Snivilisation

1994 was an amazing year. At a Halloween party that year, I hooked up with a beautiful Asian woman dressed as a cat (she could have been any nationality now that I think about it, and was dressed as an Asian cat - anything was possible in '94). I was dressed up as The Joker. Jack Nicholson's Joker in Tim Burton's Batman to be precise. She and I left the party to go to her place and fool around. Before things got too deep, she paused and said, "Now go into the bathroom and take off your makeup. I want to see what the real Joker looks like." We'd been making out a while, and she had some of my Joker makeup on her face so it was hard for me to take her seriously. I told her this was my true appearance. Apparently, I was quite protective of my secret identity back in those days. We all were. I went down on her as the Joker instead. That's who I am. I'm a giver. That's as far as we got. Joker Brand Products didn't include Joker Brand Condoms in '94. If they existed, they'd surely be purple and shaped like a smiley face. I still think about that little minx a lot. We probably could have built a wonderful life together. 1994 was also the year Jackie Kennedy, Kurt Cobain, and Nicole Brown Simpson died. It was the year when the baseball strike cancelled the World Series, and this album was released. So it wasn't all hooking up with Saucy Asian Felines, even though it felt like it was. I also met my future wife a week after that Halloween party. We were married for 9 years until she divorced my ass, but have two wonderful children together who continue to amaze, inspire and fill me with joy everyday. What I'm saying is a lot of good things came out of 1994, but this album certainly wasn't one of them. Thankfully it wasn't on my radar in '94. In fact, I didn't have to suffer listening to any of this until today. But life's funny like that. Maybe I went to that Halloween party because there was no World Series. If the Joker had more than one night with that Asian Cat Lady, I would have never met my (first) wife, would never have experienced the joy of my children. Which reminds me: on our first date, my wife and I went to the movies. I wanted to see Pulp Fiction, but went the safe route and chose Forest Gump. And I bet if we saw Pulp Fiction that night, we'd still be married. That Asian Cat Lady would have LOVED Pulp Fiction as much as I still do. Maybe if this album was playing at her apartment after that Halloween party, I would have gladly washed off my Joker makeup. Maybe we would have had unprotected sex. Anything to drown out this album.

The bleeps where very bleepy and the bloops where just as bloopy. Not something I would of seeked out but glad I gave it a listen.

Felt like I was on hold for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Tech-NO

Although Orbital's music is classified as "techno" there can be no doubt the brothers' skills transcend that poppy genre and this album is their finest work. It is a concept album so you must listen to it from beginning to end and every track (with one exception) is excellent. The album comes to a climax on "Are We Here?". Perhaps what is most commendable about Orbital is their ability to build a beat in the abscence of a central boom-boom beat that is so common in electronic music. If you listen closely, the beat is actually built by layering the loops carefully so as to build a rhythm that dances around where the beat would be.

Listening to this record is like having to watch your 6 year old brother after he just got done snorting pixie sticks and there’s no sign of his sugar high ever wearing off. Overly busy, grating electronica. Zero chill. It’s maddening.

Mysterious secrets of the rave. Minimalism, experimentalism, and classic techno collide. Conceptually rich, diverse and epic.

Is it a dance fest, am I playing Sims, or is this a happy hardcore party? Definitely a bit too crazy for me to listen to during work.

“Snivilisation”, a title with Gen X reek: easy cynicism, a cheap pun, comfortable edginess. Slowly, the kids are beginning to hate us as much as the Boomers… Dated title apart, this is alright. Better heard on headphones if not in a club, my favourite parts creep around the ears, just a little off-kilter. The sarcastic corporate samples are largely tiresome, reminders of well-worn 90’s cynicism. The best clichéd 90’s sample source will always be “Robocop”, or “Scarface” if you’re listening to the Wu Tang Clan. Unlikely to seek out again, but wouldn’t complain if someone put it on. Two point seven. Was three, but ending the record with two ten minutes-plus tracks is a contemptible move.

I so wish that this kind of stuff was breaking when I turned 18. Trap and Dubstep will always have a special place but this is so much more interesting and mind blowing. Totally out of control soundscape that transports you to a different universe via an aural blackhole. This record is the 50m high solid gold gate that leads to the other astral dimensions we've been seeking since the beginning of time.

Excellent background music, but not much that drives it into the foreground for me.

