Halycon + On + On by
Orbital, from their
Brown Album. (released May 1993)
The central pillar and most instantly-recognisable element of this track are the cleverly sampled vocals of Kirsty Hawkshaw from Opus III's It's A Fine Day. (a really quite pathetic New Age House anthem) Chopped, spliced, reversed, and time-stretched, her frivilous 'la di da' is transformed into a lush and almost soulful stream of sound. They pay particular attention to her breathy gasps which add to the complex aural timbre of the song.
Simple but nice synth chords pervade throughout the tune from the beginning. After a couple of minutes of vocals, synths, and a light piano melody, a bassline that sounds suspiciously like something from New Order is introduced. Followed quickly by a pitch-bent synth pluck melody that leads to a very fitting rhythm section, the track pushes on for a grand total of 9:27. (on the Brown Album version, at least.)
While it would seem that Halcyon would make a good ecstasy anythem, it was actually inspired by the Valium-like chemical Halcion. Far from a celebration, it was in fact a tribute or heedence to the Hartnolls' mother who had taken the tranquiliser for several years and suffered it's depressive side-effects.