typically, albums like this would just be boring and dull as it really doesn’t have much variance in it. But I think the fact is that in my mind it’s an ambient album but it’s not supposed to be mind blowing but is supposed to be quaint and easy to listen to.

Peak "this is just a bunch of noise" album

2/5 boring

Spa music

No fucking clue what this album could be. If I'm to take a wild shot in the dark, I'm expecting this to be some kind of electronic album. The Aztec style of this album cover reminds me of the artwork for "Muzik" by Plastikman, which released around the same time as this album. Here's hoping I'm correct. Hey! This wasn't half bad. I was also on the money with my genre prediction, so I'm feeling pretty good right now. Like the other trip-hoppy, ambient electronic albums of this list, the appeal of this music and the hold it has over my attention cycles in and out, though for the most part I thought it was a pleasing listen. The subdued, bassy sounds of this album are the obvious highlight and go a long way in creating an engrossing atmosphere. Other embellishments like the trip-hop percussion, delicate piano chords, bass guitars and soft/distorted effects are also quite good. Other elements like the horn instruments, guitars and a few miscellaneous electronic sounds date this album, though for the most part this music is delicate, sleek and polished. Overall, this was a respectable and relaxing listen. Book time. Has a timeless appeal, which is especially commendable in the case of electronic music. Beth Orton apparently contributed vocals to this album among four other musicians. William Orbit would later produce for Madonna, Blur and Melanie C of the Spice Girls. Honestly, I'm kind of surprised the Spice Girls don't have a list album in much the same way that I'm surprised "...Baby One More Time" by Britney Spears was removed from later editions of the book. I guess these albums need to be critically lauded first before popular appeal is considered. Anyways, Wikipedia says this album received a single, sad, sappy middling review from the one critic outlet that reviewed this album. Other than that, there's fuck all on this album. As far as ambient, trip-hoppy music is concerned, it's particularly egregious that an album like this made it through when the 90s ambient, electronic and trip-hop picks are already a little sparse. However, in defense of this album, it was a competent listen and I don't consider myself to be an authority on any of the musical styles that are contained within this album, so I guess I'm content with letting this one through. It was a solid listen, after all. I cosign this inclusion.

It starts strong with 'Water from a Vine Leaf', and keeps it up until the climax 'The Story of Light', at which point it gradually gets weirder and, by the end, it sounds like what the art cover would suggest. Cool stuff.

Never heard of William Orbit; interesting & diverse musical arrangements. Not bad.

Standouts Water From a Vine Leaf Water Babies

Cheesy 90s ambient. Did not enjoy the vocal parts.

То ли я принцесса песчаных бурь, то ли участница квартирного вопроса. https://media1.tenor.com/m/BYbrh8OKJcUAAAAd/ishowspeed-egypt.gif

Normally I kind of default these kinds of albums to a 3 but I found this one particularly boring even in the background. As I say every time, surely this is the last one.

This is better than almost all of the electronic music on this list. Not "clubby". It's more like instrumental music played predominately on electronic keyboards. It's fine as background music but it would be better if it was 15 minutes shorter. Starts to feel repetitive to me.

nah

mais uma que eu botei achando que ia melhorar minha produtividade e na vdd era só ruim

bom, pelo menos eh mais ambient do que triphop ainda eh trilha sonora pra filme de hacker dos anos 90, mas eh um boa música de fundo, até.

Never heard of Mr. Orbit. Quite like the less poppy, more experimental electronica here. Good find, thank you, list!

first song is not what i thought it would be based on this cover. there was a mission here but it felt unsuccessful Would I listen again: no. Deserves to be on this list: no.... 2.3

Border restrictions stop me listening to this. So I’ll assume it gives me an STD, voted for Trump and is a complete note for note cover of the Gary Glitter Our gang album. Get rid of border limitations and I’ll give it another listen.

I just don't know. I've listened a couple of times over a couple of days as I could not grasp it. Still can't, ther early nineties was an interesting time and he's dipping deep in the well of what was going on, but to be honest I found myself drifting off listening to it, so it's a no.

William Orbit was everywhere -- producing and remixing -- in the late 80s and early 90s. He worked with seemingly everyone -- were you even a real pop music contender if you didn't get a William Orbit remix? He has hundreds and hundreds of credits on discogs including many of the top acts of the decade. This album is a good summation of his sound -- a slightly chill, almost dubby vibe, nice use of chordal harmony, mix of warm electronics and real instruments. But the songs aren't particularly strong, which turns this into pleasant wallpaper. It was an influential and ubiquitous sound for a good while there, but I don't think this shows him at his strength. Maybe that is his work on Madonna's Ray of Light album. For me, I think Bass-O-Matic's Fascinating Rhythm single is his definitive work; it shows off his production and songwriting with a terrific lead vocal from Sharon Musgrave. 2.5 stars for this an album to listen to, rounding up because of his excellent body of work collaborating with others.

