The dance anthems pulsating around the old Wesleyan chapel were perhaps more at home in a long since lost Manchester venue. But Orbital's Hacienda infused rave set was no less captivating in the stunning surroundings of the Albert Hall.
Since releasing their first single in 1990, Orbital, formed by brothers Phil and Paul Hartnoll, have become influential masters of the genre, outliving the old yacht warehouse by many decades. Having twice split up and reformed in that more than 30 year period, the electro pioneers are back firing on all cylinders with their latest and tenth album, Optical Delusion.
As 9pm approached in the old church, tonight's congregation were ready for a different type of worship. Orbital's trademark head torch glasses came into view and the siblings made their way onto a huge raised platform.
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Flanked by a web of mixing desks, keyboards and laptops, Phil, barefoot, and Paul, resplendent in a pink suit, Thursday night's sold out crowd were ready for a party worthy of the weekend. The first track transported us back to a time when Orbital's music was far more underground, and the thought of performing it in what used to be a chapel may have seemed highly unlikely.
"Saturday night in south London, hundreds of young people are gathering for the latest craze, an acid house party in a disused warehouse," a sample from a news report stated, before opening track Smiley began. The classic emblem of that time, the yellow smiley face, formed part of a trippy video montage on a huge screen behind duo's stage set up.
The siblings' set drew heavily on the new record, with a particular highlight being Dirty Rat, the duo's collaboration with Sleaford Mods frontman Jason Williamson. Other album cuts Ringa Ringa (The Old Pandemic Folk Song) and You Are the Frequency were well received.
But it was the classic tracks Chime, Orbital's first single back in the heady days of 1990, and the ethereal single Belfast and which were most rapturously welcomed. These tracks in particular inspired some first rate freaky dancing among the audience which Bez himself would be proud of.
No doubt most of the crowd were of a vintage that meant the Hacienda was their regular Friday and Saturday night haunt. Three decades later, they were still worshipping at the altar of the beat.
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