Alex Paterson

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Alex Paterson
The Orb in performance (Walt Disney Concert Hall, 19-03-2006) (Alex Paterson).jpg
Paterson at a 2006 performance with the Orb at the Walt Disney Concert Hall
Background information
Birth nameDuncan Alexander Robert Paterson
Also known asDr Alex Paterson
Born (1959-10-15) 15 October 1959 (age 64)
Battersea, London, England
Genres
Occupation(s)Musician
Instrument(s)
  • Keyboards
  • turntables
  • sampler
  • programming
Member of

Alex Paterson (also known as Dr Alex Paterson, born Duncan Alexander Robert Paterson; 15 October 1959) is an English musician and co-founder of ambient house group The Orb, in which he has worked since its inception. [1]

Contents

Life and work

Paterson attended private boarding school Kingham Hill School in Oxfordshire between 1970 and 1979, at the same time as Killing Joke bassist Martin "Youth" Glover. Paterson was a roadie for Killing Joke [2] in the 1980s and later worked in the A&R department of E.G. Records, to whom the band were signed.

New York radio stations were a force driving his musical direction, especially the Chuck Chill-Out shows on 98.7 KISS FM. In the late 1970s Paterson sang for the band 'Bloodsport' while also DJing at Killing Joke gigs.

In 1989, Youth and Alex Paterson started the WAU! Mr. Modo label. [3] Their early releases of a selection of industrial techno dubs and heavy sound system dubs from artists such as Napthali, Manasseh, Bim Sherman and Jah Warrior are long deleted and fetch high sums in private sales.

In 1990, Paterson's collaborations with his fellow Orb co-founder Jimmy Cauty ended, following Paterson's concerns about The Orb being perceived as a side-project of The KLF. Paterson retained The Orb name. More recently, Cauty and Paterson collaborated again, as Transit Kings. Paterson was also involved in FFWD , a collaboration with Kris Weston, Robert Fripp, and Thomas Fehlmann, and SCREEN alongside music producer Gaudi.

In 2021 Paterson started his own record label, Orbscure Recordings. [4]

Related Research Articles

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<i>The Orbs Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld</i> 1991 studio album by The Orb

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Fluffy Clouds</span> 1990 single by the Orb

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Orb</span> European electronic music group

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Orb discography</span>

The discography of European electronic music group The Orb includes seventeen studio albums, one live album, six compilation albums, four remix albums, four mix albums, two video albums, ten extended plays, fifteen singles and twenty-two music videos. Founded by Alex Paterson and Jimmy Cauty in 1988, the group's first release was the extended play Kiss EP, issued in May 1989. The single "A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules from the Centre of the Ultraworld", which marked the group's first foray into the ambient house genre, was released in October 1989 on Adam Morris and Martin Glover's record label WAU! Mr. Modo Recordings. It was later re-issued by Big Life and peaked at number 78 in the United Kingdom despite sample clearance issues. Following Cauty's departure from the group, The Orb signed a long-term recording contract with Big Life and released their debut studio album The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld in April 1991. It peaked at number 29 in the United Kingdom and has since been recognized as a seminal album of the ambient house genre. "Little Fluffy Clouds" and "Perpetual Dawn" were released as singles from the album.

<i>Metallic Spheres</i> 2010 studio album by the Orb featuring David Gilmour

Metallic Spheres is the tenth studio album released by ambient techno group the Orb in October 2010 and features the Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour and the Killing Joke bassist Youth. It spent three weeks on the UK charts, reaching number 12.

References

  1. Simpson, Dave (19 January 2001). "'If you print that, I'll come looking for you'". The Guardian . London. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
  2. Baines, Josh (15 July 2016). "Alex Paterson From The Orb Picked His 10 Favorite Punk Records Ever". Vice . Retrieved 14 February 2017.
  3. "Alex Paterson & Youth discuss "Impossible Oddities" Album OUT NOW". Year Zero Records. 26 November 2010. Retrieved 5 November 2012.
  4. Durston, Tom (18 March 2021). "Alex Paterson launches Orbscure Recordings, announces biography and collaborative Sedibus LP". Inverted Audio Ltd. Retrieved 1 September 2021.

Sources