A quarter of a century of singles, remixes, live shows and videos collected in a new box set.

Alex Paterson is marking 25 years as The Orb with a four-disc set of highlights from his ever-changing duo’s extensive discography of trend-setting ambient techno. Founded in 1988 with Jimmy Cauty of pop pranksters The KLF, The Orb have delivered a vast and varied discography and existed through multiple line-up changes over the years, with Paterson mostly recently joined by Berlin-based producer Thomas Fehlmann.

History Of The Future – The Island Years attempts to condense that back catalogue into a manageable collection of landmark moments, grouping the music into four discs – the singles that made their name, including definitive Orb classics ‘Little Fluffy Clouds’ and ‘Blue Room’; the remixes by the likes of Andrew Weatherall and Mark Pritchard; live performances taken from early ’90s gigs in Copenhagen and the US; plus a DVD of the videos that accompanied the singles and even a couple of Top of the Pops performances.

The box set arrives on 7 October – check out the full tracklist below. The Orb have also announced a huge anniversary tour across the UK in October and November – scroll to the bottom for the full list of dates.

Current Orb duo Alex Paterson and Thomas Fehlmann are now working on their second collaborative album with dub scientist Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry and an opera titled Moon Building, plus there’s a potential collaboration with John Foxx on the way, as they detailed in a recent FACT interview. You can also hear a very special FACT mix by The Orb and Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry from last year.

Tracklist:

Disc One – The Singles Collection

01: A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules From The Centre of the Ultraworld: Loving You – Orbital Dance mix (Alex Paterson and Jimmy Cauty)
02: Little Fluffy Clouds Single version
03: Perpetual Dawn, Solar Youth mix
04: Blue Room, 7” version
05: Assassin, 7” version (Alex Paterson, Kris Weston and & DJ Lewis)
06: Oxbow Lakes, Album version
07: Asylum, Album version
08: Toxygene, Album version
09: Once More, Album version
10: Ghost Dancing, Album version

Disc Two – Remixes and Rarities

01: A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules From The Centre of the Ultraworld: Loving You Aubrey Mix Mk II (Alex Paterson and Jimmy Cauty )
02: Little Fluffy Clouds, Coldcut Heavyweight Dub mix
03: Perpetual Dawn, Andrew Weatherall Ultrabass 1 mix
04: Blue Room, Excerpt 605
05: Majestic, Heavy Mix (The Orb and Youth)
06: Close Encounters, Smile, You’re On Camera mix (The Orb and Slam)
07: Assassin, Another Live mix
08: Toxygene, Ganja Kru mix
09: Once More, Mark Pritchard mix

Disc Three – Live In Copenhagen & Woodstock

01: Towers of Dub, Live @ Trekkoner Sunset Gig, Copenhagen ‘93
02: Little Fluffy Clouds, Live @ Trekkoner Sunset Gig, Copenhagen ‘93
03: Blue Room, Live @ Trekkoner Sunset Gig, Copenhagen ‘93
04: Star 6 & 7 8 9, Live @ Trekkoner Sunset Gig, Copenhagen ‘93
05: Valley, Live @ Trekkoner Sunset Gig, Copenhagen ‘93
06: Assassin, Live at Woodstock 2, USA ‘94

Disc Four – DVD

01: Little Fluffy Clouds, Promotional video
02: Perpetual Dawn, Promotional video
03: Assassin, Promotional video
04: Oxbow Lakes, Promotional video
05: Pomme Fritz, Promotional video
06: Toxygene, Promotional video
07: DJ Asylum, Promotional video
08: Once More, Promotional video
09: Blue Room, Top Of The Pops ‘92
10: Toxygene, Top Of The Pops ‘97
11: Little Fluffy Clouds, Live from T In The Park
12: Perpetual Dawn, 10” TV advert

The Orb 25th Anniversary Tour dates:

10 Oct Brighton, The Haunt
11 Oct Reading, Sub 89
12 Oct Manchester, Academy 2
13 Oct Dundee, 20 Rocks
16 Oct Wolverhampton, Civic Centre
17 Oct Great Yarmouth, The Oakwood
18 Oct Bath, Komedia
19 Oct London, Forum, Kentish Town
20 Oct Newcastle, Warehouse 34
06 Nov Gloucester, Guildhall
08 Nov Bridport, Electric Palace
09 Nov Nottingham, Marcus Garvey Centre
10 Nov Holmfirth, Picturedrome
13 Nov Exeter, Phoenix
14 Nov Bournemouth, Old Firestation
15 Nov Hebden Bridge, Traders
16 Nov Dublin, Button Factory
17 Nov Buckley, Tivoli Venue
24 Nov Cambridge, Corn Exchange