Wow, amazing album. One of the Best things that happened in 1994. I have never heard about this band until 1001. Thank you!

Acid, experimental, eerie sounds and so modern that I sometimes forget that this is more the 25 years old.

Orbital! I didn't realize they'd made this album. THANK YOU TO THIS LIST for enlightening me. Ever since Halcyon+on+on, I've been a fan. Easy 5 stars.

Packed with personality and filled with surprising twists and turns. Great beats with music that kept me guessing. Those overlapping piano loops in “Kein Trink Wasser” are beautiful. Highlights: “Sad but True,” “Crash and Carry,” “Kein Trink Wasser,” “Attached”

I seldom listen to electronic music so I am woefully unfamiliar with this genre and the artists who practice in it. Nice to get more intros into the form through this project. This is a really good album. I've moved beyond old prejudices I held before; the ones that had me declare "I prefer music made with REAL instruments" in some misguided torch-bearing for 'authentic' music or some such made-up nonsense standard. I am very grateful to be far more open to music made by, well, anything. I'll experience it how I experience it, or at least I do my best to program my mind to receive and perceive all art through that process. This album has some excellent music in it and I enjoyed the experience of listening to it. At times, it was a little too frenetic for me, but I understand this band was into the rave thing and that kind of music is probably right for that scene. (I'll bet that sentence comes across as unhip and square as I am in real life ;-) I am very early in learning music, mostly as a guitarist but also a little voice and piano as well as music theory through my various studies. Honestly, this album has piqued my interest in this genre, so I won't be surprised if I add it my course of studies.

Wow. The. Repetitive. Nature. Of. EDM/House Music. Is. Not. My Jam. Sorry, Orbital - I am definitely not your target audience so I'm rating this one as such. I'd never revisit this. There are a couple of positives I did take away from this album that I will never listen to willingly again: the first 4 "songs" didn't grate on me. This earlier portion of the record was fairly easy to do some "deep work" to as it played in the background. Some of the tracks, like Crash and Carry, had some melodic spots. And then things completely traversed into noisy EDM repetition, including "songs" more than 15 minutes long that made me want to jump off the closest bridge. Memory unlocked: I do recall there being an Orbital song on the EDM/electronica-heavy soundtrack for the forgettable 90s movie "The Saint," though - why I bought that as a teen, I do not remember. Certainly not because of Orbital (sorry, Orbital). Interesting factoid (only one this time) from Wikipedia: *The band released the album at the time of the launch of the Criminal Justice Act, the legislation that gave British Police greater legal powers to break up unlicensed raves that gave Orbital its name. The Are We Here? single featured the track "Are We Here? (Criminal Justice Bill?)", which consists of four minutes of complete silence. Standouts: Forever, Crash and Carry

this takes me back, playing in the room of every cool kid in college in the early days before we all figured out that nobody among us was really cool at all. Typical Orbital, ravey but pleasant and melodic without being too challenging, not bad really although the vocal samples are pretty annoying in places

Heck yeah. 5am. 32 degrees. Walking the best dog around the block. Drinking coffee. Listening to techno. I felt so European. Playing on loop.

8/10 Finally some decent electronic music, which this list severely lacks. Will be curious to see if there is more from Orbital, because there are definitely better albums than this. This still sounds great, classic 90s dance music with that signature orbital synth sound. You can feel how some of this influenced work that came after, like Duck Feet having a definite Boards of Canada vibe. Best: Philosophy by Numbers

Snivilisation is a really weird album (probably because it's an electronic album and those have often been pretty weird). There are things that i like about it and things that i don't like about it. This album does have plenty of cool beats, some well done melodies and enough 90s charm to be really memorable. I thought i was gonna give this album a 4 but as it kept going, i soon realized that towards the end, it was just going to drag itself out especially with it's last two songs which easily pass the 10 minute mark. The album did get pretty tiring towards the end but i still liked the majority of it. Best Song: Crash And Carry Worst Song: I Wish I Had Duck Feet

