Reviews (page 4 of 7)
3.2 2x
okay it deleted my notes but the moral of the story is that it's boring as fuck
A bit long-winded but I didnt end up hating it. Very 90s.
Bland and boring tbh. Spa music maybe? I prefer something a bit more interesting like Leftfield or Massive Attack. 2.5
Somehow both boring and enjoyable. I guess sometimes, it's nice to be bored, right? Nice to just sit around, doing nothing and listening to...basically nothing?
OK I suppose, but not as easy to listen to as some of his other stuff
Wasn't sure what to expect based on some of the reviews I saw before listening. But so far one song in pretty solid. Upon further listening, I don't think I enjoyed the rest as much as that first track, but still overall a good listen.
Solid background vibe, I would play this again if it was on Apple
Interesting (and early) electronica. Great for dancing, good for the gym. Not really sitting-around-listening-to kinda music. Three.
Techno background music. Totally neutral on this one.
really hard to find this, no thanks
Good background music to work to.
Enjoyable, but just drifted into the background.
Never gonna be a 2 or a 5. Decent Bit forgettable But never bad
Solides instrumental Album miteinem Hauch R&B ohne herausragende Momente.
This is an interesting album. Background listening and ambient sounds, one of the tracks had a very nine inch nails vibe to it. I can appreciate this album musically, but similar to the previous album (Nick Cave) it isn't really my thing.
Not my thing but not bad
mid electronica
If I didn't see the release year, i would have guessed '90s. Starts off good, really drops off at the end. Last handful of tracks had me looking at the playlist to see when it would be over.
i liked it. maybe not the narration parts, but pretty good background music. something i'd definitely give a 2nd listen to.
Super cool! Honestly I listened to it three times--which is easy, since it doesn't distract me from work--but still, Orbit has a new fan.
I've listened to this twice now and failed to fully engage either time. Third times the charm... Getting some serious Goldeneye vibes from some of the sounds in Water From a Vine Leaf. Otherwise a pretty straightforward downtempo electronic song that sounds very of its time. Into The Paradise kind of sounds like every other song I've every heard in this space. Not a bad thing, just not particularly interesting. Yeah after another listen, I'm kind of just underwhelmed here. Or maybe just whelmed. Either way, I find myself not really caring about this as soon as it stops. Like it is fine and fairly innocuous throughout the playtime, but there isn't any magnetism drawing me back. Points for reminding me of Goldeneye and a simpler time, but otherwise this isn't it for me. Low 3.
Feels a lot like Boards of Canada with the electronic jams. Good, not great. I will say I will relisten to this one and then never do it.
I was playing Schedule 1 and I genuinely couldn't tell if this was the soundtrack or if it was the album. This sounds like a soundtrack to a platforming PS1 video game made in the 1990's. A lame duck of an album but nothing offensive here so it just gets a big average pass.
Half of the music here belongs in some edgy 90s stealth-action/immersive sim game, the other half sounds like the evil version of the SimCity 4 soundtrack. The lesson I learned from listening to this? Don't judge an album by its Wikipedia page (stub). I totally expected this album to be some late 90s hogwash thrown in to fill out the backend of this book but the further I got into the album the more I saw how this album fits into the musical mosaic of the late 90s/early 00s. Coming in at a shift-worker friendly 1h3m, it is a bit too long and often times feels unfocused. But this feels like the sort of thing you want to put on in the background while you work at a café or if you play starcraft or some shit. Personally, listening to this reminded me of listening to an Engima album (something that I initialyl thought was an Enya album but some guy on LimeWire had other ideas) while getting flamed in Barrens chat in WoW. There are songs on here that I have put in playlists and it is a novel listen with some impressive flourishes here and there but not something that I would actively return to. I cannot give this guy extra points for being influential and producing some hits for major artists. But I can give bonus points for The Monkey King being in the film Heat Highlights: Harry Flowers
Jaime: 4 Nuria: 2
4/8/25. Good electronic music, especially for working or completing a task. Engaging and makes you move but won't completely distract.
Kunne vært veldig opp min gate men treffer ikke helt. Litt for svevende og for lite hold. Svak3'er
Okay when it's going but not enough momentum for me to enjoy the whole thing. (26 known/55 new)
Sounds like background music for a 90's computer hacker movie. Its not bad, just nothing I would listen to if it weren't for this list.
I don't mind a bit of chilled ambient electronica so this was a pleasant discovery. I was only aware of his work as a producer and 'Pieces In a Modern Style', which got a bit of attention after his run of Madonna and Blur albums. It's a bit too easy to dismiss this kind of thing as 'background' music but to be fair, it rarely stands out enough to demand attention and doesn't seem to try. It has a couple of great upbeat funky tracks but isn't really consistent enough for me to consider putting it into my rotation. I did quite enjoy it though - in the background, of course.
Of this… genre, this is mostly enjoyable. I liked it enough. Woohoo.
Background music for a montage
Arranca hermoso en los primeros temas y luego empieza a mutar a un disco de ambient sin mucho que destacar? Mmmm. Igual, me llevo un like que hace mucho se necesita. Tendría que escucharlo con auriculares en un mood especial. Nota: 3.5
Strong opener with Water From A Vine Leaf. But overall not my sweet spot - not pretty soundscapey enough to just be relaxing and not original or challenging enough to stay interesting. Like but don't love.