OK but not really my thing

If I was listening to this when I was very high in a club in the mid nineties, I would probably like it a lot. But listening to it cold, it just sounds empty like so much electronic club music does. The other reviews which say this sounds like the soundtrack for a nineties hacker movie are very right.

90s electronic/ambient music. Very chill background music vibes. Some parts are a bit dated (there's an oboe?? kind of instrumentation in Harry Flowers that is straight off a 90s midi file, fot example), but in some ways the album sounds almost timeless. Not bad, not great.

I love electronic music. When it's done right it is so captivating. Especially when they start incorporating real drums, bass, and guitar into the songs. That's why artists like Massive Attack and Orbital are such powerhouses to me. Pure vibes. So is this record. A couple misses but the production, samples, and overall tone is exactly what I like. Favourite tracks: Into The Paradise, Gringatcho Demento 4/5

Muy interesante, para ser del 93' explora un tipo de música electrónica muy ambiental y con mezclas poco comunes para lo que era la electrónica comercial de su época, me hizo acordar mucho a el Selected Amibient Works 85-92 de Aphex Twin, y tiene casi la misma calidad sonora.

Magical whimsical af

Starts off with some nice ambient dance but then the later half of this record sounds like a deep sci-fi soundtrack meant to put you to sleep. It’s okay to listen to when your day is just starting, but that’s it.

Interesting ambient.

Not bad but doesn’t do much for me..

Kinda cool, electro/ambient

I thought I knew all about William Orbit being familiar with his work from all the way back in 1990 when Bassomatic made one of that era’s timeless classic tracks in Fascinating Rhythm. I thought I had followed his remix and production work quite closely since then, peaking arguably with his work on Madonna’s career highlight Ray of Light. Doing some reading today though, I discovered so much more about the man and his work. I myself only recently got around to owning Strange Cargo III and it too was surprise. I was already aware that he knew his way around a tune, interesting sounds, a pop understanding, irresistible grooves and more, but this album gets to levels I wasn’t expecting. Some familiar sounds were here, but the kind of bleeps that I consider signature from his pop work were absent and added instead was a deeply heavy dub vibe that I would have more expected from the likes of Sabres of Paradise or Lionrock, both of whom I have huge respect for in producing some of the best records in that realm around the mid 90s. I’m disappointed I missed out on this at the time and now I’m keen to explore his Strange Cargo output further, and also investigate more of what he has done over the years. He even had a band before Bassomatic that I didn’t know about.

Good techno album, had heard of him but I only ever knew one song but always liked that song!

I have completely forgotten that I've listened to this album Friday (but I know I did). It has left very little impression on me it seems. But that also means I didn't heavily dislike it Standouts - 3/5

Couldn’t find this one, so listened to Strange Cargo 2. I mean, it’s electronica, how different can they be. Not bad.

Meh.

Not the worst electronica album I guess

Solid ambient music. I'm not the biggest fan, but it wasn't bad at all. I don't think it's one that everyone should listen to, but I don't mind it.

No. 396/1001 Water From A Wine Leaf 4/5 Into The Paradise 3/5 Time to Get Wize 2/5 Harry Flowers 3/5 A Touch Of The Night 2/5 The Story of Light 3/5 Gringatcho Demento 2/5 A Hazy Shade of Random 2/5 Best Friend, Paranoia 3/5 The Monkey King 2/5 Deus Ex Machina 1/5 Water Babies 2/5 Average: 2,42 Just not my personal taste.

Background noise at best, soundtrack to boredom at worst. Maybe this would be a fun chill out music to listen to if one was coming down off something. Otherwise leave it alone

Seems great. Didn't get a very detailed listen. I think I could definitely quite like this. As it happened didn't hugely grab me but sounded good in a lot of places

Not available on my streaming service

acceptable background music

Very ambient background music, great for studying or working. I can imagine if I was all blissed out, it might be good for relaxing too. Three stars.

Cornflakes. Plain white shirts. Water. These things have their place in life. Doesn't make them interesting.

