Orbital return with their first new album in six years

Seminal electronic group Orbital have announced their official return with the impending arrival of a brand new album called 'Monsters Exist'.

After splitting in 2012, Orbital went quiet for six years due to the duo's personal differences, during which brothers Paul and Phil Hartnoll didn't speak. Towards the end of 2017, the two reconciled for a series of summer festival shows and announced a new live show set to land in London later this year.

The nine-track 'Monsters Exist' album, set to release on September 14, is said to be a classically structured album inspired by the politics from the Hartnoll brothers' early pre-rave, punk days to the tumultuous and tension-filled landscape of today.

"Because of the global situation I was torn between writing a really aggressive Crass-type album that says ‘Fuck The Man!’ or going back to rave sensibilities," Paul explains. "You don’t need to spell out who the monsters are. We’re not pointing our fingers at Donald Trump or Kim Jong-un. It’s clear who the monsters are. I’ve never liked preaching to people. It’s much better to provoke a bit of thought.”

"It’s a reflection on modern day monsters,” Phil adds. “That can mean anything from bankers and The Man or your own demons and fears. The monsters inside you."

In addition to the album, Orbital have confirmed that their differences have been resolved and that the pair plan to push full steam ahead with their shared project. "We’re brothers and business partners and creative partners, so we were three times as likely to fall out," Paul says. "But in the end we had to remind ourselves that Orbital is something we’re really proud of and that we love doing it."

The first taste of 'Monsters Exist' arrives in the form of a single and music video for 'Tiny Foldable Cities'. Watch the full video below.

Valerie Lee is Mixmag's US Digital Editor. Follow her on Twitter here