I Can't Hear You

June 24, 2009 7:03 AM

Former member of The Orb and electronic musician Andy Hughes passed away June 12th after a short illness. While he may not have been the most well-known member of The Orb, he definitely added a unique sound to many of their albums and remixes, including their groundbreaking Live 93 and Orblivion albums. In addition to his work with The Orb as well as his own solo material, Hughes also worked with Basement Jaxx, The Pet Shop Boys, Tina Turner, and David Bowie.
posted by 40 Watt (36 comments total)

Little Puffy Clouds changed my life.

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posted by schyler523 at 7:06 AM on June 24, 2009

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Fluffy clouds indeed.
posted by swift at 7:06 AM on June 24, 2009

Puffy, rather.
posted by swift at 7:07 AM on June 24, 2009

Little Puffy Clouds
posted by schyler523 at 7:08 AM on June 24, 2009

It is "Fluffy" oops.
posted by schyler523 at 7:08 AM on June 24, 2009

Fluffy, puffy...

it was all about the 'break' at Mt. Disappointment @earthcore in 199...

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posted by evil_esto at 7:15 AM on June 24, 2009

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posted by jquinby at 7:17 AM on June 24, 2009

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posted by Artw at 7:20 AM on June 24, 2009

A terrible shame. The Orb (and Orbital, conveniently right next to each other in the record store) are what got me started on electronic music.

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posted by echo target at 7:20 AM on June 24, 2009

That's sad news and I hope his family and friends are okay. I wasn't a huge fan, but every so often Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld is exactly the thing I need to hear and I really appreciate that.
posted by ardgedee at 7:27 AM on June 24, 2009 [1 favorite]

Live 93 was my gateway drug.
posted by swift at 7:30 AM on June 24, 2009

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posted by allelopath at 7:36 AM on June 24, 2009

UFOrb changed my (listening) life.

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posted by KokuRyu at 7:49 AM on June 24, 2009

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Hughes worked on one of my all-time Orb favourites, "Orbus Terrarum". I think I know what to listen to tonight.

I'm getting cognitive dissonance from marking this as my "favourite".
posted by phax at 8:01 AM on June 24, 2009 [1 favorite]

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posted by condour75 at 8:01 AM on June 24, 2009

Wow, then that must have been one of the last times they played live when I saw them at a festival last month. Their set was not too well received, they'd reworked everything and managed to even make "Fluffy little clouds" a little bit crap. But biggen up their maximum status for all the albums. (I already listened to Auntie Aubrey's Excursions today)
posted by yoHighness at 8:08 AM on June 24, 2009

Sigh. Those poor kids.
posted by geekhorde at 8:17 AM on June 24, 2009

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posted by malocchio at 8:19 AM on June 24, 2009

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posted by gmm at 8:33 AM on June 24, 2009

Well that's a damn shame.

Hughes didn't really become part of the Orb until after the Ultraworld / Fluffy Clouds era..."Orblivion", I think, is a much better example of how the Orb sounded with his input.
posted by the bricabrac man at 8:37 AM on June 24, 2009 [1 favorite]

I guess he left for Constantinople.

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posted by fleetmouse at 8:49 AM on June 24, 2009

yoHighness: The Orb is basically Alex Patterson along with other people that come and go sporadically. Andy Hughes hasn't been involved in a long time. The Orb will keep going.
posted by zsazsa at 9:18 AM on June 24, 2009

I heard that the last album was even half decent, might have to nab that today.
posted by Artw at 9:19 AM on June 24, 2009

Artw, yeah, it's quite good!
posted by zsazsa at 9:39 AM on June 24, 2009

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The Orb were true ground (errr ... space?) breakers. To my ears at least, they did more to liberate modern popular music from gravity's pull than anyone post early 70s era Pink Floyd, Yes, Tangerine Dream etc ...

And seeing (feeling) Little Fluffy Clouds performed live in an absolutely packed (and grooving) Graceland nightclub in Vancouver, circa 1993 (I think) has to rank as one of my life's truly transcendental moments.

Keep on floating.
posted by philip-random at 9:43 AM on June 24, 2009

zsazsa, I stand corrected! Thanks!
posted by yoHighness at 9:59 AM on June 24, 2009

Live 93 is aural bliss.

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posted by podwarrior at 10:01 AM on June 24, 2009

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posted by Blazecock Pileon at 10:22 AM on June 24, 2009

I loved Little Fluffly Clouds enough to buy their CDs and realize that I didn't really like their music all that much, but was glad to support them either way. Float on.
posted by NiteMayr at 10:41 AM on June 24, 2009

Is a moment of silence appropriate for a person whose life was music?



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posted by Evilspork at 11:00 AM on June 24, 2009

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posted by cybercoitus interruptus at 2:36 PM on June 24, 2009

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No love for Toxygene?

I like Little Fluffy Clouds well enough, but I love the entire Orblivion album with a strong true passion. I must now play it in memoriam.
posted by winna at 2:50 PM on June 24, 2009

                              ._( )_.
             .( )         o_ (       )
           _(    )o     .(            )
  . o . oO(________)   (______._______)0Oo.

posted by loquacious at 4:10 PM on June 24, 2009 [1 favorite]

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posted by sebastienbailard at 7:15 PM on June 24, 2009

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very sad. and I had hoped to hear them here in DC in 2 weeks..
posted by pwedza at 10:42 PM on June 24, 2009

Winna, Toxygene and their later work I far prefer, actually. Cydonia's the last album of theirs I bought on vinyl. It was amazing seeing them in Detroit a couple of years ago with many thousands of people, and I assume that Alex Patterson will continue to tour/play/produce.

Still, it's always sad to lose a good producer... :(

RIP Andy, I feel terrible for your two children this morning.
posted by Unicorn on the cob at 6:18 AM on June 25, 2009