Decent listen
I know this guy from remixes and collabs, but I've never heard his solo work. Chill, but is it special?
Cool vibe but the songs are not supporting the instrumentation and production. I immediately noticed how this sounds like Madonna's Ray of Light album. I could be convinced that Strange Cargo III was a demo tape given to Madonna asking her to pick sounds for her mid-90s electronic work.
2.5 stars
I am not generally a fan of music that features a synthesizer, but I liked this more than I would have expected. I like the variation between tracks and it’s interesting to listen to, but mainly as background noise while working. Feels odd to give it a 3 like I did the Penguin album yesterday, but in my mind this is the liw end of a three while the other album is the high end.
Soft techno vibe
I’ve never heard of this artist or album before, I’m excited to give this album a listen. At its best, I tend to enjoy electronica, but even at its worst, I usually feel pretty neutral towards it. Let’s get lost in some electronica! Overall, I’d say this album was okay. Not much really stood out to me about it, but it was pleasant to listen. The overall sound was really relaxing, and I thought the sounds were layered really well. Despite the length of the album overall and the length of the individual songs, I never really got bored, but I just wished for some catchier hooks and melodies. No particular song stood out to me as bad per se, but the lyrics on “Time To Get Wize” were splendidly cheesy, even by nineties standards. What was about the nineties that made people think we were going to solve the world’s problems with hugs? As for my favorite songs on the album, I thought “Harry Flowers” and “A Hazy Shade of Random” stood out a bit more as the better songs. While I wasn’t blown away by this album, I could see it growing on me with repeat listens.
Chill '90s electronica - nothing to stand out but i was bopping my head while I worked on some paperwork
Atmosfäriskt och hypnotiserande. Fungerar som bakgrundsmusik.
I was living out some dystopia life with Ashton Kutcher and Ron Swanson. Spending a lot of time on a broken toilet in a what seem to be a park bathroom
It’s music, it occupies the background even if you try to bring it front and centre. It is quite chill and sort of pleasant. Can’t really add much more. 3 star.
"Yes, hello. I was wondering if you could play that song again." "Hmmm, which one, man?" "The one that goes "Bee-boo-boo-bop, boo-boo-beep."" "No, man, you're thinking of "Bee-boo-boo-bop, boo-boo-bop."" "Bee-boo-boo, boo-boo-bop? [garbled telephone noise] Bee-boo-boo-bop? [garbled telephone noise] Boo-boo-bee-bop? [garbled telephone noise] Not "Bee-boo-boo-beep"? [garbled telephone noise] Bop? [garbled telephone noise] Beep?! [garbled telephone noise] Boo-boo-bop?!" [SpongeBob screams.]
Some sounded for jungle, some for restaurant...
Not my type. But I enjoyed as ambient background music.
Solid Ambient
Computer music, kinda dig it?
I listen to these sorts of albums very often, but I can never really curate a rating for them. Some Ambient Albums Are Bigger Than Others, sure, but it’s hard, perhaps even impossible, to go wrong. And Orbit doesn’t go wrong on Strange Cargo III. There is a constant spacey presence in the background of these songs, and a lush sparkly, glittery atmosphere presented in the foreground. Orbit seems to walk the line between ‘music to study to’ and ‘music to test your new speakers with’ well, lending his expertise to either activity.
5/10
Not a bad instrumental album. There was some vocals, so not entirely instrumental, but they were easy enough to ignore. 3/5
Had low expectations going in but suited the vibe for background work music. Would I listen again? No, but not because it was necessarily bad just not super interesting
I didnt find much in this to jump out at me. Fine middle class electronic music with not much bite.
Not totally decided on how I feel about this; the book entry implies that it hasn’t aged a day. Maybe that was true in 2005 when the 1st edition was written. Yet once my brain got past the “this is definitely electronica from the 90s again” process, I did end up enjoying a lot of the ambient and “world” elements. Maybe this’ll grow on me like Leftism did
Interesting but not interesting enough
A chilled out electronic/ambient album that is very relaxing to listen to. Nothing more. Nothing exceptional. The Hindu iconography of the cover had me thinking that this'll be a fusion of indian classical music and electronic. But except some oriental (that too middle-eastern) touches in a couple of songs, there is nothing of that. Just a plain 1 hour of relaxing electronic music.
Kind of forgetful and blended together. I am writing this week's after listening, but I don't remember much.
Sounds kind of like Half Life at times. Didn’t mind this.
Better than I thought it was going to be
Very cool. Ikke sp meget at sige, hele albummet flyder lidt sammen. Ambient techno agtig musik. Det bliver lidt trippy når det lakker hen mod slutningen. Det får 3 fordi det lyder lit og decent oplevelse men ikke sådan noget gennemtrængende
I wasn't sure I was going to like this album when it started. Electronica is so diverse. This does make me think of it as a soundtrack for a very weird movie - something to do with ancient artifacts and space. Not great, but not bad, pure middle ground.
Some of the tracks get a little weird but I enjoyed this particularly as ambient listening. Will probably add a couple of tracks to my work playlist
so I have learned that William Orbit was behind many an album as producer, so I understand why he is on this list - knowing now, I see how influential his work was to house and acid jazz in the early 90s - listen to Madonna's Music album that's where he sounds the best
Just really nice ambience
Never really liked this era's techno, but, I can say that this album was one of the ones that helped kick the door in to the success of the genre
Enjoyed it but can’t imagine I’d listen to it again
A pleasant listen - some nice moments - nothing particularly standout but equally nothing ugly. It's kinda my jam but not sure what its doing on this list.