Hm. Probably not a good combination to get Bjork on one day, and Orbital the next, but that's the way it goes somedays. I'd actually gotten the other Orbital album in this collection early on ("Orbital 2"), and I'd have to say I'm hard pressed to distinguish between the two albums. I enjoy their music overall, but more as background music than an active listening experience, and I find it hard to believe that this was intended to be rave/dance music, frankly, but then again I wasn't living in the UK during that time, or seeing the Orwellian impact of things like the Criminal Justice Act, which it seems Orbital was railing against. (That said, the US has had its own share of social decay and disintegration over the decades highlighted by misguided political strongarm tactics.) "Crash and carry" and "Quality seconds" were the only two tracks that I noticed, the former for being more dance-oriented and the latter for being almost Ministry-style. A few years after this album was released, I remember discovering an internet radio station labeled "Music to code by", and this fits that bill quite well both then and now. (I wish I could remember the site that provided access to these curated "stations"; I think it was something like Live365 but with a different name, and plagued by *lots* of buffering and outages, but regardless I remember that particular station had more Everything But the Girl and Portishead than Orbital, but still....) And while it's waaay too long, even for the ambience, the album has a creative/amusing cover.

This was pretty good actually. If some of the songs were shorter it would have been better though.

Nice house/dance vibes with Snivilisation, great to chill out to or have in the background whilst working/studying. Best: Science Friction Worst: Are We Here?

So that's two Orbital albums and zero They Might Be Giants. We're in the last 200 albums of this experiment now. No Lemonade. No Breeders, Ween, Whitney Houston. Two Orbital albums, though. I mean I get maybe putting one on here to represent this corner of the music world. But what can two Orbital albums do for us that a single The End of the Tour cannot?

Solid

Bought this on CD when first release and have regularly listened since. An awesome album. I cannot believe its over 30 years old ....

Amazing sounds, funky beats

Classic 3rd album which takes a sharp turn from their 2nd (also on this list). There are several spellbinding tracks on this: the jazzy opener Forever, the moody Sad But True featuring Alison Goldfrapp, who also features on the album centrepiece, the incredible 15 minute Are We Here? The grandest thing they did, until the next album. There are a couple of tracks on it I don’t like but I felt that 4 was too low so I’m giving it top marks.

very chill, love it

One of many many albums that I like way more having read some reviews and got insight into what I should be listening for - someone points out that most of the time there is no central beat, and 'everything dances around where the beat should be' - once my dumb ass knew to listen out for this, I was entranced

That's a keeper! Looking forward to going for the group rides during the summer and playing this

Awesome old school dance. Interesting melodies and samples. Really one of those 'why hadn't I heard of them before?' moments

Orbital at its best. This album invokes that sense of wonder overlaid with the harsh industrial type samples that make for an amazing contrast. These guys are great for invoking a special mood, always go back to them. I prefer Insides a little to this one, but this is still great, and some classic Orbital on this.

hell yeah

Techno-Ambient music to chill to.

Can’t believe this was 1994….

Great synth soundscape.

There's a special place in my heart for this album, even though I haven't listened to it in a long time. I discovered Orbital around the time I started my first year of college (2009), which was a time of great musical exploration for me, going to club nights and gigs in the city for the first time, and of course music festivals. I actually got free tickets to see Orbital that year (or maybe it was the year after) and went with a friend, had a brilliant time. This album was always my favourite of theirs, so takes me back to those days. Theirs some really interesting blending of styles on here, and the few vocals there are offer interesting critique of technology's impact of society, advertising, and also the crackdown on electronic music in the 90s. I'm not sure if I picked up on all that before, but after a couple of closer listens it all makes sense. The standout tracks for me are Forever, Kein Trink Wasser, and Are We Here, but there's not really any weak tracks imo.

Holds up exceptionally well in my opinion

Expected to hate this, but loved it.

As a huge Brown album convert, I could never get into this album on previous occasions. Something is happening however today, I'm really digging it. Feel like I'm waking up to this record for the first time. Maybe it's something about the hooks, they're less obvious, insistent perhaps, but they're there. I'm loving every track in different ways. Finished very strongly as well with Are we Here and Attached. Going into rotation.

Rating: 9/10 Best songs: Forever, Sad but true, Crash and carry, Kein trink wasser, Quality seconds, Are we here?

Extremely good album. Together with Insides, Dubnobasswithmyheadman and Exit Planet Dust, probably my favourite 4 electronic albums from the 90s.

Fantastic album, arguably Orbital's best work.

Very interesting and enjoyable.

This album is so cool! Can’t believe it wasn’t on my radar before now. Right up my alley.

