The Orb bio

The Orb are an English electronic music group known for popularising chill out music in the 1990s and spawning the genre of ambient house. Founded in 1988 by Alex Paterson and KLF member Jimmy Cauty, The Orb began as ambient and dub DJs in London. Their early performances were inspired by ambient producers, most notably Brian Eno, and German artists such as Kraftwerk. Because of their "trippy" sound, they developed a cult following among clubbers "coming down" from drug-induced highs. Despite many personnel changes, Alex Paterson has maintained The Orb's science fiction themes and visually-intensive live performances. Their frequent use of unlicensed samples has been a source of contention and legal disputes with other record labels and artists. The Orb achieved most of their commercial success in the early and mid-1990s. They produced four UK top ten singles, including "Blue Room", "Little Fluffy Clouds", Pomme Fritz, and "Toxygene", which peaked at #4. Albums by The Orb have appeared on the UK Albums Chart, including U.F.Orb, which reached number one in the U.K. in 1992. Also contributing to their popularity is the high number of tracks they have remixed for high-profile artists such as Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails, and Mika Nakashima as well as appearances on Top of the Pops and at Woodstock '94. Their releases of the early 2000s met with limited critical support before shifting to a minimalist sound, spearheaded by Orb member Thomas Fehlmann.

Source: Wikipedia