This was enjoyable. Perfect for playing in the background while working. Another Chill-infused Lo-Fi Electronica album for the win.
Can't complain about this one either. Nice middle of the road electronic
This was such a good listen. Really reminiscent of the 90s. Just a nice sound.
Elektronisch. Plätschert so dahin.
Alleen begin geluisterd en dat was wel ok.
fine i guess
i like it
I actually quite enjoyed this album. It has a lot of electronic elements which isn't normally my thing but it was mixed well with ambient noise and other rhythmic elements. The main problem is that it's too long by about 20 minutes so it all starts to blend together about halfway through the album. Favorites: Water From a Vine Leaf, Harry Flowers
This wasn't my bag although I found it suitably relaxing in quite a dated way... Some of the synths reminded me of GCSE music. Totally fine!!
Listened to half of this in the car and the other half with headphones on. While wearing headphones I began to appreciate the textures more. Don’t know why that is. 3/5
all i know about william orbit is that he produced 13 and think tank by blur and said some crazy stuff about how both those albums are about damon and graham breaking up and damon pining for graham. so he’s alright in my book! i thought this was nice. it didn’t blow my mind or anything but i did enjoy listening to it. the british electronic/trip hop scene seems really interesting, i feel like they were doing a hell of a lot more with the genre than anyone in the US at the time.
Pretty good
Ambient uplifting whimsy. I prefer mine a bit darker ala future sounds of London or tangerine dream, but this was quite nice.
Calming vibe, but doesn't feel special in anyway
Pretty nice
I expected to like this more. A little too drum and bass-ish though. And it’s too long.
Listenable, felt like a crescendo was on the horizon and it would just fizzle out
One of the better electronic/ambient records from that era.
Very inoffensive ambient music. It could be music to study to, which will sound a bit boring to some people. Unlike some similar artists, William Orbit mixes in a fair number of live instruments and vocals to give a bit more texture and commercial appeal. It's a lot safer than than the greats of the genre which is good, bad, or just dull, depending on you look at it. It's good background music though. Madonna enlisted Orbit to help with her more electronic stuff in the late 90s, supposedly after Aphex Twin turned her down (or, if you believe the story, after she rejected his offer to produce an album of her making barnyard album noises). Orbit is a good artist and producer, just not particularly innovative compared to others.
This was ok. The review that mentioned this sounds like the soundtrack to a 90’s heist movie was spot on.
not half bad for an electronic/ambient album. nothing i’d listen to on shuffle, but i might revisit eventually
A chill Morcheeba-esque album. Very calming and will be good for working. 3/5
There's better out there
I've been getting into a lot of ambient dub and techno lately, so I was eager to check this album out. Ultimately, I'd say this is an album best enjoyed when you're not paying too much attention to it - in fact, I listened to a good chunk of this thing in my car while running errands around town. I find certain percussive elements to be dated, and the vocals that crop up on certain songs are flat-out tacky. There's still good work here though, like the opener 'Water From A Vine Leaf', 'Harry Flowers', and 'A Touch Of The Night'. I found the ambient portions of 'A Hazy Shade of Random' gorgeous but wasn't as much of a fan of the percussive portions. This effect is amplified in the following track, 'Best Friend, Paranoia,' where I feel that the percussive and spoken-word portions disrupt the beautifully textured ambient opener, which could have been a great track on its own I feel like calling a musical piece "background music" can come off as condescending but I really do believe that certain albums and artists thrive in that particular context. And it's not entirely a bad thing.
Good, non-intrusive, background music if you don't want to be surrounded by quiet. And it did make me wonder what I may have missed by never listening to Strange Cargo I and II.
This is not so much Dance, but more of an Ambient/Eletronic album, interspersed with Spoken Word passages, only one of which I found unbearably annoying. The rest flows nicely. 3/5
Ok. 3
Good ambience but it's very uninteresting to me. Favourite Songs: Water From A Vine Leaf, The Story Of Light, Water Babies. Least Favourite Songs: The Monkey King, Deus Ex Machina.
I didn't expect much other than other electronic/club album, and for me that’s pretty much what I got. I still don’t know, even after the handful of albums in this genre I’ve been handed, what makes a good one versus what makes an excellent one. Maybe I just need to hear some bad ones? Another electronic album, another good time. Three stars. Standout Tracks: Water From a Vine Leaf, A Touch of the Night, A Hazy Shade of Random, Best Friend, Paranoia
A pretty enjoyable if not very impactful electronica album. There wasn't a lot of music going on in the last couple tracks, but the atmosphere was solid throughout. Some good bass. Best song: Water from a Vine Leaf
Lo-fi beats to study to
Even though I always loved the song Lovefool, I never dug any deeper into the tunes of The Cardigans. I can mostly see why, nothing really remarkable but the singer has a good voice that translates to other songs. Sexy Iron Man was interesting
I liked it more than I expected at first as an ambient electronica trip hop listen. Started to get a bit boring by the end though. Reminded me a little of the music in Madonna's Ray of Light / the Matrix / video games where you are hacking the mainframe.