Very nice

i've had a conviction that ambient is one of those genres i just can't bring myself to enjoy because i listened to one rather famous ambient project and found it really boring, so i thought i'd think the same of this one but i really liked it actually! i've had a specific song on my playlist and i've been wanting more stuff like it for a while and this is exactly that. happy! got earthbound vibes from this one (MASSIVE COMPLIMENT) i also got slight maplestory ost vibes omg am i crazy. do i sound stupid do you know that era of cgi from the early 90s when they were still trying to figure out how it worked so people put out these really weird, esoteric, liminal short films/rendered images with no plot and only trippy animated 3d visuals to show what they could do? this sounds like that the only thing is that i'm not sure when i'd listen to this because it's outside of my usual realm. but i think i should just listen to it more and it'll find its place in my playlist eventually amazing chill fave track: best friend, paranoia may 29 2025 edit i might have been under some kind of spell 3 ⬇️

m encanta que sin voz ni letra me transmita tanto sensaciones, vibras, emociones, cual es la onda. sensacion de movimiento, crea atmosfera. medio creapy x momentos

A bit bland but I can hear it was influencial on later music.

De l'ambient plutôt chouette, un peu Nova Tunes codé

trop expérimentale pour moi !

Le simple fait que ça ne soit ni du rock ni de la folk est une bouffée d'air frais dans cette liste. Je l'ai sûrement apprécié pour cette raison davantage que pour des qualités intrinsèques exceptionnelles : ça reste très sympathique par ailleurs.

Dit is eigenlijk alsof je de Spotify playlist Organica in een album propt. Heel veel geluiden die zo uit de natuur lijken te komen, gecombineerd met vreemde bijna alienachtige geluiden. Dit album is een trip, in de goede zin van het woord. Ik denk dat ik nog niet de juiste drugs heb gebruikt om dit album volledig te waarderen, maar ik weet wel dat ik het best wel vet vind eigenlijk. Snap volledig als mensen die een saai album vinden trouwens en het is ook wel duidelijk dat de 'beste' nummers aan het begin van het album staan, de tweede helft is een stuk minder experimenteel en meer normaal ambient. Eigenlijk wel jammer, want dat super experimentele spacey maar toch ook natuurlijke vond ik echt heel vet. Wat daarna kwam was chill, maar wel beduidend minder. De cover van dit album past ook best wel goed, het laat een beetje de tribal/world invloeden zien. Mis alleen wel de scifi invloed die hier op zit, zoals de acid lijntjes die je op sommige nummers hoort. Ja, het is een interessant album en of het 3 of 4 sterren is, daar ben ik nog niet helemaal uit. Wel weet ik dat dit voelt als een prototype voor de betere en interessantere muziek van Aphex Twin en JMJ, wat ironisch is. Die kwamen beiden een stuk voor dit album al met meer futuristisch klinkende albums dan dat dit is. FAVO: Into the paradise, A touch of the night, The story of light, Water babies

Once again more electronics on this list. I question if an album should be on the list if you cannot easily find it to hear it.

Turned bland

Cool, pretty vibey music. Nice for background while writing a paper, but not something I would sit down and actively listen to. The vibes were kinda ruined every 6 minutes since I had to listen to this on YouTube and ads kept popping up, but what can you do, corporate greed am I right?

boring, ambient electronica music. you forget it's even playing. (so why is it even on this list??)

good background music for minecraft. i like the dub-sounding parts. otherwise forgettable

I found myself kind of enjoying it, felt very background-y, then I realized I was listening to Strange Cargo 2! That being said, Strange Cargo 3 was very similar. Feels like 90s video game music. 4*

This a great video game soundtrack.

Heismusikk, for de som liker å kjøre heis en time i strekk....

Nah

It's not bad, but I really can't think of this genre as anything more than background music. It's driving, innovative, and fun, but it's also repetitive, flat, uninteresting, and unrelenting. My gut feeling when first hearing electronica is, "tonight I'm going to have to spend a lot of time yelling in someone's ear." It's not necessarily a fault of the genre specifically, but it is the fault of the genre generally. Anyway, this is one of the better electronica albums so far, but I also have no interest in coming back to it.

4*

This was a quite strange, ambient album. I enjoyed some moments and it was nice to have this playing in the background at work. I wouldn’t really listen to this any other time.

