From the cradle to the rave
Brothers Paul and Phil have healed their rift and are back on tour with a new album
Like so many musical siblings before them, Orbital brothers Paul and Phil Hartnoll found their creative pairing far from smooth. Named after the M25 where so much of the early-90s rave party network circulated, Orbital brought techno and rave into the mainstream with smash albums, hit singles and showstopping laser-lit live performances, including a still legendary Glastonbury set.
But when they announced they were parting in 2014 – for the second and final time – Orbital mastermind and younger brother Paul, 50, really thought it was the end of the road.
“Phil is very much a hedonistic kind of person,” he reflects. “I’m the main writer and do the improvisations live.
“It’s kind of hard carrying that when someone’s just being crazy around you.”
But the ties of family run deep and Orbital’s legacy is huge. Paul couldn’t let it lie – or die.
“You know what it is?” he decides, “He’s my big brother, he was my absolute hero when I was a little kid. So you kind of want them to be with you.”
The full-on party mode adopted by Phil, now 54, was not, of course, out of place. The rave scene was known for its rampant hedonism, partly a product of the music’s joyfulness, partly the chemicals that surrounded it.
“Like most bands and rock ’n’ roll people, the rave generation is very much associated with hedonism. But my Rolodex of those I knew and grew up with in that scene – it’s very measured, people that didn’t get like that.
“Other bands have got their act together. You can only do that kind of thing to a certain degree before it starts falling apart. Touring and things like that are going to take their toll. It’s not all sitting around sipping champagne at the Groucho Club as people think.”
With their ambitious new album Monsters Exist, Orbital are now back out on the road.
Differences may be mended but it’s obvious Paul calls the shots.
“I’m the main writer, I’m in the position where you get to choose,