Strange Cargo III is one of those albums that is really good at what it does but unfortunately lacks that small spark to be great. The album was very trippy, very unique, and in some places, very funky. The beats were really well done in the songs that utilized them more making for some really cool tracks but some of the songs were a bit too ambient for their own good causing them to be pretty repetitive and forgettable. This album is a very acquired taste that is difficult to get into if you are just a casual listener but if you are really into this sort of stuff, then this album is really good for providing a weird yet interesting listen. Best Song: Into The Paradise Worst Song: Deus Ex Machina
This was a chill album. Mostly instrumental, calming tunes.
More electronica to nap by
Generic background music. The only notable thing about this album is that it was included in this book. 2.5/5
Begon goed, mission impossible vibes. Wordt wel heel eentonig en saai…
Albumi #24, 20.08.2024 William Orbit on itselleni uusi tuttavuus. Musiikki on ambient-tyylistä downtempo/dub/trip hop -jyrkytystä. Melko helposti kuunneltavaa sellaista. Ei herättänyt suuria tunteita, mutta toimi taustamusiikkina varsin hienosti. Tämä ei ollut huono, ehkä olisi kaivannut silti hieman omaperäisyyttä.
Low-key soundscape electronica.
Really good example of chill-out electronic music.
Wooooooooooooah. Very vibey. Not something I will listen to on the reg, but very glad I've been exposed
Nothing special about this to me. I did feel like I was in a 90s movie walking down the street to some songs.
Enjoyable electronic music from 1993 which I can only imagine was totally mind blowing at the time it came out. In 2024, some of it is borderline unremarkable even if other tracks are solidly timeless so far as electronic music goes. Overall, I looped it a few times and enjoyed it on each listen even if I checked out of the occasional song.
Nice downtempo/electronica album from the first half of the 1990s, though it's not as memorable overall than his later work in the decade. Background music, but a pleasant one.
It's okay, it's ambient techno babble, think massive Attack with no personality...
Honestly thought this was going to be more Brit bias trash, but it was a fun enough listen.
Chill but not memorable
Mid mid-90s ambient techno. Even did some programming to this, but was still just okay. 3/5
Pretty cool. Would like to revisit whilst stoned in the car.
Liked it! Kind of nondescript to the extent that I didn't realize it was over when my app started playing some other mellow electronic instrumentals.
I didn’t know what this was and I still don’t know what it is but I liked it
This wasn't bad, but it wasn't very novel or interesting. I'm not really sure why it is on this list. I did like some of the sound textures that were created on this album, but it did seem to be longer than necessary.
Great textures, mystic atmospheres. I do not know if there are strange cargo I and strange cargo II, but strange cargo III is a nice album. Something to play on to smooth the room.
That's definitely a William Orbit album eh. Quite enjoyed it to work to.
I know of William Orbit from his work with Peter Gabriel on the US album and his track on the Plus From US album. I really like his sonic landscape and his ability to create an atmosphere with mostly electronic instruments. I liked this album!
Really liked the first two songs even tho electronic music usually isn't my thing but it rather dropped off after that. It all started to run together and sound the same to me
Je hebt van die electronische albums die 30 jaar oud zijn maar klinken alsof ze vorige week zijn uitgebracht. Dit album is daar geen voorbeeld van. De eerste 40 minuten zijn electronische, ja wat voor stijl is het eigenlijk, muziek. Lekker aan de pillen in de RoXY, Joost van Bellen die dit integraal aanzet. De laatste ongeveer 20 minuten zijn meer ambient, zweven in de ruimte. Dat vind ik vaak toch wel lekker ook. De stijlswitch is wel vreemd, want daardoor voelt dit album nog langer aan. Een iets gedateerd album van een uur. Voor mij heeft het album te weinig inhoud om het een uur te laten voortslepen. Aan de andere kant is het wel zo dat het me niet echt irriteert. Ik denk dat een 3 een fair cijfer is.
After the first couple of songs it reminded me of opening music from ER and then all I could think is 90's sitcom opening credits or 90-00's movie background music (Gone in 60 Seconds). Which at first made me think meh...but writing those few cords that stick with you and make a moment in a movie more memorable are amazing. So I will give it a 3 because there is something there but I think I have heard enough of it.
It's good electronic dance music. Pretty cool but not really my thing. Cool background music at a party.
peaceful and dark at the same time. Nice
What's this? An obscure 90s english electronica album that I actually liked? What universe is this? So yeah, I actually kind of enjoyed this one. I really thought that this would be another Haunted Dancehall situation. Fortunately, this was way better. This might actually be one of the best (mostly) instrumental albums I've gotten so far. It's not quite as good as something like Endtroducing, but it's sure as hell better than something like both of the Fatboy Slim albums I've gotten or the aforementioned Haunted Dancehall. I listened to this album while building a Lego set, so maybe the usage as background music made me enjoy it more than I would if I just listened to it on its own. The sound is just really engaging. That's what my praise really boils down to. I have problems, sure. Despite my focus on other things at the time, I can kind of tell that the album gets a bit worse as it nears its end. I liked the first few songs a lot more than the last few songs. The vocals don't really do it for me either. They're fine, but not that important to the overall package. I feel like this music would work really well in something like a video game documentary. Like if you've ever seen a Summoning Salt video, that's what I'm imagining. Overall, while this doesn't really need to be on the list, I feel like this album is somewhat of a hidden gem. It's a shame it's not available on Apple Music. It's almost a 4, but I don't know if I feel comfortable rating this on the same level as albums like The Downward Spiral or even the Marshall Mathers LP. High 3/5.