"Water From A Vine Leaf" is funky, and chilled, and I vibe very heavily with it. Best I can compare it to is the Risk of Rain soundtrack Other songs come momentarily close to it (end of "Time To Get Wize") but don't quite match what I hoped for It gets a little weird as it goes, and I do respect it, but I'm not super into ambient music

Strange one. If I were to sit and listen to this album and pay full attention to it as a piece of music and do nothing else I'd be very bored I think. I listened to this while studying so it wasnt too bad and I didn't really get too bored. I'm judging based on the music itself and the album in isolation so it gets a 2. As background noise it would get a 3.

This shit sounds like video game background music but weird. Definitely not my usual thing but I kinda liked it? It's good as background music while I'm working. I doubt I'll listen again but I appreciated its weirdness and whimsy. The bits of speaking & singing were funny lol. There was a lot of nothingness that we could have done without.... the parts that had any kind of beat were pretty good

Feels like ambient video game waiting area music. Wouldn't listen often but I wouldn't complain if it was on in the background while I did some meaningless tasks or played a minigame

I don't really have any super negative or positive comments for this album. It's just decent music that I might throw on in the background while I'm doing something.

Snooze. DNF

I'm on holiday, so it was nice to hear some chilled vibes. Enjoyed it.

dude produced 13 by blur and madonna’s last great song.. i figured this would be worth the listen

Random. My kitchen alarm went off at one point and I thought it was part of the song. Kinda fun sometimes?

Apart from some interesting moments, this was mostly just really boring background music. It was alright to listen to while studying but I feel there are much better options. It’s not anything I’ll return to in the future.

no llegue

Mais ou menos, mais para menos

# Album Name: Strange Cargo III # Artist: William Orbit # Rating: 2/5 # Comments: This is a no from me. Pretty boring if im honest. # Top Tunes: # Would I listen to it again? No

Dancey ambient electronic, engaging and warm.

cool but a bit boring - nice psychedelic beats

Since I love ambient electronic music, it's probably no surprise that I loved this. I'll probably listen to this again. Great samples, solid beats, excellent exiting headspace music. I hadn't heard of them before, but I really enjoyed this. Not amazing, not the best I've heard, I still prefer State Azure or Tangerine Dreams, but this is a great record.

Really ace. William Orbit is a brill producer and he delivers some excellent spacey tracks here. A very chilled out experience.

More listenable than I originally feared.

Wait….. working to this was a dream. William I will remember you

Nice one, William

Wish this was available in my region on Apple Music. Ads on YouTube made it tough to get into, but thought it was great

There’s a song on here that kind of sounds like a Kraftwerk song. So I’m listening to it thinking I’d rather just listen to Kraftwerk. They made more adventurous and entertaining electronic music 20 years before this album came out. Maybe this is great to someone out there but hyper minimalist techno was putting me to sleep.

Very interesting. Cool sound, definitely should check out again to apriciate it even more.

A very dated, unexciting bit of electronica. Pure Moods, but worse. Lots of cornball exoticism. Pulling together bits of non-descript Asian musical cultures without knowing anything about those traditions doesn't make Orbit a citizen of the world, it makes him full of shit. Probably one of the worst things I've heard on this list. There were so many exciting things happening by 1993 it baffles me to pick this out of the bunch. Dump this and add some Jeff Mills.

The platonic ideal of trivial background music

Elevator music

Did anyone listen to this without falling asleep?

The Good: We are warned about the cargo being strange… The Bad: We aren’t sure if the III means there are three cargos, or if this is the third cargo, or if III is code for something… The Ugly: Realizing that III stands for It Is Idiotic! EDM… why why why are we getting one too many obscure British EDM, or electronica, or whatnot, thrown at us? And if they aren’t British, then we find out they are French… So, thanks William for putting a frown on my face this morning, as I had hoped this was something avant-garde… but then, the frown just turned into sobbing and tears and anguish and such…

Nothing terribly unique going on here compositionally but I enjoyed the moods and sounds. Felt long at 1hr.

I’m just not into electronic music… I guess this was okay background music.

Not a real fan of electronic music as it’s kind of boring. But I let it run through. On to the next one!

Listenable.

Feels like these songs would be on the soundtrack for Charmed or Buffy... This kind of ambient music is my jam, it turns out.

Not sure what the hell that was. Most of the time. It was too quiet to be heard and then bursts of good techno/ soundtrack.

Very strange and atmospheric. Kinda dig it and appreciate the presentation. Sounds really pleasing. Adventurous.

Would rather had been in orbit.

