Trust me #72
Little Fluffy Clouds by The Orb
The first time I heard The Orb's Little Fluffy Clouds was in my friend Reddy's bedroom, which somehow packed in; a tropical fish tank, technics decks and speakers, a HiFi set up for CD's, CD stand and record storage. The walls were plastered with posters including Anna Friel, Bjork, The Future Sound Of London and Pop Will Eat Itself.As the posters suggested, Reddy had (and has) rather eclectic taste in music. It was in this room that I'd get turned on to more electronic based sounds like the aforementioned Future Sound Of London, Jam and Spoon and .... The Orb.
Hearing The Orb's Little Fluffy Clouds for the first time was a genuine 'what the f**k is this?' moment when everything stopped to allow me to soak it all in. We may have been a little spangled when this happened - quite the trip!
Beginning with the question - what were the skies like when you were young? The American singer Rickie Lee Jones goes on to paint a vivid picture in her answer. Jones' voice is beautiful and trippy, enhanced by all kinds of bubbling and squelching synths underneath that eventually come to the surface to take over.
They went on forever
We lived in Arizona and the skies always had little fluffy clouds in them
They were long ... and clear .... there were lots of stars at night
The sunsets were purple and red and yellow and on fire
You don't see that. You might still see them in the desert.
It turns out that The Orb didn't have permission to sample Jones voice and later paid $5,000. Jones, allegedly wasn't happy about the sample. The Orb also sampled drums from Nilsson's Jump Into The Fire, slowing them from 45rpm to 33rpm.
The Orb playing chess on Top of the Pops!
Layering different sounds, layering different sounds is one of the samples. The Orb layer the sound with imagination, precision and skill. The production is atmospheric, the lush synths, sounds of nature, lawnmowers and planes is trippy and beautiful. Somehow it all works and the production is key to that. Close your eyes and you could be floating among the clouds with Rickie Lee Jones as your guide and The Orb as your pilots.
The Orb, led by Alex Paterson formed in 1988 and it's safe to say that Little Fluffy Clouds laid the foundations for them to still be recording and touring all these years down the line.
Quite simply, it doesn't get any better than this.
Little Fluffy Clouds is added to my Trust Me playlist; search for Everything Flows - Trust Me on Spotify or CLICK HERE
Check below for all previous blogs in my Trust Me series.
Previous Trust Me blogs
1. Something On Your Mind by Karen Dalton
1A. Crimson and Clover by Tommy James and the Shondells
2. I Am, I Said by Neil Diamond
3. Where's The Playground Susie? by Glen Campbell
4. If You Could Read My Mind by Gordon Lighfoot
5. Gimme Some Truth by John Lennon
6. Gone With The Wind Is My Love by Rita and the Tiaras
7. In The Year 2525 by Zager and Evans
8. The Music Box by Ruth Copeland
9. The Ship Song by Nick Cave
10. Sometimes by James
11. I Walk The Earth by King Biscuit Time
12. Didn't Know What I Was In For by Better Oblivion Community Centre
13. When My Boy Walks Down The Street by The Magnetic Fields
14. The Man Don't Give A F**k by Super Furry Animals
15. All Flowers In Time Bend Towards The Sun by Jeff Buckley and Liz Fraser
16. Are You Lookin' by The Tymes
17. A Real Hero by College & Electric Youth
18. Feelings Gone by Callum Easter
19. Sunday Morning by The Velvet Underground
20. Did I Say by Teenage Fanclub
21. Don't Look Back by Teenage Fanclub
22. Your Love Is The Place Where I Come From by Teenage Fanclub
23. Belfast by Orbital
24. Clouds by The Jayhawks
25. Dreaming Of You by The Coral
26. Everlasting Love by Love Affair
27. Walk Away Renee by The Left Banke
28. Teenage Kicks by The Undertones
29. Shaky Ground by Sneeze
29. Rill Rill by Sleigh Bells
30. I Can Feel Your Love by Felice Taylor
31. The State We're In by The Chemical Brothers w/ Beth Orton
32. Sunshine After The Rain by Ellie Greenwich
33. Losing My Edge by LCD Soundsystem
34. Mondo 77 by Looper
35. Les Fleurs by Minnie Riperton
36. Rat Trap by The Boomtown Rats
37. How High by The Charlatans
38. I Can't Let Go by Evie Sands
39. Pop Song 89 by R.E.M.
40. Summertime Clothes by Animal Collective
41. There She Goes by The Las
42. We're Going To Be Friends by White Stripes
43. Autumn Sweater by Yo La Tengo
44. Sister Rena by Lomond Campbell
45. Revolution by The Beatles
46. Lazarus by The Boo Radleys
47. Wrote For Luck by Happy Mondays
48. American Trilogy by The Delgados
49. Loser by Beck
50. Silent Sigh by Badly Drawn Boy
51. Comedy by Shack
52. Take The Skinheads Bowling by Camper Van Beethoven
53. Freakscene by Dinosaur Jr
54. Thank You For Being You by The Pastels
55. I Think I'm In Love by Spiritualized
56. Chestnut Mare by The Byrds
57. Cannonball by The Breeders
58. Like A Rolling Stone by Bob Dylan
59. You Make Me Weak At The Knees by Electrelane
60. Lucky by Radiohead
61. Strange Currencies by R.E.M.
61. I Am The Cosmos by Chris Bell
62. Like A Ship (Without A Sail) by Pastor TL Barrett and the Youth for Christ Choir
63. Nothing But A Heartache by The Flirtations
64. Made of Stone by The Stone Roses
65. Tonight In Belfast by Orbital, David Holmes, DJ Helen and Mike Garry
66. Anything by Adrianne Lenker
67. I Hold Something In My Hand by Bill Ryder-Jones
68. I Meant Every Word by Burnett Sisters
69. Dream Baby Dream by Suicide
70. Stove by The Lemonheads
71. Red Lady by Phil Cordell
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