It’s pretty chill electronic music. Not mindblowing; not awful either.
Solid three stars. It's best consumed as an ambient album rather than giving it your full attention, allowing the sounds to drip into your ear rather like...water on a vine leaf.
Relaxing ambient music.
Very relaxing. Some bleeps and bloops. Kind of faded into the background.
Ambient music, it’s a nice background listen for sure. Not super into it, but it’s a nice listen is all.
Aight
I definitely heard this in the clubs during the 90s. Another album that I maybe don't have the context for why it is on the list, but it seems fine.
This was entirely fine, with moments of really good. On balance, it’s fine.
Most of this album sounds like the soundtrack for a 90s JRPG with a beat underneath. Nothing wrong with it, but not very interesting unless i'm min/maxing my emo loner teen protagonist at the same time.
Coolt album men lite för mycket knas ibland Bästa låt: Water from a vine leaf
Electronic, world, house, ambient, trance, hip hop, dub. Bien.
I wasn't really impressed by this - maybe I would have preferred more actual tunes.
The album has been in my collection for a long time. I haven't listened to it for a while. So it was good to find it again. I like William Orbit. I like his sound. Unfortunately, I'm a little disappointed with this album. He's done better work. 3/5
A weird little mix tape - reminds me literally of that, a mix tape from the 90s played out of the tape deck in Dads car. Very of the time. I could see it being a sci-fi film soundtrack. Lacks a really hook to have repeat listening.
weird but groovy.
Very laid back electronica. Probably won't listen again as I don't find music like this enjoyable to just sit and listen as background music. Not because it's bad, but because I find it not engaging in the slightest. 3/5.
2.5 stars. This was decent electronic, ambient trance music. Nice to have on in the background while I'm working/focusing but not very memorable.
I woke up way too early and I’m away from my Soundsystem on vacation so I put this album on. I put it on low so it’s not to disturb the other guest. I found it to be very soothing and I fell right back asleep!
Electronic, world, house, ambient, trance, hip hop, dub. Bien.
Absolutely average album, good for a sleepy day, when you just need one more push to take a nap. Honestly, I have nothing to say about the record, it changed exactly nothing in my life, except for the perception of time.
A strange trip into ambient that mixes a variety of genres to soothe the soul
That record should have been included in any well considered time capsule from the 90s.
A bit low energy but I guess that's just how he does it.
some cool vibes!
Chill sämre boards of canada
Very moody almost brooding music. Driving and yet mellow. I like it for the most part but it gets a little long-winded about 1/2 way through. 3 stars
Some light block rockin' beats....listenable, but nothing I added to my 'Liked' playlist.
Solid instrumental grooves for 90s electronica, like being in a club in Matrix or Blade worlds
While this is cool, I much prefer the songs that do not have words.
I give this one a thumbs-up. I have to be in the right mood for something like this— late night, headphones, etc.
2 albums in a row now that I had to go into the weeds to find & listen. Never heard of Orbit. Now I have…beep beep boop bleep. Catchy stuff.
This was kinda cool. Tempos were all similar which at first I thought was annoying but grew on me over time
Ok as a background to work on. Has not aged as well as some of the other records of this period. Electronic music really ages fast!
William Orbit is possibly best known for his contributions to Madonna's album Ray of Light, which is perhaps one of her best. Here, we get a taste for his solo downtempo material as listeners are immersed in his ambient dub-infused vibe. It's pretty straightforward and nothing stood out too much, but it was still enjoyable all the way through.
Not a bad album. Could have used a little bit of judicious editing. Most songs are too long, and the album overall goes on for too long. Hazards of the CD age I guess. Still the actual songs are decent, have actual melodies rather than just random electronic bleeps like some of the electronica here.
A good listen but has some dull moments
Really enjoyed this, probably about 20 minutes to long though
Strange Cargo III I liked this, although I think there are possibly better versions of this type of album. The echoey drums and synth squelches and noises do sound very 90s. And you can see what he bought to the Ray of Light album, although less so of what he bought to 13. I liked the first track, had a nice sense of propulsion and I liked the piano holding the hook. Didn’t realise it was Beth Orton, didn’t sound like her. It made me want to listen to Trailer Park and Central Reservation again, as those are fantastic. Listening to it, I did wonder if he’s a better producer and arranger for other peoples songs rather than his own? Nothing stood out massively and there was a similarity in sounds and noises across each track. I can imagine putting this in to work to, but not really listening to it it properly. Not bad, but also not in the top tier of layered electronic instrumental music. Might try some of his other albums but more likely to forget to. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Venn diagram of spa and club, of downtempo and AI-generated. “Water from a Vine Leaf” (early Beth Orton!) and “The Story of Light” are cool and vibe-y. Much of the rest feels forgettable, even if it’s better than Strange Cargo II. That it sounds less dated than much other electronica/EDM/chill strikes one as pretty faint praise. As with much electronica, there’s a sense of randomness and limited connectivity or consistency across cuts – a “Hazy Shade of Random” indeed, to put it in the terms of a great song title here. Because one can gain no purchase on the structure or essence, one can only say the whole thing’s just okay. Maybe will be remembered for being ahead of it's time it's not.
