The man behind the electronic dance group, Alex Paterson, says it’s ironic that after all these years (he founded the group in 1988) they’ve hit the ‘big time’ with the release of Metallic Spheres, their latest album which features David Gilmour on guitar.

“The Orb has always been about word of mouth, but suddenly we’ve hit the big time cos we’ve got Gilmour on board,” Paterson jokes.

Paterson said working with the Pink Floyd legend “seemed to make sense”.

“We started off with him doing a single, and it ended up being an album he gave us so many vivid guitar parts.

“It was kind of a slow process because halfway through we didn’t know if it was going to come out or not. But we regained our impetus, and bob’s your uncle!”

The deluxe version of Metallic Spheres was recorded using technology known as ‘3D60TM, which Paterson describes as ‘3D for ears’.

“It’s like having someone eating breakfast in front of you while you listen to music – that gives you some idea of the curves and the density within the soundwaves.”

The Orb are better known for their copious use of samples on their albums but Paterson says that’s not the case on Metallic Spheres.

“People might be shocked at how little sampling there is on the latest album.”

“We’ve got an App so you can play Metallic Spheres yourself.”

Paterson admits that it’s nice to get more attention but is quick to point out that he’s been keeping busy behind the scenes.

“The last album we did last year was for an Austrian-German film about plastic and the dangers of it and it got to number one in the German charts.”

He was also recently nominated for a Bafta award for his work with the band High Frequency Bandwith on the video game PixelJunk shooter.

“I’ve been happy doing what I’ve been doing for the last ten years, away from that circuit of having records in the charts, it’s not the bee all and end all.

The Orb has just announced a series of concerts in the UK but Paterson says it’s too early to say if there will be plans to play over this side of the world.

“I’d love to head back to New Zealand, I’ve been there a couple of times, but who knows what will happen. I’ve got some feelers out.”

Next up for Paterson is the three-CD Impossible Oddities which will feature remixes of The Orb’s earlier works and collaboration with the Royal Opera House.

Ad Feedback “We all came into this world with nothing and we’ll all leave this world with nothing, so let’s make the most of it in-between,” Paterson muses.