Customer Reviews

Hello Waveforms

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

FOUR & 1/2 STARS, but let me explain why:

For the purposes of this review, let's view Mr. Orbit's discography this way: his solo albums ["Orbit", Strange Cargo 1,2,&3 and "Pieces In A Modern Style"] along with Strange Cargo's "Hinterland", Torch Song's albums ["Wish Thing" "Ecstasy" & "Towards The Unknown Region"] and Bassomatic's ["Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Bass" & "Science And Melody"] together as one body of work.

It's been six years since 2000's "Pieces In A Modern Style" and while that was a good disc, it still wasn't up to the Strange Cargo, Torch Song & Bassomatic standards. And since they were electronic versions of classical compositions, they needn't be.

I jonesed until this album was released and I wasn't disappointed per se, but truthfully, with the exception of the single "Spirals" featuring Sugababes & Kenna - this album sounds more like the follow-up to Torch Song's 1995 Opus "Towards The Unknown Region" than a flat-out William Orbit project. Don't get me wrong, the ethereal arrangements, deep bass, exquisite processing along with his production restraint and prowess are all there - it just doesn't reach the heights of the last 3 Strange Cargo albums or Hinterland, and it doesn't come close to the work of Bassomatic at all.

Not that this is a bad thing - this is a GREAT album to chill by and provides very visual and colorful music when the listener closes their eyes - exactly what most ALL William Orbit projects promise. I guess I just wish he would ramp up again and play with my mind the way he did with the Strange Cargo series.

When I say this sounds like a follow-up to Torch Song's last album, that is literal since Laurie Mayer and Rico Conning composed 4 out of the 11 tunes and performed on 6. It is very low key, quiet, mysterious and broods just beneath the surface but never breaks through. Perhaps it wasn't meant to, I may be hanging my expectations on it.

If you love Mr. Orbit's work, [and I REALLY, REALLY do], you will like this album and it will be an integral part of his discography for the fan. I took off 1/2 a star because I am really ready for a more upbeat and mysterious production from him. If you've been to his website, he has twenty 60-second clips of unreleased songs, an unreleased song from Hello Waveforms "G-155", as well as another 28 or so unreleased tunes. These are wasted just sitting on his site, unreleased. Most of these are EXCELLENT but you cannot download these songs and it would make sense to release these as part of a 'unreleased and b-sides' disc. These songs approach more of what I was hoping Hello Waveforms was going to be.

But with all that said, this is a great disc - I just hope he doesn't take another 6 years to release another album and he finally gives his fans an album of the songs he's been teasing them with on his site. If you love Orbit, you'll love this disc but I'm waiting for more... Respectfully submitted William, and anytime you'd like to work with me on my music, in either production or mixing, the door is WIDE OPEN!

William Orbit - Hello waveforms (Sanctuary)
STARS: 9 of 10

Almost 11 years after his previous soloalbum, the superproducer and
-remixer William Orbit is back with a proper collection of his own
songs. ("Pieces in a modern style" from 2000 doesn't 'really' count,
because it's a slightly altered reissue of the 1995-album.)

In many ways, Orbit dominated most of the 90's; he produced three of
his own electronic albums and also Beth Orton's debut album
"Superpinkymandy", Madonna's "Ray of light" and Blur's "13". Also, he
did a bunch of legendary remixes for i.e. Wendy & Lisa, One Dove, Peter
Gabriel, Depeche Mode, The Human League, Seal, Prince, The Cure - and
he was the first "external" person to ever remix Kraftwerk. Why do I
mention all this? Just to show the influence Orbit has had on his own
contemporaries and other artists.

Having done several big productions in the early 2000's, he's back solo
with a new collection of largely instrumental electronic goodies,
packed with his signature sounds and -harmonies. As usual, the songs
are extremely melodic, quite calm and downtempo, and almost modularly
built; they consist of repetitive riffs, melody lines and chords that
are added and subtracted. This gives the music an effect of
daydreaming, which is a good thing that has long been a part of the
attraction with William Orbit's music.

And for those who like great popsongs, here you'll find the best
Sugababes song ("Spiral") in ages, a pure pearl of pop in the same
sonic landscape as All Saints' "Pure shores" (that Orbit produced).
We can't fail to mention that old collaborators are still with us, such
as Laurie Mayer and Rico Conning - with whom Orbit formed Torch Song -
plus Caroline Lavelle and a host of others, but it still sounds 100%
Orbit.

Hence, this album is recommended warmly by Orbit-fans, including yours
truly, and if you like this calm and ambient record, you can look
forward to an uptempo-album coming later. Orbit says this will be the
antithesis to "Hello waveforms".

P.S. Weeks before the record came out, Orbit made all the songs from
the album (plus several others) available on his website in 8-track
versions. This means that anyone can download all the songs and make
their own remixes and alternative versions by i.e. removing the vocals
or other parts of the music. This is exceptional so far in music
history, and one can only hope that other major artists follow Orbit's
example and share their music in the same fashion.

This seems to be a very controversial album judging by the reviews. Like most of the other reviewers I'm a big fan of orbit and have all his albums (including Madonna's Ray of Light). Pieces in a modern style was a big disappointment to me and I really just hate that album, it sucks. The strange cargo series is a timeless set of music that we can keep going back to.

I have also found that to be true for hello waveforms. At the first listen I wasn't really that impressed. But like any good album, it has grown on me in a big way. With each listen I find something new I really like, for example the song "spiral," I initially thought to be nothing more than a lame pop song. But I have really grown to appreciate this track and the incredible vocals.