This has kinda escaped me since I listened to it yesterday but it was kinda cool

honestly i am extremely endeared to stupid ass music like this. i really think i woulda liked the 90s guys... seems right up my alley

Not terrible but there is betterhouse music out there

I did not enjoy this! Started off ok but by the end I was begging for it to end. I'm sure theres a target audience for this but I'm clearly not part of it 2 ⭐️

This is just so terribly boring

snoozefest

I don’t like 90s electronic albums. This one had some interesting moments I guess.

I’m just not a fan of this type of music

Just washes over you. Don't really remember listening to it.

I wasn’t sure how to start this review, but what I did know is that the most important thing that I had to convey with my review is that this album is so welcoming and ambient, it just has so much to explore and so many different places to show you, I just adored the absolute fuck out of this album it’s so beautiful and relaxing. There’s so few albums that have made me feel like this album made me feel. I just want to sit in a inter-tube and and coast around a lazy river completely alone while listening to this absolute masterpiece.

3.4 Another early 90s bit of electronica. Unlike some of the others it doesn't drag on too long (albeit it does a small bit), but is lacking any really great songs. There's a few tracks that stand out but equally a few tracks are forgettable even when they're playing. Shame a lot of later 90s or 00s electronica albums didn't make the list, I can think of a fair few that should have made it ahead of this. Still, it's ok/good, glad I heard it but won't be saving it down.

ganz chillig zum worken

Really boring, don't care for this at all

#89/1001 🇬🇧☁️ Dreamy Ambient Electronica from the early 90s. I'm not sure how this never hit my radar at the time as Orbit seemed to be on the lineup of every festival i went to at the time. I was mainly aware of him from his collaborations with Madonna and Beth Orton, who lends her vocals to the opening track here. Best tracks: Water From A Vine Leaf, Harry Flowers, Story of Light, Hazy Shade of Random.

This fr made me die

Never heard of William Orbit and I haven't rated the ambient music very highly so far in general, so wasn't super optimistic. This was decent background music though. Quite inventive and not relentlessly repetitive which sets it above some of the others on this list

Do people who like this like jazz? Do people who like jazz like this? I need a venn diagram of people who like jazz and electronica. Where is the overlap? All kidding aside...the music on this record sets a mood.

This is cool and all but absolutely no one needs to hear this before they die. Clearly someone is a big fan and this and it holds some importance emotionally for a place and time in their life, not mine. 3 stars because a neutral 2.5 isnt an option.

Pretty cool electronic stuff. Never heard of this guy

A solid 3 from me. Def see the lineage where this is kind of the beginning of the chill downtempo stuff that became very popular later on (which I love!)

the production is extraordinary, but it sounds like music from a porn theater. there are hundreds of albums that sound similar.

Yesterday when I got Songs of Leonard Cohen I joked with a friend that it belonged on a list called “1001 Albums You Must Put On For Your Dog When You Leave The House”. Well this music is literally what is played for my dog when I leave the house - several of these songs I recognise from SBS Chill digital radio station. That said - I really enjoyed this - loads of texture and layered detail, smooth vibes.

This was an enjoyable listen. I tuned in while working on some menus for work, and I found the chill, mostly-instrumental beats interesting enough that there were parts to pick out, but not so stand-out that they were disruptive to my work. What was this made for back in the day? It's not dance music made for the club. Was it just for chill vibes? Music to do drugs to, probably? My electronic music knowledge is lacking, but this was good and will enter the rotation of lo-fi beats/the Pure Moods comp/the rest when I need some work/study background music.

A decent album. Not sure where one song finished and the next began. Good background music.

geit so, gibt Besseres in dem Stil

I like techno so open to this as an 'easy' listen compared to some of the albums I've had recently that have been more demanding. Not really listened to William Orbit before. It's ok. Some nice beats, some cool sounds. Bit 'synthy' for me. (Yeah I know, it's electronic music hahah!) but I find sythesized instrument sounds (like strings for example or the fake cor anglais, or whatever that woodwind-esque instrument in Harry Flowers is) a total turn off. It's such a poor approximation of a well played 'real life' instrument that gains nothing new/additional from being brought into being synthetically. A bit like... Sweetex compared to sugar. The rest of the tea might be really grate, but you can still taste that chemical taste that taints it. So what do I think? Run around the album a few times. I like the 'pew pew pew' sounds, and modulated beats, and isn't killing my work vibe. But it's a 3 today. Pick up, put down, thanks. 3 Number tracks: 12 Fave track: Don't know if there is a fave track in here, 8: 'A Hazy Shade of Random' got a tick. I was getting into the groove of 5: 'A Touch of the Night'. 31/3/26