Incredible

Beep boop beep

IDM with deep themes? That's like catnip to me. Love this so much.

Fantastic

Cool soundtrack

Decent until Crash and Carry, then it becomes amazing.

cool

My wife introduced me to Orbital, and this is one of the albums she had a physical copy of and was in high rotation. For people who know me they would understand that I Wish I Had Duck Feet is a fave. I really like Philosophy by Numbers and the way it feels more like an extension of Science Friction. Kein Trink Wasser, Quality Seconds are great and Are We Here? is another favourite.

Not necessarily the Orbital album I woulda chosen, but what the hell, you can't go too far wrong. This is very much the sort of chin-stroking intellect-masturbatory music that appeals to the specific type of nerd that I am. I started out being a nowt-but-metalhead but I could see the utility in ambient music for soothing scene-setting. Orbital was the first act that made me think I could enjoy upbeat electronica too. Fave track - "Forever", maybe, or "Are We Here?" - I'd happily listen to the whole album again at the drop of a hat though...

Partially too experimental, but in general - an epic electronic opus

This is right up my street. Added to my collection, heard a fair bit of dirge from orbital, and some that I absolutely love, (illuminate is my absolute fave and I can't stand David Gray usually). Anyway, this was a great listen, not one for every day, but great end of busy week relaxing album.

Pretty good beats to relax to.I was doing other stuff while I was listening.Perfect for that.

I like it

A peculiar album, even the repetitiveness of the album doesn't make it boring, it makes you follow a kinda dream. It's just so interesting to hear but I don't think it's and album to hear everyday or every moment

I’ve listened to orbital before and loved them so seeing this album come up got me excited and it was a really good listen! All tracks I really enjoyed.

Amazingly groundbreaking IDM from the 90's. Still sounds fresh and new.

Exactly what my brain needed on a stressful Wednesday morning. Orbital are at their best when they're doing more chilled-out stuff.

Very cool electronica. Enjoyed it a lot

Huge part of my 90s soundtrack

Very unique ambiance, I love it !

Found a new favorite artist

richtig gutes Album, schön abwechslungsreicher Elektro

Awesome

This one is very beep and boopy. I like most of the tracks. There’s plenty of variety on this one Fav tracks - Forever - Sad but true - Crash and carry on - Science Friction - Are we here? Worst track - I Wish I Had Duck Feet

techno minimalista do mais pica hein, curti bastante. tranquilim, sem muita quebradeira. vou usar pra trabaiar!!

Regarding the other electronic albums on this list, this one actually felt more meaningful. It involved more complex layers to the mix.

Matrix cave scene vibes But a bit more nineties club less end of the world

Not a bad album, but I feel like it's on here because it's a more complete album than Orbital 2 (despite Halycon + on + on being one of the best songs around) so as a "you must hear it before you die" it gets ranked higher and these guys deserve the credit. So yeah, album wise? It's fine. But it doesn't have any real bangers and suffers from what music like this always suffers from in a greatest albums thunderdome: it lacks the force to really blow you away simply because of what and how it is. All that bloviating out of the way, great tunes. One of those groups that doesn't piss me off that the songs are fifteen fucking minutes long because they have a really great sense of how to do the variations on a theme thing. Simultaneously want to ding it and laud it for its relative variety.

Not a big Electronica fan but I really enjoyed this. It was diverse, had some good beats and even a thrashy song ("Quality Seconds") I also enjoyed the songs with a female vocalist. Made me want to listen to more of them

Definitely glad I heard this album as it is filled with moods and emotions.

Pleasant grooves

It’s fine

Mysterious secrets of the rave. Minimalism, experimentalism, and classic techno collide. Conceptually rich, diverse and epic.

Good album. I've heard of a few singles from Orbital, but never a full album. Great production and sound. Nothing jumped out as amazing, but it was enjoyable.

4.35 bc it gets too repetitive at times with the song lengths but I've greatly enjoyed it overall.

Kinda stereotypical, but kinda good

Great workday music. There is not an Orbital release that I don't like. They are indeed the soundtrack of a generation.