I liked the first half quite a lot. That had some good chill beats but they stayed interesting. The 2nd half seemed to get slower and weirder as it went on.
Interesting, but not something I would choose for myself.
I have a separate collection of albums I've saved from this list just to get high to. This album is 100% making that list. At its best, this album can put out some incredible soundscapes with really rich instrumentation and is surprisingly funky. At its worst sounds more like his definition of ambient music is literally just soft noises to fill space. The change in effort from song to song is confusing to me. Still, I would say that the good outweighs the bad on this one.
I new of William Orbit as a producer for other artists' records, but I'd not listened to any of his own albums before. On my first play, I thought this was nice enough, but not particularly outstanding.
it was alright, kinda liked it
Very heavy trance stuff. I like the rhythm lines most of all. Gets heavy into meditation-esque music at the end, causing me to lose focus pretty heavily. Still not into the 90s electronic music rapping, which gracefully only appears on one track. Favorite track: "The Monkey King"
Weird, not bad 3.5 stars
Vegan cafe muzak.
Was intrigued to listen to this because I recognized the artist as a big remix producer in the 90’s especially for Madonna’s Ray of Light album. I still have a couple of CD remix singles from that album, mostly because they don’t sell for diddly on Amazon or Discogs. Anyway, decent here and there, but nothing I ever need to hear again.
Too much of an ok thing
2.5
Thoroughly enjoyable and different. 3*
Enjoyed it. Not as much as the other one but still found it nice to listen to. Some good tunes.
Bisschen zu abgespaced
Tempo driven, ambient, chillaxing
I like that as a side tone ...
Wow. All i could think about is how this would sound at Despacio tent
A lot better than I had expected it to be. Well worth another look
3.5
I have not listened to much electronica music but this was pretty good. I could listen to more. I give this 3.5 stars.
I was glad I listened. I didn’t love all of it but it felt good to try new things. I had never heard of this band or album prior. It felt like each cut would open and draw me in but then I’d get lost in widening electronica.
Some absolutely gorgeous synth sounds here. Very vibey.
Decent background music while getting work done.
Ok
Music I usually do not listen to, but goes well as background music when working. Will not be looking for more music from William Orbit, though.
Ambient. Good production. Love the use of classical instruments. Could have better use of song structure to add tension and release.
Interesting album!
at first I wasn't into it but by Deus Ex Machina I was down.
Best Song: Water From A Vine Leaf. a long and interesting song that goes many different directions, but all of them listenable. Worst Song: Deus Ex Machina. What the hell was this, a radio play? Overall: Pleasantly surprised, but not overwhelmed. Good background music that'll make you bob your head, but interspersed with too much non-musical junk so that you never sink fully into the chill vibe.
1993 Genre: Electronic, world, house, ambient, trance, hip hop, dub Don't know him, don't know any of the music. I've always liked electronic music. Most Well Known song: Water from a Vine Leaf (according to Google searches) 5:5: (None) 4/5: Water From a Vine Leaf, Into the Paradise, Best Friend Paranoia Not something I would have ever heard if it wasn't on the list. I can get into it. Definitely. Rating: 3.75
Nice ambient music - but that's all. Great if you're stoned, otherwise, meh.
good background electronic music. like today's version of lo-fi hip hop stations on streaming
Pretty good
It was very 90s. One of the tracks sounded exactly like the ‘welcome to windows 98’ song. It was pretty uneventful overall and I can’t really see why it’s on the list, maybe one of the authors used to smoke weed whilst listening to it at uni. Having said that the track water babies made me feel something, it was like well crafted hold music.
Cool music, found the voices/lyrics annoying since I didn't understand the language
Solid electronica. Nothing too unique or revolutionary but enjoyable as background music.
Went into this blind and had no idea what to expect from the album cover. I loved when the drums came in on the first track. This record has a lot of ingredients of music that I like and particularly music that I have listening to lately. Electronic sounds with repetitive drum loops, synths, and some organic sounds scattered through. Unfortunately all of these combined don't necessarily make a good dish, you still need to prepare everything correctly. It just ended up being a little bit too straightforward for me.
Influential, but not essential. I would have preferred something by The Chemical Brothers, The Crystal Method, The Orb, or even Moby.
Not completely awful, I usually am the biggest hater of electronica music, but this I kind of enjoyed. It had many bits and pieces I liked, and was overall a surprisingly somewhat-pleasant listen.
Nice throwback psych-electronica album. Like Orbital meets an Ayahuasca Shaman.
Blippy, trippy, innovative and stylistically diverse, easy on the ears. Fave Songs: Into the Paradise; Water from a Vine Leaf; A Hazy Shade of Random; Harry Flowers; Best Friend, Paranoia
Listened Before? N After peeping some of the absolutely scathing reviews of this one here, I have to say - I disagree that it's trash. Despite it's lack of meaningful vocals and the length of the tracks, I really enjoyed it. Sure, it's just mood music, but it's pretty damn good mood music. Added to Library? N Songs added to playlist: Water From A Vine Leaf
Rie-lekst! Na een paar wazige gitaarplaten weer eens een stukje elektronisch uit de 90s. Het is triphoppy en lounge-achtig voor mijn ongeoefende dance oor, het heeft zelfs vibes van Massive Attack (zoals nr 3 Time to get Wize, met Divine Bashim als een soort Tricky). Ik zou dit niet de hele dag willen draaien, maar elke keer als er een plaat als deze voorbij komt, luister ik het uur met ongelooflijk veel plezier. Lekker rustig en relaxed, uitstekende muziek om in de ochtend te draaien. Op het eind wordt het wel wat teveel ambient Brian Eno muziek voor op een vliegveld. Dat kost de plaat toch weer een puntje. Het begint dus 4+, vervolgens kabbelt het wat voort naar een 4- om daarna te verzanden in een 3-. Gemiddeld een 3,5.
