William Orbit - My Oracle Lives Uptown

William Orbit should need no introduction, but here goes: an old-school ambient producer from the infancy of the genre (probably before you were born), he then switched to producing albums for Blur, Madonna and Pink, among others. Elevated to superstar status, Orbit was affluent enough to live in two floors of a hotel for three years; however, his second solo album in 11 years stands testament to the fact that success and unlimited resources do not necessarily bode well for artistic endeavours. Despite the fact that Orbit describes My Oracle Lives Uptown as a party album, its mellow beats and '90s synths give it the flavour of a record from almost two decades ago, with none of the edge evident in contemporaries ranging from Boards of Canada through to Jon Hopkins. Ultimately, the record is missing someone like Madonna who can give the music a focal point; each track is like a demo waiting for a superstar to add their magic.