Before joining his brother, Phil, on stage for their performance at Ultra, we caught up with the other half of Orbital, Paul Hartnoll. Here is our interview with him!
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Orbital Interview (03-27-10) by AscenDance Radio
Dayanna: so we’re here at the Ultra Music Festival with Paul, one half of the group Orbital. So tell me Paul, where did the name Orbital come from?
Paul (Orbital): The name came from sitting around my parent’s kitchen table with load of names trying to think of names because we had a record to put out and its ohh we haven’t got a name and one of my friends came up with Orbital from the name of M25 motorway the London orbital which cut through our village. They built it through our village when I was growing up. And at the time there were loads of parties going on, every weekend there were always these big raves that you’d just get in your car and drive around the M25 and they’d tell which service station to stop by and you’d have to go and find out you know, where the party was and things like that. But that’s where it came from.
Dayanna: Okay, so you went to a lot of parties?
Paul (Orbital): I didn’t go to any of them, I went to one of those parties and it was rubbish.
Dayanna: Yeah?
Paul (Orbital): Yeah it was awful and it was just up the road actually from my house, that was terrible. I went to some good parties as well but those ones weren’t particularly good.
Dayanna & Paul (Orbital): Laughs
Dayanna: Is that what inspired you to be on the scene with that?
Paul (Orbital): What inspired me? I don’t know I just always wanted to do music. Do you know what I mean? I always wanted to do it and I always enjoyed electronic music and I’ve always done electronic music and then it just sort of rose up again and in the late 80′s for the whole dance music thing. You know you sort of become a part of it and don’t even realize that there’s anything happening.
Dayanna: That’s great! and you’ve been on the scene since the 1990′s. How has the music changed and how do you think you have adapted to it?
Paul (Orbital): I don’t think its changed a lot really. I mean, I can hear a lot of technological advances and little techniques appear and come and go and that kind of thing but ultimately dance music is a base, a base instinct it has to fulfill that kind of throbbing need. Sounds wrong don’t it? But You know I do think that it’s stayed pretty similar? I know you’re looking for a great answer but relax now I think its developed like this but I don’t know if it has and I think it would be wrong if it did because its dance music that’s what it is you know.
Dayanna: And what first inspired you to start making music?
Paul (Orbital): I don’t known cuz I’ve always sort of done it. I’ve always liked music and we always had a piano in the house. my dad was a builder and builders always get pianos you know for some bizarre reason. Because you know they’ve got a truck and someone comes up and says do you want this piano when we do the house up? so, you know yeah I’ve just always been into it. I got a guitar when I was thirteen and that was when I decided I’m going to do music for a living.
Dayanna: Wow ! thirteen that’s a young age. And now you’re set to perform in a few hours do you do anything in particular to prepare for your shows?
Paul (Orbital): Normally I go away from other people and listen to some loud music on my own. ill and stand the crowd or something like that or go and see another band if it’s a festival . go and watch another. People start talking to me I’m looking at them but there’s nothing going on I’m not listening, I’m just not listening. I’m thinking about what I’m about to do.
Dayanna: So you’re completely out of it for about how long is it that you prepare?
Paul (Orbital): About the last hour probably
Dayanna: Really? Wow okay And you’re doing this interview now so are we interrupting anything?
Dayanna & Paul (Orbital): Laughs
Paul (Orbital): No, no but I can feel it coming on. I’m starting to drift on to the stage
Dayanna & Paul (Orbital): Laughs
Dayanna: Well before you start to drift of, I’ve got some more questions for you. So you do a lot of improvisations in your shows. How do you feel it affects the overall atmosphere of your performances?
Paul (Orbital): Well the thing that’s good fun about improvising like that is that you feed of the crowd. If the crowd isn’t enjoying it you know it and you can sense it and luckily that doesn’t happen very often but it used to back in 1990 occasionally. So you sort of play off of each other you know. The crowd cheers and something carries on you know and it’s just a type of feedback situation which is great. It’s really nice. And also it’s quite interesting when you gets things like festivals, like you know my own gig I would do two hours but here we’ve got an hour. So ohh what are we going to do in an hour? which tracks and let’s do a show version of that lets make that a bit longer. let’s do this like that. and you sort of decide to change things and it keeps you on your toes.
Dayanna: How long does it take you? Do you come up with a rough outline of what you’re going to do?
Paul (Orbital): We always know what songs we’re going to do and what order they’re going to be in and then it goes from there.
Dayanna: Ohh Okay. And what can we look forward to seeing from you in the future? What does the future hold for Orbital?
Paul (Orbital): More trips to America to do gigs I hope! I miss coming to America I used to love it. We used to come over here quite a lot and I haven’t done it for 10 years and it’s really nice to come back. We’re doing some new music were in the studio between all these gigs and festivals trying stuff. We’re going to try and get into the live sets for the summer season back home.
Dayanna: Are you going to be working with any other people in particular that you can reveal?
Paul (Orbital): No not at the moment, maybe I’m holding back secrets or not I’m not going to tell you. But the truth is that we’re not working with anyone at the moment.
Dayanna: In your career do you have any regrets? Any music that you have composed or anything like that?
Paul (Orbital): No it’s like you know, you write a piece of music and once it’s done you let it fly and its almost not yours anymore do you know what I mean? It’s like watching your children grow up and they go away to go off to college and it’s just like ohh they’re gone, you know they’re an adult so once you have released that piece of music in the studio, no regrets.
Dayanna: Did you ever think that you were going to be this big?
Paul (Orbital): No.
Dayanna: Never at all?
Paul (Orbital): I was arrogant enough to say I was going to be but never like this.
Dayanna: What about your brother?
Paul (Orbital): I’d say the same. No idea.
Dayanna: Was it a group project that you both came into, were you in agreement to start Orbital or was it something that he dragged you along with or you dragged him?
Paul (Orbital): It was mostly something that I’ve always done and he used to dabble in and out and then it just sort of developed really. We both bought bits of electronic equipment and it just started happening really you know we were living in the same house.
Dayanna: And how does it work being on you know tour and having gigs let’s say in America and family life or things to that matter? How do you balance that?
Paul (Orbital): I’m just learning to now. The last year is the first year that I’ve been touring, now I’ve got three children you know what I mean so I try to keep it down to small and often do you know what I mean? like it’s really good. There’s a really healthy first of all circuit around the world now and I don’t think it was there 20 years ago and that’s good. and it’s really good to tap into that because you get to do these great gorgeous outdoor gigs you follow the summer around the world and you get to also play to the non converted as well which I love. You’ve always got the hard core group of fans in the front of any festival stage but people on the edge are like well let’s check this out I don’t know what this is and I love that.
Dayanna: And what was the biggest surprise? I mean Do you go back home and do you find people asking you for your autograph or recognizing you?
Paul (Orbital): No. No one recognizes me I stand out in front of my own gigs watching the support band you know. Which is great.
Dayanna & Paul (Orbital): Laughs
Dayanna: All right, we’ll that’s all I have for you
Paul (Orbital): Thank you very much.
Dayanna: Is there anything you’d like to say to your fans?
Paul (Orbital): Thanks!
Dayanna & Paul (Orbital): Laughs
Paul (Orbital): Is there anything you can ever say to your fans really?
Dayanna: Well thank you for giving us a chance to sit down with you and good luck on your show
Paul (Orbital): thanks for having me
Dayanna: Thanks so much.
Paul (Orbital): Cheers!
For more information on Orbital check updated on Orbital’s Facbeook Page, visit Orbital’s Myspace Page, or follow Orbital on Twitter.
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