There are few remaining dance acts still performing around the world with a history as strong and enduring as Orbital. Even people who do not recognise their name will no doubt have heard their productions in a club, on the radio or on a movie soundtrack or advert and it is a testament to the durability of their music that five years after they originally broke up and 20 years after the release of their first work there was such demand globally for them to appear that they reformed and are currently touring again. Thankfully they decided to include a Melbourne show on this tour and as I missed them last time they toured the UK (yes I’m a Pom, get over it) I was not going to let that happen again.

As often happens with live performances the night started early so when we arrived at Billboards at around 10PM the sound system was already pounding out some seriously heavy bass as Eric Powell got the ball rolling. The crowd was a slightly older group who obviously knew a thing or two about what to expect. There was no teenies in Lycra dresses or beef cakes with swollen muscles; this was a much more educated crowd of retired ravers, chin stroking knob twiddlers and Orbital groupies. Dress was focused more on comfort than class and there was a sense that people were here purely for the music.

Eric did a sterling job on warm up fusing deep progressive and tribal rhythms with slightly more uplifting house vocals and it was a fitting set, not overly showy but with enough bounce and grit to get the slowly packing venue ready to rock.

Come 11PM and the Hartnoll brothers made their entrance on to the stage. It has to be said that the logistics of moving their gear around must be an incredible task. Unlike many modern performers Orbital still use a lot of analogue equipment which means that there is a lot of interaction going on onstage between them and their instruments and although you can’t necessarily see exactly what they are doing they aren’t stuck behind Mac screens all night which makes for a much more interesting performance.

Behind the myriad of sound boards, mixing desks, keyboards and sequencers was a visual display screen which opened the show with static TV interference then green swirls and heart monitor visuals. From the first moments of the first track it was very clear that Orbital are still at the top of the pile when it comes to productions in the field of EDM. Their ability to fuse subsonic basslines with ethereal vocals, breakbeats, keys and strings is second to none and I doubt there are many modern production artists that will still be able to fill venues 20 years from now. Orbital do and they do it in style.

Melding the sounds of their classic tracks such as Halcyon and The Earth is Burning with improvised riffs, breaks and loops Orbital managed to make a soundscape unlike anything I’ve heard for years. Throughout the night the visuals played out messages on the state of The Earth (a recurring theme in their music), displayed chemical elements and radar scanners and brought the music to a whole other level.

Then came the sounds of Chime, Satan, Belfast and Nothing Left and the emotion in the crowd could clearly be felt. Great music stands the test of time and undoubtedly these tracks hold that to be true as people celebrated the music and the nostalgia together.

The brothers shifted about the stage with their trademark torch glasses, pressing buttons, flicking switches and swinging their arms around. It was clear that they still enjoy performing and listening to their own music which made the whole event even more fulfilling.

Towards the end the bass was starting to take its toll on the crowd and the speakers so there were a few complaints but when Orbital stretched out their set by about an extra half an hour and polished off the night with an encore that delivered The Box segued with their remix of the Dr. Who Theme then people stopped caring and simply let go, absolutely amazing.

Orbital were, are and always will be a class act, their performance in Melbourne was a real highlight and showcased their music to great effect. NME listed orbital in their “50 Bands to See Before You Die”, my suggestion, if you’re not dead, go see them.