Lovely background electronica
nice sounds, doesn't really do anything or go anywhere.
You could say it orbits around what would be a good album, never quite being in range.
Water From A Vine Leaf - 8/10 Into The Paradise - 8/10 Time To Get Wize - 7.5/10 Harry Flowers - 7.5/10 A Touch Of The Night - 7.5/10 The Story Of Light - 8.5/10 Gringatcho Demento - 7.5/10 A Hazy Shade Of Random - 7.5/10 Best Friend, Paranoia - 7/10 The Monkey King - 7/10 Deus Ex Machina - 7.5/10 Water Babies - 7/10 TOTAL - 90.5/120
Atmospheric. Could see it influencing a lot of electronic and even house music. It grew on me, I liked it more than I thought I would!
Actually didn’t hate it. Would probably put this on again. 3 stars.
Until now, the only William Orbit stuff I was familiar with was Ray of Light, Pieces in a Modern Style and some Blur remixes. As the album started the sounds took me back to the early 90s and I loved. You can tell that Orbit is a 'proper' musician and I like how his compositions on this album unfold. As it went on it became more ambient and my attention began to wander.
Ambient-with-a-beat electronica. It didn't draw me in and grab me, but it was enjoyable. Great music to work to.
heist and chill
I played it.
More electronic stuff. Not too interested in this genre, but this album was acceptable as background noise while working. Meh.
It's all very nice but I doubt I'll listen to it again I find this genre a bit meaningless
Instrumental electronic album, the kind I call video game music. Not bad, not great either. Stand-out: Water Babies
Soft 3
Kind of interesting. I liked it more than I usually like this kind of thing.
This wasn't bad, though it often kind of just faded into the background of whatever I was doing. Nothing wrong with that, just not enough to keep me actively engaged when listening.
Pretty chill! C
waytoodank
Interesting pre techno. Not something I would listen to, but very cool
I couldn’t find it on Apple Music , so I’m saying no to this first one call me a poser
I don’t usually listen to ambient music, but this was definitely good for what it was, even though I probably won’t revisit it.
i think i like some funky electronica
Très dense et riche, sombre, hypnotique. Un peu daté dans ses rythmes. Trop froid pour moi.
great instrumental album to listen while working, but the songs sort of blend into each other
Very cool album
Pretty nice trancy album. I was vibing to it while playing video games. Just played it through twice
hypnotic
I feel this has a lot of growing to do on me, abd while I love the early 90s aesthetic to it, these songs go from not bad to decent almost every time. Not much to talk about, but it was a mildly interesting listen at least.
1. Out on the Weekend - it’s not too bad, harmonica solo…I like the music but feel like it could go a bit harder or faster. 2. Harvest - I don’t like this one very much it’s giving more country than rock. 3. A Man Needs a Maid - piano driven I actually quite like the musical style of this one but the lyrics are a little weak for me. It really snapped in the last min of the song. 4. Heart of Gold - this one is pretty good I can see why it was a hit. 5. Are You Ready for the Country - again it’s very country influenced so don’t love it, I liked the lyrics in the second verse though. 6. Old Man - I actually like this one it’s got a nice theme to it, the music and lyrics are good. 7. There’s a World - this one has really dramatic songs, don’t love it but I appreciate trying to do something different. It sounds like musical theatre or like cinematic score to me. 8. Alabama - finally hearing some electric guitar so it’s more rocky to me. And much boppier. Actually I kinda love this one just read the lyrics and it’s criticising Alabamas racism! I’m a sucker for that 9. The Needle and the Damage Done - I didn’t mind this one, not that memorable. 10. Words (Between the Lines of Age) - I don’t mind this one again the sound is much closer to the kind of rock I like. Not sure it needs to be 6 mins long. Overall I didn’t mind this one done off the songs were a little too country tinted for me. I liked the rockier ones but also I don’t love his style of writing lyrics that much, some are a little pretentious.
I enjoyed this quite a bit. It starts out with a couple of tracks that have a bit of a dub feel and goes to some unexpected places after that.
The first minute of this album had me really on board for the one hour runtime but I don't think it could quite keep up that momentum. I felt similar to this as I did to selected ambient works in that you only really need to listen to it for as long as you want to instead of trying to force yourself through a full hour. However, selected ambient works far, far outclasses this album in pretty much every way. That album has tracks that I'd listen to on loop regardless of mood while this album is strictly for studying or relaxing and most tracks blend together with the exception of the very start and Deus ex machina.
Good background music for work
Good!
Normally I’m the first guy to bash electronic music…but there’s something about this I loved. Maybe it’s the stunning mix or interesting production decisions. Whatever it is or was I loved hearing the wholly unique sound of this.
Not bad but it didn’t blew my mind. Nevertheless it has some good ideas and strong tracks.
