Charting a musical path not dissimilar to Bonobo and Jon Hopkins, Tu:Orbit is a little more deep than I typically cover. Transcendent synths build an emotive sense of momentum, with angelic vocals deep in the mix. It was that human feeling at its core that pulled me into the track.
The overall sense of Tu:Orbit is one of a feeling, then, rather than a thought. In that sense, it actually reminds me of Sigur Rós, insomuch that there are words here, but what they say feels potentially less important than the feeling the voices communicate.
tu:orbit is the work of multi-instrumentalist, producer and composer Tom Ashbrook, and it is taken from his EP, ko:da. Exploring a series of variations of his 2020 track, Klass, from his album, Sensibus, the EP uses “original melody ideas” to build a collaborative new body of work.
Guest vocals come from the Faroese vocalist Greta Svabo Bech, known for her striking performance on Deadmau5’ Raise Your Weapon. The result sees Ashbrook apply Greta’s vocals to great effect — as much an integrated instrument as anything else on the song, and wholly original.