Tuesday 13 February 2024

Tonight In Belfast


I wanna hold you up so high, you're gonna need a space suit

Trust me #65

Tonight In Belfast - Orbital, David Holmes and Mike Garry

I originally wrote about Belfast back in April 2021, but it has been nice to write about it again following the release of a new version involving David Holmes and the poet Mike Garry..

Belfast is one of the most blissful and sublime electronic songs that I am aware of. Warm synths, bubbling synths, funky cool beats (never overpowering) and a sample of soprano Emily Van Evera performing O Euchari are all blended together to create something truly magical. 

And, oh, what about those heavenly chords that have helped thousands of dancers and ravers put their hands in the air over the years?! Swoon!

The layers of the song are utterly gorgeous and the way things slow down to sheer bliss towards the end is like ecstasy on record. Belfast is spine tinglingly incredible. It gives me all the feels.

David Holmes booked Orbital to play the Art College in Belfast after falling for their debut single Chime. The Hartnoll brothers left a demo tape of a new song which they subsequently named Belfast after enjoying themselves so much in the city.

Many years later, Orbital invited their old friend David Holmes to remix Belfast for their hits/compilation album 30 Something to mark 3 decades since their debut single.

Holmes treats it with the tender love and care you would imagine, stretching it out to 12-minutes, allowing even more time to get lost in the synths, grooves and beats. I get tingles and rushes listening to this.

Is it just me, or do I hear Holmes hinting at Joy Divisions's Atmosphere at times? I can imagine this being mixed in perfectly.

Belfast is still inspiring and now the song has taken on another direction after DJ Helen suggested to the poet Mike Garry (who previously  came to my attention with his poem An Ode to Anthony H Wilson) that his poem Tonight would sit perfectly over Holmes remix.

Top suggestion! It fits like a glove!

Garry's Mancunian soul pours out over the top of Holmes and the Hartnoll brothers electronic magic, coming in just after 2-minutes with the opening verse.

Tonight, I just wanna paint pictures of you

Write poems and songs and novels, all about you

I wanna hold you up so high, you're gonna need a space suit

Mike (and DJ Helen) know when to let the music take hold, letting everything go at 3 minutes 45 seconds into sheer bliss before beats kick back in. Then when Garry comes back in a minute late, he sounds as lost in the music as I have been many, many times.

And we can build new mountains for us to climb is my favourite line. Garry sounds beautifully loved up (he originally wrote the poem to read at his wedding)

Tonight, you're gonna need a space suit

I wanna hold you up so high, you're gonna need a space suit

What a romantic genius! What a brilliant collaboration.

Enjoy!

Tonight In Belfast (official video)

Tonight In Belfast 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
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


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