Moonbuilding 2703 AD
Studio album by
The Orb
Released22 June 2015
GenreAmbient house, dub, IDM
Length51:49 (CD, Vinyl & Download Versions)
64:55 (Download Deluxe Version)
75:34 (Limited Deluxe Vinyl LP Version)
LabelKompakt
ProducerThe Orb
The Orb chronology
More Tales from the Orbservatory
(2013)		 Moonbuilding 2703 AD
(2015)		 COW / Chill Out, World!
(2016)

Moonbuilding 2703 AD is the thirteenth studio album from ambient house duo The Orb. It is the first album they released through the Kompakt label since the 2005 release of Okie Dokie It's The Orb on Kompakt.[1] It was released on 22 June 2015.[2]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.5/10[3]
Metacritic77/100[4]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
Drowned in Sound8/10[6]
The Guardian[7]
NME7/10[8]
Pitchfork6.7/10[9]
PopMatters8/10[10]
Record Collector[11]
Release Magazine8/10[12]
Slant Magazine[13]
Uncut[14]

Moonbuilding 2703 AD has received positive reviews from music critics, with some saying it is the band's best album in over 20 years. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 77, based on 16 reviews, which indicates "Generally favorable reviews."[4]

In his 4 star review for Record Collector, Phil Smith says that the album has "Walloping techno rhythms simply step in and out of pretty melodies, pleasing textures and grainy sample loops" and concluding the review by saying that "While the album is relatively low-key and meandering, that’s arguably what we want from The Orb – and hence it might just be the one you’ve been waiting on from them for 20 years."[11] Barney Harsent of The Arts Deck said that Moonbuilding 2703 AD is "without doubt, the most coherent offering from the Orb (currently composed of Alex Paterson and Thomas Fehlmann) since Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld" and also said that their "latest offering is similarly hurtling through space once more, and reminding us of their conceptual debut that slapped us around our collective face back in 1991. It feels like a similar event."[15]

Gavin Miller of Drowned in Sound in his 8/10 review said that Moonbuilding 2703 AD is "an album heaving with ideas, but just coherent enough to stick together as one piece of work" and went on to say that the album is a "great little re-introduction to all things Orb."[6] Benjamin Aspray of Slant Magazine starts off his 3.5 stars out of 5 review by saying "With Moonbuilding 2703 AD, the Orb makes a full circle back to the long-form conceptual terrain of 1991's game-changing Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld and its follow-up, U.F.Orb. The album sustains a progressive composition over four distinct parts, forgoing instant gratification for slow builds and subtle variations, culminating in the Orb's most cohesive work in ages." He ends the review for the album saying "It's never quite a tour de force, but as a union of the Orb's heady roots with their spiritual ascendants' minimalist ethos, the album is a consistently satisfying groove machine, and a worthy entry to the upper ranks of the Orb canon."[13]

Track listing

Vinyl, CD & Download Versions
No.TitleLength
1."God’s Mirrorball"14:44
2."Moon Scapes – 2703 BC"14:40
3."Lunar Caves"9:16
4."Moonbuilding – 2703 AD"13:04
Total length:51:49
Japanese Version (Bonus Tracks)
No.TitleLength
5."Moon Quake 1"3:22
6."Moon Quake 3"2:14
Total length:57:25
Download Deluxe Version (Bonus Tracks)
No.TitleLength
5."Moon Quake (Slice of Silver)"8:44
6."Moon Quake 6"4:22
Total length:64:55
Limited Deluxe Vinyl LP Version (Bonus Tracks)
No.TitleLength
5."Dilla’s Moon Quake" (The Orb’s Tribute to J Dilla)10:39
6."Moon Quake (Slice of Silver)"8:44
7."Moon Quake 6"4:22
Total length:75:34
Notes
  • "Dilla's Moon Quake" is not included in the iTunes track listing.[16]

Personnel

The Orb

Charts

Chart (2015) Peak
position
UK Albums Chart[17] 90
UK Dance Albums Chart[18] 19
UK Independent Albums Chart[19] 9
UK Record Store Albums Chart[20] 10
UK Vinyl Albums Chart[21] 22

References

  1. ↑ "The Orb Return to Kompakt for New Album Moonbuilding 2703 AD | News". Pitchfork. 20 April 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  2. ↑ "New album Coming soon!! – Moonbuilding 2703 AD". The Orb. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  3. ↑ "The Orb: Moonbuilding 2703 AD". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  4. 1 2 "Reviews for Moonbuilding 2703 AD by The Orb". Metacritic. 18 June 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  5. ↑ Andy Kellman. "Moonbuilding 2703 AD - The Orb | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  6. 1 2 Miller, Gavin (17 June 2015). "Album Review: The Orb - Moonbuilding 2703 AD / Releases / Releases // Drowned In Sound". Drownedinsound.com. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  7. ↑ Jon Dennis. "The Orb: Moonbuilding 2703 AD review – ambient heroes still making magic | Music". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  8. ↑ "NME Reviews - 9 Great Albums That May Have Passed You By This Week". Nme.Com. 15 June 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  9. ↑ "The Orb: Moonbuilding 2703 AD". Pitchfork.
  10. ↑ "The Orb: Moonbuilding 2703 AD". PopMatters. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  11. 1 2 "Moonbuilding 2703 AD - Record Collector Magazine". Recordcollectormag.com. 26 May 2011. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  12. ↑ "The Orb – Moonbuilding 2703 AD".
  13. 1 2 "The Orb: Moonbuilding 2703 AD | Album Review". Slant Magazine. 14 June 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  14. ↑ Each [track] is assembled like an audio drama, starting with static noises and amusing spoken-word fragments before frequent musical plot changes. [Aug 2015, p.77]
  15. ↑ "CD: The Orb – Moonbuilding 2703 AD | New music reviews, news & interviews". The Arts Desk. 18 June 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  16. ↑ "iTunes - Music - Moonbuilding 2703 AD by The Orb". Itunes.apple.com. 22 June 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  17. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100 | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com.
  18. ↑ "Official Dance Albums Chart Top 40 | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com.
  19. ↑ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50 | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com.
  20. ↑ "Official Record Store Chart Top 40 | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com.
  21. ↑ "Official Vinyl Albums Chart Top 40 | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com.
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