WILLIAM ORBIT

WILLIAM ORBIT
STRANGE CARGO (1987)
320 KBPS

Most people hadn't even heard of 'ambient' when this album came out. At the time it was a novel idea. Not many people were making instrumental music. Nor had the popularity of electronc music in general surged to the proportions it enjoys today. There are moments of sheer brilliance on this album. Orbit chose not to craft his sound as discreetly as Eno's but instead used the addition of electric guitar solos, drums and lots of keyboards. What you got was a sort of spaceman-crime fighter soundtrack. Don't forget, Miami Vice was still on TV when this bad boy came out and people thought Jan Hammer was a genius! The dance beats that permeated the later Strange Cargo releases didn't appear on this album because no one at the time had thought to mix the elements. Moby and the Orb still had yet to appear! Given that, this album made a great contribution to the thriving electronic scene we enjoy today. Pick it up now, enjoy and file under proto-ambient.

1. Via Caliente
2. Fire And Mercy
3. Jump Jet
4. Silent Signals
5. The Secret Garden
6. Out of The Ice
7. Scorpion
8. Riding To Rio
9. Jimmy's Jag
10. The Mighty Limpopo
11. Theme Dream