Buddhist Hipsters

During the 2020s, the Orb has settled into a duo lineup of founder Dr. Alex Paterson and newer recruit Michael Rendall, along with numerous guest collaborators helping out on their albums. Buddhist Hipsters follows in the same format as their previous few albums on Cooking Vinyl, with at least ten sprawling tracks of various styles, clocking in at over 70 minutes total. Opener "Spontaneously Combusts" reunites the group with longtime associates Youth and System 7, and it features Steve Hillages sky-bound guitar sailing over spacy sequencer patterns and dubby house beats, instantly returning to "Blue Room" mode, while a "Little Fluffy Clouds"-style vocal sample pops up along with eagle cries and thumb pianos. "P~1" intriguingly starts out like the Orb doing a Boards of Canada-style track, then kicks up into jungle-ish breakbeats. "Baraka" incorporates wailing soul vocals and fervent preacher samples, while "A Sacred Choice" (featuring vocalist Eric Von Skywalker, as well as early Orb member Andy Falconer) is another attempt at a more straightforward reggae song, similar to some tracks on their previous few albums. "Arabebonics" is a slightly dramatic, string-enriched hip-hop track featuring incarcerated rapper Rrome Alone. The next few tracks are thumping minimal house exercises, including the lush tech-house of "Dolls House" and the soulful deep house of "The Oort Cloud (Too Night)," and these are some of the most successful moments on the album. The final stretch of the album consists of two tracks returning the group to their ambient comfort zone, both feeling like warm blankets intended to send the listener off into sweet dreams. With a couple of exceptions, basically just the reggae and hip-hop songs, Buddhist Hipsters comes closest to recapturing the vibe of the Orbs prime work from the 90s than anything theyve done in a while, making it one of their best efforts since Thomas Fehlmann left the group in 2017. ~ Paul Simpson

アレックス・パターソンが長年のコラボレーターであるマイケル・レンダールと組んだ本作。システム7のスティーヴ・ヒレッジを迎えたオープニングの"Spontaneously Combust"から〈らしさ〉全開。アラビア調のトラックを備えたヒップホップ・チューン"Arabebonics"ではAIで制作したラップを乗せるなど新たなチャレンジも披露しており、衰え知らずの御大に脱帽です。
bounce (C)藤堂輝家