Orbital - Halcyon [
1992]
Although you've probably heard this song re-mixed in a variety of fashions over the past 15+ years, and probably covered live before by numerous other big acts, (such as Bon Jovi, and Trent Reznor) as well as the band, itself proper, finding newer, creative ways of re-tuning their most longstanding piece into something not yet heard of before. It's always a joy to here this song for many of us, in whatever form it happens to befall at the time.
However, while I will probably feature a live (orchestral) version of this piece later on in the series, (
if I ever get to remembering this thread by then) the above is the original
longplay piece from 1992's
Halcyon 12" Vinyl EP, only ever released once in the US (as well as the UK, as
Radiccio) in it is full 11 minutes-and-some-odd-seconds form.
Written by Paul and Phil Hartnoll, (with the masterwork provided by Kevin Metcalfe) the song is famous for featuring a backmasked sample of Kirsty Hawkshaw's voice from her Opus III song, "It's a Fine Day". Hawkshaw was so generous, in fact, that she played the starring role in
the music video for the song, adopting the role of the mother 'under the influence'. Additional credit goes to writer/producer Ed Barton, who was the original co-composer for the song "It's a Fine Day"; his lyrics for the song are still intact when heard in
Halcyon, although you'd need to slow it down a bit, then play the title in reverse.
[
discogs. / wiki.]
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-- (
to note: I suppose it is no real wonder, at least to myself, why I let myself drift away from this topic for so long. It's great to feature some of the once-onbscured and thought-lost, but if the above is any indication, it's real hard work. It took me just a shade over an hour this time, and most of the others took at the very least, 25+ minutes in finalization. I might even need to look back and replace some antiquated .mp3s / audio links. I really should try to keep this content commons going, but bearing with my own schedule, it seems once a week is the only option, and even that, at times, could be an iffy one. Ah. This topic's too enjoyable to keep down. Once a week it is.)