Going round Playground
Dance legends Orbital on playing Glasgow gig, 30 years in the business and life in lockdown
DANCE legends Orbital will be one of the many draws to next weekend’s Playground Festival.
The rave pioneer brothers, Phil and Paul Hartnoll, whose first tune Chime was released in 1989, will be playing next Friday before The Libertines and James while Culture Club headline Saturday and Nile Rodgers & Chic round off the Glasgow Rouken Glen event on the Sunday.
Here, Phil takes us round and round...
What has Scotland been like for Orbital?
We absolutely love Scotland. Everytime we’ve been there from Pure back in the 90s in Edinburgh to the Barrowland which is a place close to our heart.
We’ve had some brilliant times there so really looking forward to Playground.
You worked with Tilda Swinton on the video for The Box in 1996 and now she is a Hollywood superstar. How did that collaboration come about?
The connection with Tilda Swinton was Luke Closia, the guy that directed the movie.
He knew her and when I went to see her filming she was brilliant. I love her. She was absolutely fantastic because it was a stop-frame animation. The director didn’t think about it but she was slowly moving her face. She was absolutely amazing and now rightly so. She’s a Hollywood superstar because she is a brilliant actress,
Have you played since the pandemic or is this your first gig in how many months?
I have been shielding because I am high risk. It’s official. For the last 18 months.
We played a gig in Manchester for the Hacienda.
It was basically for filming really for streaming.
There were about 200 Orbital fans there all in their little pens and been ordered not to drink vertically.
So that was odd, very very intimate, then we got the plug pulled on us because people were jumping around too much and they didn’t want to get into trouble.
So this will be the first proper gig. March 2019 was the last proper gig we did. So I’m really looking forward to it.
How was lockdown for you?
Really bad. Didn’t know who I was any more.
Very difficult because I live this life of Orbital and a lot of my socialising was when I’m out and about doing gigs.
When that stopped I sort of didn’t have anything, I didn’t realise until it was taken away. So it was pretty difficult, yeah.
I bought four cats which did the trick. Paul is different. He kept busy.
It was the start of your 30th anniversary celebrations in 2019 but it was curtailed because of Covid. This year is the 30th anniversary of your debut album, though, so is the party back on?
The party is back on. It’s called 30-something now. I think it’s coming out early next year so it’s definitely 30-something. It is little celebratory remixes from David Holme and John Hopkins and all sorts of wonderful things there. Followed by a new Orbital album shortly after.
Did you ever think as a rave act you’d be talking about your music 30 years later?
No I didn’t, I gave myself a year when it started.
Will Playground set be greatest hits or remembering the first album?
Our set is a mixture of all sorts of tracks over the years and a couple of new ones. We are trying out Treadmill first. It’s not really been homed in but that’s why we’re trying it live.
Have you got a special
version of Orbital head torches? Own brand or just nip to B&Q?
We have got an upgraded version of our torch glasses, made very simple really – just attached LED lights around the frames of our glasses. Not rocket science.
Brothers in bands like Oasis and Kiks haven’t always worked out. What’s the secret?
We have split up about three times over the years. We have had our fall-out. What’s the secret? Not to be passive aggressive, I would say, and to talk about things. Try and get them out.
Playground is on next Friday to Sunday at Rouken Glen Park, Glasgow.
For more info go to: www.playgroundfestival. co.uk