The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld is the debut studio album by the English electronic music group The Orb, released as a double "DJ Friendly" album on 2 April 1991. The Orb was founded by Alex Paterson and Jimmy Cauty (of Justified Ancients of Mu Mu/The KLF fame) a few years earlier in 1988. Much of this album was recorded after Cauty left the Orb although he is credited as a writer and producer of the closing track. Jimmy produced another ambient house concept LP called "Space" in 1990 which predates Ultraworld and steals the accolade of being the first-ever space-themed ambient house album. Space may be ground-breaking but I prefer Ultraworld which I consider a more enjoyable listen.

This album is a notional journey through the cosmos, starting with the funky four-on-the-floor "Littly Fluffy Clouds" of Earth where a young woman reminisces about the colourful skies over Arizona, and ends with Cauty's "A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules From The Centre Of The Ultraworld" an epic name for a protracted 18-minute version of The Orb's debut single. Most of the tracks are lengthy, running for at least eight or nine minutes each which will explain why this is a two-disk 33.3 rpm release.

The first “Orbits” part of the album continues with Ming the Merciless, preparing to destroy the Earth for his personal entertainment, introducing “Earth (Gaia)” with its twittering synths over a really hypnotic repetitive baseline. “Supernova at the End of the Universe” and “Back side of the Moon” are like two parts of the same track. Both are studded with NASA Apollo mission voice samples over suitably cosmic synth pads. The first has a cool interplay between a lively stereo synth hi-hat and a sustained crusty breakbeat. The second is a more relaxing ambient affair and if your heart isn’t sufficiently slowed by that, it soon will be by the slowly plucked double bass and quiet tinkling piano of “Spanish Castles in Space”.

A personal favourite, "Perpetual Dawn" kicks off a lively second disc and the "Ultraworld Probes" section of the journey. Here, a slow and distorted rocket take-off countdown leads into a brilliant foot-tapping track driven by reggae dub elements such as prominent off-beat chords and echo box dub delays on the snare drums. Unlike the singles, the only vocals on this album version are laughing noises and a weird voice that Igloo magazine has described as “blrblblrblblrblblrbl”. I can provide no better description than that!

We’re now in deep space and the next few tracks treat us to one of the Orb’s classic smorgasbords of sound: including operatic singing, Vivaldi violins, reggae samples, probe sounds, countryside ambience and (of course) more foot-tapping beats and cosmic pads. As noted above, our destination is the “Huge Ever Growing Brain…” which is one of the most repetitive and ambient tracks on the album. Sprinkled amongst the synth sounds and choral voices are instantly recognisable samples from Minnie Riperton’s 1975 hit “Loving You”.

It’s an amazing trip across the cosmos that manages to retain its space theme despite the sheer variety of different sounds thrown into the mix. Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld sets the standard for ambient house music and after thirty years it is yet to be matched.