This is one of the few albums I’ve heard that are long and boring, but in a good way. This album feels like it works best when you shed the expectation of it being full of non-stop entertainment and variety, and just let each track take you on a journey. Favorite Track: Crash and Carry

Dangerously lit

I was already familiar with Orbital, being a big fan of their album "Orbital 2", despite not having delved too deep into the world of '90s techno. While I didn't enjoy this album as much as that one, the experience as a whole was more or less similar. What you'll get here are hypnotic arrangements, danceable grooves, ethereal and cacophonous lead melodies, and the occasional spliced-driving or tone-setting sample. And the entire experience is really driven by an atmospheric undertone that's just otherworldly - especially on a song like 'Are We Here?' and the shifting synths of 'Attached' that reminded me of a Steve Roach movement. The song 'Science Friction' might be the most gorgeous piece here. I just love that subtle melody in the background and the wayward keys in the foreground - I can listen to it for hours. The drumless intro of 'Kein Trink Wasser' takes a while to catch its groove, but when it does, it manages to induce that same hypnotic effect that so many other moments here do - no drums needed! While not as forward-thinking as a group like Autechre, nor as memorable and well-executed as "Orbital 2", and the vocal loops do *occasionally* age this record, I was still entranced the whole way through. Just some really solid techno music - given my very limited frame of reference, that is.

Beat exercise in 90s electro sound

I got lost in the sauce with this a couple of times. Crash And Carry felt like I was under a trance. Philosophy By Numbers was trippy as hell, but I enjoyed the weirdness. Quality Seconds is a WILD detour. It shreds, but double check your volume before that one comes on. The 2 songs after get the album back on the psychedelic vibe, but it did drag for me towards the end. I'm landing at 3.5 stars for this one. I was at a 4 before the end, so I'll just bump it to that.

Well I really enjoyed the last Orbital entry on the list. This is a bit of a long one, but I'm looking forward to the ride. Forever is a fine way to open the album. Love the silky, wandering synthlines playing over the drum and bass. Its like the musical equivalent of lens flare. Sad but True is magnificently quirky and groovy. Feels like something befit for a sci-fi bazaar scene. Man I am loving the looping and layering at work here -- Crash and Carry is another fine entry. Quite a bit more dancy with higher BPM, skittering high-hats, and some daunting fuzzed out synth melodies. Kein Trink Wasser is a change of pace with the piano led instrumentation with strings, etc. Nice in the way that it bobs along. Well this was truly delightful. Back to back listens -- high 4 / 5.

Another Orbital album! In my last review I said I might come back to Oribtal 2 and I certainly did. I have probably listened to that album another 5-6 times so I am happy to get more Orbital. Feels like a very similar album with maybe a little bit more variety in sound. Kein Trink Wasser is a winner.

This was a trip of an album. Some really cool techno/electronic beats and sounds which were all over the place. Nothing super repetitive and it all was very fresh for each song. I didn't get the closest listen cause I kept getting interrupted while listening but still really enjoyed when I was listening. Seems like I liked this one more that the last Orbital album.

All around a pretty chill album UNTIL Quality Seconds. Came out of nowhere and had to check I was listening to the same album. Album went pretty quick considering it's over an hour. Very enjoyable and psychedelic.

I thought that was pretty cool! Video game music

Good for concentration at work!

Normally not a bid techno fan but I just grooved on this. Probably rocks with acid

67/1001 - Strange. A mix of genuinely good techno (Sad But True) and baby's first fl studio beat (Kein Trink Wasser). Good outweighs the bad in this instance.

You had me at "(featuring Alison Goldfrapp)." By its nature, this isn't something you're going to be able to actively listen to very easily, but as an ambient artform, it delivers. I will say, however, that it runs a bit long (as an album and, at times, as individual tracks). Still, not bad for what it is. I'd probably have given it a 3, but Alison's worth an extra star.

Alternative electronic music. Very cool. Keon Trink Wasser is a banger with the repetitive piano. Not a fan of I Wish I Had Duck Feet - too much on the weirdness.

Y'see? This is what this whole project is about. I can tell you with 100% certainty there is not a chance in hell I would have listened to this album outside of this project, but man is it an interesting one. Was skeptical going in after having to listen to Timeless, wasn't pumped about another 1990s era English 75+ minute long electronic album, but most every song in this album is different and interesting, and I loved sitting down and listening to *the majority of this. Certainly won't be going in my absolute top tier or anything, but I'm definitely glad I listened to it. Attached sounds like a song that would play at the entrance to EPCOT and I'm not going to pretend I don't appreciate that, and Crash and Carry just DRIVES.