I think this is a nice change of direction for orbit artistically, it is down tempo and somewhat ambient but has more excitement than pieces in a modern style. Hello Waveforms is my go-to CD for when I'm doing math homework or working on some kind of project. Also lets not forget that there is going to be a second album in 2006 which will likely be more up-tempo judging by the samples of new material that you can preview on www.williamorbit.com.

William Orbit has 3 major groups of fans, few of which seem to like the sides of him the other 2 enjoy. Although I like all 3, I'm one of those who thinks his shining moment was Pieces In A Modern Style, and for the most part, that's the direction this album takes--- to some people's horror, to my surprise. It's mostly ambient with two tracks with vocals. Something like 60% Pieces in a M Style, 30% Strange Cargo, and 10% Madonna days. IMHO it's not quite as good as Pieces, the hit single Spiral is actually my least favorite, it sounds too contrived and aimed for the masses. What's worse, if you knew nothing of his music and assumed the rest of this album sounds like Spiral, you're probably going to be disappointed. Personally I could have done without vocals altogether on this release. But that's me.


I feel for all the Strange Cargo and Madonna fans who feel left behind, but is this the first time an artist has changed without consulting you first? I wish Air would have stayed on track with Moon Safari, but no such luck. You win some and you lose some, while it's not his best release ever, it's still a winner to me.

I have been into William Orbit since I heard Strange Cargo II, I even own Electric Chamber (good luck finding that one). Simply put, this is a perfect extention of the work of Hinterland; in fact, those of you who have the single for Water from a Vine Leaf (on SCII), will recognize some of the reprised keyboard loops.

This record is well recorded, well produced and perfect for a night in. I can see it as good country driving music, too.

Audiophiles with decent systems will appriciate and enjoy this thing song-to-song. Money well spent.

Some of these reviews make my head spin... I'm not familiar with all the genres and subgenres, and I don't own all of William Orbit's work, but this is one fantastic CD. I liked it from the first time I put it on, and it only sounds better with every repeat listen. Of the Orbit CDs I do own, I place this one right up there with Strange Cargo III as my two favorites (above "Pieces" and "Hinterland.") My favorite track right now has got to be "They Live in the Sky." Gorgeous vocals, dreamy music - a perfect song. Check out the video on youtube. "Spiral" and "Bubble Universe" are excellent as well and, even though I don't know the instrumental tracks by name yet, I do find them all very enjoyable.

If you love beautiful, unhurried electronica, get your hands on Hello Waveforms. You won't be disappointed.

I too was greatly anticipating his new album, having all of his previous ones mentioned above. My first listen reminded me immediately of the Strange Cargo albums ... though I would have liked some more energetic tunes a la Bassomatic, I find Hello Waveforms to be as ethereal, infectious, intricate, affirming, and superbly orchestrated as I remember Strange Cargo III, my favorite, to have been when I first heard it in San Francisco. I bought Hello Waveforms in Great Barrington, Massachusetts last weekend and had it playing while I drove home through the Berkshires and nortwestern Connecticut on country roads in the rain ... it proved to be the kind of album that made me admire William Orbit in the first place, providing the perfect complement to the beauty around me. For the William Orbit or "electronica/ambient/chill/lounge" novice, this would be an apt, mellow introduction to his work that showcases why he is one of the most brilliant, masterful, and original electronic composers around. Some die-hard Orbit fans may be disappointed with it for being too chill, but in the grand scheme of things it is perfect in these times to hear something so familiar yet still fresh and soothing from an artist we still love and respect. I look forward to his next set hopefully soon!

THREE AND A HALF STARS

It helps to know where I'm coming from before my review. I gave five stars to Strange Cargo II, III, Hinterland, and Unknown Region. Four to the first Strange Cargo, Superpinkymandy and the Caroline LaVelle collaborative "Spirit" disc. The Madonna collaborations would've been four with "Beth"er vocals. The wide release of Pieces in a Modern Style . . not my cuppa.

Just received the album, had 4 listens of it. From the first listen I was pretty quickly wondering where all the variety went. Past efforts like III and IV had a wonderful schizophrenic playlist, jumping from Vine Leaf to Monkey Kings before collapsing on the porch to roll a joint. In short, unpredictability is one thing this Orbit offering falls quite short on.

Besides being fairly predicatable, most of the tracks randomly slip in and out of the ear without imbedding themselves as strong efforts. Sea Green and Surfin' come close to being incisive cuts, but overall the different songs might as well have been mixed together and into a Jarre "Oxygen" track length.

Musically, it is excellent late night / chill music. Very melodic and holds the a fair dose of the trademarked tweeks and knob spins. Perfect reading / background music. This disc is good.

That's the major problem . . . William usually delivers great.

Buy new / right away if you're a completist. Otherwise, score a used one and cross your fingers on the second release due later this year.

As an avid fan, I would have to agree that this release is a very welcomed addition to the collection. I, too, would hope for much more to come from William Orbit as THE artist and not just producing others.

Album is highly recommended and well worth the purchase, an abundance of music that is unique and satisfying.

The whole point of William Orbit's music is to cast our minds away from the world's stress and strife, cultivate the surreal, "bliss out" our senses and transport us towards a place of mystic encapsulation.......cheesy? maybe, but true.

"Waveforms" delivers, as I find myself drifting through the ethereal plane, not a care in the world, track after track. To those of you who say "Waveforms" is a weak effort and it's not as good as the "Strange Cargo" series, you are completely out in left field....actually, out in the parking lot. This is the album Orbit fans have been waiting for since "Hinterland" as it combines the best elements of Torch Song's "Towards an Unknown Region" (a fabulous CD)and all the "Strange Cargo" series together to create one of William Orbit's greatest albums to date.

As long as Mr. Orbit travels this path, I will be there with him, step for step. Buy this CD, it is timeless and brilliant....forever destined to be at the top of your playlist!!
BRAVO!