Dance giants Orbital have spoken about their triumphant return, and their eagerly anticipated Glastonbury performance.
Inspired by the white heat of Acid House, Orbital became one of the most respected dance groups to emerge from Britain. Their live shows eschewed programmed beats in favour of something a little more improvised, giving them a visceral thrill which appealed to traditionally ‘rock’ audiences.
One of the most important shows the band ever played was at Glastonbury. Cited by Michael Eavis as a pivotal event in the festival’s history, the set proved that dance music could work at the Worthy Farm weekender.
Speaking to BBC 6Music, Orbital recalled the set with no small measure of pride. “It’s more than once that I’ve seen Michael Eavis say how Orbital playing there was quite a pivotal point,” Phil Hartnoll said.
“And it was. It twisted their head around toward dance music. And now they’ve got a huge dance field. So I think it would be completely wrong if they had the 40th anniversary without Orbital.”
Orbital made their return to the festival scene last year, with their performance at Scotland’s RockNess event. Due to perform at Glastonbury later this summer, the duo are set to break in new material.
“We’re thinking, what would the live set need as a lift?” asked Phil Hartnoll. “I’m really into the idea of the only way you’re going to hear new tracks is to come and see us live.”
Orbital are due to play a total of nine festivals this summer including the Isle of Wight, Guilfest and The Glade amongst others.
