Orbital Wonky

Undefeated champions of British electronic music, Orbital get back in the ring in 2012 with Wonky, their first new album in eight years. Recently reunited following a long sabbatical, Paul and Phil Hartnoll are back on fighting-fit form and ready to reclaim their title. Both timeless and contemporary, Wonky puts a vividly modern spin on their signature blend of richly melodic, deeply emotive electronica.

Confident, energised and eclectic, Wonky already sounds like the duo’s finest album to date. Gleaming, whooshing, shimmering tracks like Straight Sun and Stringy Acid instantly tap into the warm-blooded rush and restless bounce of classic Orbital. These are future festival- rocking anthems in the making, right up there with vintage live favourites Chime and Belfast.

But there are nods to cutting-edge club culture on Wonky too – including a guest appearance by hotly tipped Birmingham grime MC Lady Leshurr on the album’s irresistibly vibrant electro-rap title track. The Hartnolls even give a radical post-dubstep makeover to their much-loved techno-rock classic Satan, reworking it into a razor- backed beast of shuddering bass called Beelzedub.

Like all Orbital albums, Wonky defies narrow-minded caricatures of electronic music as cold and mechanical. Playful humour and warm humanity are woven into its fabric - from the heart-tugging harmonies and woozy vocal layers of Never and Distractions, to the guest appearance by the highly acclaimed LA-based electronic musician Zola Jesus on the brooding, atmospheric epic New France. These are machine-made symphonies to stir the soul and electrify the senses.

“When I’m writing music, if it doesn’t move you emotionally, it’s not working,” Paul explains. “It has to give me butterflies. I have to make myself cry in the studio.”