Detaching from The Orb mothership, Sedibus is the latest project of core figurehead Alex Paterson, accompanied by former Orb-member and key creative collaborator Andy Falconer. With a studio shorthand and a shared passion for flourishing ambient textures, the pair’s second record SETI gazes skyward for its inspiration. We spoke to Andy to learn more…
As one of those foundational outfits that defined so much of what we now take as read in the electronic domain, The Orb needs little introduction. Back in 1988, their beloved debut, The Orb’s Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld set a new benchmark for evocative ambient and dub.
While subsequent records and line-up changes gave us further mind-expanding sonics (namely 1992’s U.F.Orb and 1995’s Orbus Terrarum), it’s that perfectly titled debut that remains their high watermark. Beyond The Orb’s creative lynchpin Alex Paterson, former studio engineer Andy Falconer became a key member of the initial lineup who assembled that debut. Decades on, and following a 20+ year family-focussed sabbatical, Falconer and Paterson reunited once again, this time under the new guise of Sedibus. Their immersive 2021 debut The Heavens was a thoroughly captivating listen. Impressive sales and critical giddiness has led the pair to expand on the Sedibus universe with follow-up, SETI.
“There was never a multiple-album deal or anything, [Sedibus] was just spurred by the idea of getting together again and making a record,” Andy explains, when asked to take us back to the beginning of the Sedibus project. “Obviously between me and Alex last properly working together in the studio, I’d done some remixing for The Orb and we’d stayed in touch over the years. But it had been over 30 years since we’d properly done something together creatively. It was at Space Mountain festival in Spain where we met up, and Alex said, ‘Hey, how do you fancy making a record together again?’ So, it was just a case of bouncing ideas backwards and forwards, to see what would happen. It very quickly clicked. There was really no problem creatively.”
This ease of working resulted in that glorious debut, with the record’s most divine moments (such as the 19-minute, space-angled epic Unknowable) pushing the pair to reconvene for album 2. “Cooking Vinyl loved the first album, and definitely wanted to get behind it. Luckily enough, people who heard it liked it as well. Of course, then it was obvious to do a follow-up to it. The follow-up was done rather quickly, and it’s been sitting on the shelf for a year and a half. It’s just been waiting for the right time period in Alex’s activities – he’s a very busy guy and runs his own label, Orbscure Recordings.” It’s worth noting here that The Orb is still very much alive, currently co-fronted by Alex and Michael Rendall.
The outer reaches
While the first record swam in dense synthetic currents
