David Gilmour's 2010 collaboration with The Orb, Metallic Spheres, has been reimagined and remixed as Metallic Spheres In Colour and will be released through Sony Music on September 29. You can hear an excerpt from Movement 1 below.
"The idea for Metallic Spheres In Colour, was that Alex Paterson (founder of The Orb) could have done more on the first version, and he didn't really have the opportunity because we had a philosophy of making the music like the Blade Runner soundtrack meets Wish You Were Here," explains Youth, who worked on the original and has remixed the new release. "So, I asked him why don't we remix it and make it like an Orb classic? And in doing that, it's almost like a completely different album."
The original album came about when Gilmour recorded the Graham Nash track Chicago/Change The World, originally by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, in aid of the British hacker Gary McKinnon, who was facing extradition to the USA. The Orb, who were also supporters of McKinnon, remixed the track and asked if Gilmour would contribute further guitar parts at Youth’s studio, The Dreaming Cave, in south London.
"We spent a day with David at the studio with his guitar, and he just plugged in and started playing and it became this 25-minute track," Youth told Prog Magazine back in 2010. "After Dave left, I thought ‘There’s so many twists and turns in this jam, we could stretch it out, put a few things in and turn it into a 50-minute album”, so that’s what I did!”
Metallic Spheres was one of the first major releases to be issued in a version of surround sound called 3D60 Audio.
You can see the new artwork for Metallic Spheres In Colour below. The album will be available on vinyl, CD and on digital as 360RA and Dolby Atmos.
Pre-order Metallic Spheres In Colour.
The Orb & David Gilmour: Metallic Spheres In Colour
1. Seamless Solar Spheres Of Affection Mix
2. Seamlessly Martian Spheres Of Reflection Mix