I got through all but the last two songs. It brought back many memories of the early 90's. It was great to rehash the memories, but the songs really didn't do it for me.
I’m not normally an electronic music fan, but there’s something about William Orbit. His songs just have such a nice groove to them. 3 stars.
Good music to have in the background imo. Some of the songs were a bit too long but was still an enjoyable album if not a little boring sometimes.
un peu trop strange pas assez cargo
i mean it’s an hour long techno album it’s gonna get a little boring. the last 2 songs were my favorites though so definitely worth the listen!
Favourite song: Water From A Vine Leaf
Didn't hate it, but it felt so empty and meaningless compared to some other great electronic albums. Air's work has a cool, funky, refreshing atmosphere, Aphex Twin is melancholic and emotional, and so many others have a feel good, party vibe. I get nothing here other than technical profiency, which isn't enough. 02/08/23
oh boy more electronic noodling, my favorite! Harry Flowers is a good track. nice music to dissassociate to, not really listen to. like the elevator music from outerspace.
Decent. Worked as solid background music, but it wasn't amazing. 3/5
Pretty enjoyable background tunes.
Good background music
Just another random album of sounds and beats.
Surprisingly not that bad because lots of it is decent ambiance music for the background
- Never heard of this before - Not my usual thing, but it's pretty nice background music - Hard to differentiate between the tracks to say what my favourite or least favourite ones were, but I still enjoyed it
Very spacey which is fitting The first half actually is pretty decent and the second half doesn’t actively suck 3.5
It really feels like there are a lot of electronic albums on this list just for the sake of padding the number of electronic albums on the list. This is one of those albums. I mean, it's FINE, I guess. Perfectly serviceable electronic background music. Nothing even remotely special about it but also nothing terribly offensive. The most remarkable thing about it is how remarkably indifferent it left me feeling about it.
Another electronic album, this one more ambient and worldly than the previous day. I guess that's the difference between.....Orbital and William Orbit. Coincidence? Who knows. Anyway, this album isn't on Apple Music for some reason, which is a shame because I'm going to have to put some placeholder tracks in my playlist to represent this. Orbital II is on there, no Orbital III. But it's a cool album, a nice spacey, international vibe to it, but it's still very clearly from the '90s, they can't shake that sound. I can dig it. Favorite tracks: Into the Paradise, Gringatcho Demento, A Hazy Shade of Random. Album art: A picture of some kind of ancient sculpted scene, what seems to be a nude king and queen, and they both got...nevermind. Not bad though, font and titling is pretty cool. 3.5/5
Enjoyed SG I as well as this one.
Has some moments (Harry Flowers especially) that remind me of a Final Fantasy soundtrack. Pretty chill background vibe music. 3.5
Yeah enjoyed this one, deserves its place on the list.
Some kind of proto psydub. Some tracks have had more love put in to them. Overall great find!
Yawn. But nice for background music. 3/5
There was one very good song and the rest sounded like the backing track of a bbc crime drama
Yea pretty good
sounds like early 2000s jason bourne extreme ways credits techno
sonzinho eletronico interessante, bom pra estudar ouvindo
A showcase of a lot of electronic music in the 90's, given a William Orbit spin. Made for home and for the dancefloor in one go, and that deserves some praise.
Electronic, world, house, ambient, trance, hip hop, dub. Bien.
3.5 good background music
I have a strong appreciation for ambient music and for spending time in William’s orbit, but I ultimately found the gravitational pull of this record to be a bit lacking.
Pretty good.
It's easy listening. I quite enjoyed it but let's face the fact this is aural wallpaper.
Wtf. Jeg likte det, men kommer nok ikke til å høre på det igjen så da kan det ikke få noe høyere enn 3
Not exactly my vibes, but pretty cool
The album has its moments. "Water from a vine leaf" is amazing, "The story of the light" 5/5. Unfortunately... the album quickly gets boring.
Spooky ambient stuff toward the end was in my wheelhouse, I enjoyed skulking around to it. As for the rest, it was overwhelmingly fine. One of those I just let play through for the most part, never particularly captured my attention for being impressively good or bad.
reasonable electronic
Just fine
Not bad for midday background music in the neighborhood boho coffeehouse.
Actually quite peaceful. Not something I'd ever choose to put on and listen to though
Like most 90s electronica, this has some awesome tracks and some completely forgettable ones. Let's switch to a singles collection with some remixes.
Chill, nice music with some funky funk now and then. Enjoyed.
Though never explicitly stated, it seems these albums were an early blend of electronic and world music. It's groovy if not oddly distant at points. Becomes a bit repetitive towards the end of the album, but was an interesting listen.
Solid
Boring at times, but overall a nice, cool vibe
Pleasant mature dance music, but a touch boring. I can hear what he did for Madonna. Low 3
Ik ben late to the party, maar ik vind dit dus prima muziek om bij te werken of gewoon een beetje duf voor je uit te staren.
Accessible William Orbit record, easy to listen to, a bit outdated sound, fine.
So I worked away at clearing up paperwork and taxes, and this was just a nice backdrop to it... the album probably deserves better than taxes busy work though. Adding to my listen to it again list.
Arranca bien pero después se me hace muy monótono. No lo pude terminar. Busquen «Adagio For Strings» y van a ver de dónde sacaron a este pibe.
Chillish lounge-electronica. It's there and it's fine and that's about it.