Morning Becomes Electronica: Interview with Orbital

Before the block-rockin' Chemical Brothers decided to begin their musical fraternity, there was Orbital-Paul and Phil Hartnoll-the original (and real-life) brothers of electronica.

The boys from Kent began their little dysfunctional family fun back in 1989 messing with drum machine and sampler in their home, simply because they felt like cooking up some mouth-watering mayhem. What began as tinkering became serious as their home brew, "Chime," reached No. 17 on the U.K. charts.

Nearly a decade has passed, and Orbital is still circling around in the techno wagon, respected by both critics and the dance scene as laid-back veterans who can do it up with just as much verve as Keith Flint on (more) crack-only at their leisurely pace.

That's how I found Paul and Phil-doing their own thing unlike their Lollapalooza tourmates: Chilling in a dimly lit dressing room, sprawled on a couch smoking cigarettes, cracking facetious comments at each other in that familiar fraternal way.

To my dismay, they were not "in mode" at all. No trendy haircut. No daft, punky hair color. No tawdry polyester garbs. Just a couple of almost middle-aged guys sporting comfortable t-shirts and shorts, thank you.

There I was, a rookie music journalist, shaking hands with the legends of techno. After the nervous greeting, the inquisition began.

Chris: So, how has Lollapalooza been so far? Was this your first big tour in America?

Phil: It's been going pretty smooth, actually. We came here with Meat Beat Manifesto back in 1992. We've sold out in major cities like L.A. and New York, so on.

Phil: Well, I take a photo of my family-wife, kids...

C: Aww-it must be hard to leave them. Have you guys developed any familial relationships away from home? Are you close to any of your tourmates? Like your fellow Brit, Tricky for example.

Paul: Tricky does his own thing with his crew. We occasionally hang out with our [dressing room] neighbors, James, a fellow Brit as you call it. Oh, Korn too, only "sometimes" though.

C : (laughs) Speaking of Tricky, the crowd didn't go too haywire over his set, except for the few fans who actually knew him. How do you think your showcase is going to go?

Paul: The response thus far has been extremely positive. Either way, we'll do our thing. I'm really excited that we get to close the show after Tool. They're quite an amazing act.

C: As you probably know, techno in general have been receiving rave reviews and mainstream attention lately. How do you feel about the whole resurgeance of electronica? And what's Orbital's part in it?

Phil: I think it's great. For years, we've been limited to a small, underground audience and it's great to see techno blasting on he radio. We are no longer faceless DJs. It brings a much more intimate feel to the whole musician-audience relationship.

Paul: As for our part in the whole techno revival, we'll just continue to make music that feels right to us.

C: What do you think about the success of Prodigy and Chemical Brothers? Any jealousy? (smile)

Paul: (laughing) No, none at all. It's good to see them doing well. If they do well, it opens up more doors for the rest of us. Can't complain about that.

C: Do you guys hang out or collaborate with any of them?

Phil: Not really, but we're kind of close to Underworld and Plaid, who used to be Black Dog.

C: By the way, are you guys familiar with Talvin Singh? Supposedly, he's the hottest new thing in the London scene.

Paul: I've heard some of his work. Pretty neat stuff, really. We've never met, but I hear he hangs out a lot at my favorite coffeeshop.

C: (laugh) Nowadays, techno has this ludicrous taxonomic structure. There was this article inDetails or Spin, I can't really remember, but it tried to classify all the genres and subgenres of dance music. Tell me, which category befits your sound?

Phil: Instrumental music... (looking at his brother) Make that, electronic instrumental music. (Nod with a satisfied look)

C: Simplicity, that's really refreshing. It seems that the music world makes things sound much more complex than they really are by hashing out old genres and slapping on a new lable. How do you create new material? Do you guys sample other artists? Where do you find inspiration?

Paul: We find inspiration whereever there is sound. We sample other artists too. You try to copy other people, get it wrong, then you end up with something totally different. It's inevitable.

A sea of laughter breaks out in the room.

C: I've been meaning to ask you ever since I met you two. Are you guys Jewish?

Phil: Well, I'm not Jewish, but maybe Paul is... (laugh)

Paul: (giving me that what's-she-smoking look) What made you ask that?

C: I thought I heard Paul say "Shalom" to me when we were shaking hands.

They laughed and laughed, while I was feeling like a pathetic loser.

Paul: I don't think I did, but maybe I subconsciously did.

C: I bet you that was the weirdest question a reporter asked you.

Paul: Yes, it certainly was.

Feeling like a moron, I bid Paul and Phil farewell and walked out of the dressing room. I guess I was still in shock and embarrassment, because it didn't hit me that I just had an extended chat with the Orbital. Suddenly, I realized I could rub this into my rave and techno junky ex, Jason, who would foam at the mouth with jealousy. It didn't matter anymore that I would go down in the history of music journalism-as the stupid girl who asked the Orbital, "Are you Jewish?" Damn, life can be so sweet.