"I think I've slowed down a lot compared to when I started making music 15 years ago, I give myself more time, that's something that happens when you reach 40. You suddenly realise all the rushing around doesn't really matter."

With Orbital recently announcing that they're calling it a day, Alex Patterson's The Orb are now virtually the last of the important bands left in dance culture (Liam Howlett's The Prodigy is arguably the only other genuine contender). So it's interesting that his new album Bicycles & Tricycles is the best thing The Orb's done in years, not least since he's partially returned to the dub based ambient house he first made his name with in the early 90s.

One reason for the return is undoubtedly his decision to work with erstwhile Orb collaborators Thomas Fehlmann and Jimmy Cauty, the KLF track actually being based around one of his biggest ever tracks 'A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain' ('it's the first track I've done with Jimmy since then; he decided why don't we go back to what we were doing when we split up and take it from there," Alex told Skrufff recently). Another is his stubborn insistence on following his own ideas rather than copying chill-out followers such as Zero 7 or Air ('I've not really listened to them, I like pure ambience," he told us).

While Bicyles and Tricycles overall vibe is downtempo (particularly on the last two tracks Kompania and Dilumn) tunes like Aftermath (featuring girl rapper Me Soom T on the top line) positively ooze with energy and fizz while the Jimmy Cauty collaboration From A Distance throbs with a thumping beat (though is typically offset by its Eastern samples and strings).

Bicycles & Tricycles is out now and is well worth a listen.

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