With the imminent release of 'Lunar Orbit', a superb documentary about pioneering ambient act The Orb, musomuso were lucky enough to put some questions to director/producer Patrick Buchanan on a true passion project, about taking on numerous roles during the production, how he got into The Orb, and...pizza. All will become clear...

MUSOMUSO: Hi Patrick, and thanks for taking the time to answer some questions about the documentary. 'Lunar Orbit' is a true labour of love; when and how did you first become interested in The Orb? What drew you to their sound?

PATRICK BUCHANAN: I remember the first time I heard The Orb was on a road trip with friends. I must have been fifteen years old. Someone took out my Pixies tape. It was 'Live '93' - and I didn't understand it one bit. Why are they just playing motorcycles and birds? What kind of music is this? How are they performing such music live? I pictured a motorbike on stage and someone revving it up. I wasn't an instant fan that day, but the mystery surrounding their sound continues to this day...

What do I find so fascinating with it? The nature of soundscape, using sounds instead of instruments. The aspect of journey, the unknown and humour works my brain into bliss! The fact that it's like music for my subconscious.

MM: You mention that you'd had the idea for the film for some time, did you have a clear idea about what the documentary would be at that point? Or did it evolve over time?

PB: Yeah, I remember thinking many years ago after the release [of the album] 'Cydonia' (in 2001) that it would be a cool documentary idea to explore the mysteries of this type of music. Back then I was a year out of film school, and was pretty focused on being a camera assistant. A decade later in 2012 on vacation in Korea, the idea flashed back one night as I was listening to 'Orbus Terrarum' one night, drifting off to sleep - a real epiphany! We just had our second child, and I was really focused on making my creative mark somehow. And to be honest, as we started making this film, I still didn't have a clear path or idea how the documentary would evolve. It definitely shifted from my experimental concept film, which explored each of the tracks on 'Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld'. It slowly emerged as we filmed interviews and were given access to their Berlin studio sessions. Over the course of many months of editing, the structure was revealed. It's kind of hard to explain, but documentaries kind of reveal themselves over time.

MM: It's evident you were totally committed to this project, and covered a lot of roles yourself in the making of it. Was there ever a time that you wished you had an assistant to share the workload?

PB: Oh for sure. My co-producer Gina definitely kept me grounded and focused when I got lost or confused. My Director of Photography Darryl was amazing during travel, and thinking on his feet on location. It would have been nice to have an assistant editor (I was the editor) and an actual assistant would have sped up the process and given me a bit more sleep, and time with my family. But the film was a result of this focus of mine. For better or worse, 'Lunar Orbit' was shaped by the totality of my commitment. It was mostly conceived, researched and eventually edited late into the night between the hours of 10pm-3am (wife and kids asleep). Then I'd crash for a few hours before heading into work, editing TV.

MM: The scenes focusing on the recording of the 'Moonbuilding' album are a joy; a fantastic look into the working practises of the group. How did that come about - did you suggest it, or did Alex [Paterson] and Thomas [Fehlmann] put the invitation out?

PB: After we had filmed about half our interviews (mostly in the UK) and had filmed a number of live events and backstage at the 25th anniversary tour, it was apparent to me that we needed to focus on the creative - how that happens, and words don't do it justice. The film was not going to be about the past, and the tour material wasn't that interesting enough. We needed to have access to some sort of studio sessions. At that point, both Alex and Thomas were comfortable with myself and my DP (Director of Photography) hanging around, so I do believe they reluctantly said "yes". On the plane ride to Germany (from Canada) Darryl and I had a number of conversations on what we should expect, and how to be ready for anything. We really didn't know what was going to happen, or what they were going to be working on. They never told me until the night before (the pizza dinner) that they were indeed working on the next album [that would become 2015's 'Moonbuilding 2703 AD']. It was extremely good fortune; Thomas had said they were working on some remixes. In the end, I arrived a few days before Alex (as we were going to film Thomas' main interview first) and I watched a World Cup game with Thomas, and came up with a game-plan. He showed me around and we chatted about recording in two areas - the studio and the kitchen. He said they always talk in the kitchen and work in the studio; the rest was off-limits.

MM: How hard was it tracking down the interviewees for the film? Did many of them (Guy Pratt, Youth etc.) come from Alex being involved?

PB: Once Alex said "yes" to the idea of the documentary, the plan was to film interviews with both Alex and Thomas in Vancouver before their gig in September 2013. We booked a conference room at a down-town hotel and it became apparent that we could really only get one interview done that first night. The original idea that Alex and I had talked about (when we met) was a film about the back-story of '...Ultraworld', and focus on that one album. I wanted to do a concept film - I had mentioned to him I wanted to interview everyone involved. That first Vancouver interview became the framework of much of the film, and a big jumping-off point as far as who to interview next. I received emails from most of the original Orb crew, so yes - Alex's involvement was how those came about - Youth, Guy Pratt, Steve Hillage. But I tracked down Matt Black [of Coldcut], Mixmaster Morris and several others on my own, once the ball was rolling. Unfortunately, there were some that turned us down and some that we couldn't coordinate time for.

MM: The documentary was finished in 2016 - what has been the journey of the film since then with regards to festivals etc. and ultimately this DVD/Blu-ray release? What gave you the idea to crowdfund the project?

PB: Oh, it's been a struggle - personally and financially - to remain focused on this past our original festival screenings. We had a lot of great feedback, but were turned down by so many distributors and broadcasters. To be honest, it was killed several times, but I knew it would eventually happen. We didn't really crowdfund widely, but yes, I figured I could count on the support of a certain Facebook group of fans who in the past had kept encouraging me to get a physical release out for their Orb collections.

MM: Has making the documentary left the door open to any further work with The Orb in future, or are you keen to explore other projects?

PB: I have thought about this in the past, but I don't really think so. The bonus 'Backside of the Moon' film was fun to edit in the summer of 2019. I most definitely want to explore other things. The door would always be open however if they wanted to work on something in the future. But we live in different parts of the world, so it's difficult to stay in touch, and I haven't been able to travel the past couple of years, sadly. I have been in touch with both Alex and Thomas.

MM: Was there much material left out of the documentary? Or were you determined to use as much of the footage as possible?

PB: See the 'Backside of the Moon' bonus feature - this is where my favourite cutting-room floor bits were stitched together to make something new. But it kind of works on its own.

MM: Would you say "owning" this project gave you more freedom than say, directing it as part of a commission or something a record label employed you to make?

PB: Absolutely, yes. However, DIY film-making can be difficult, especially distribution. I've had complete freedom on this to do whatever I wanted - including making lots of mistakes! But most of it was fun.

MM: What in your eyes is the best Orb album?

PB: Great question! 'Orbus Terrarum' has stood the test of time for me. Probably the first Orb album I seriously devoured and listened to the most over the years. I still really enjoy listening to 'Live '93', and was overjoyed with the third all-live disc from 'History of the Future' in 2013. 'Moonbuilding' is up there for me, and 'COW/Chill Out World'. But it really all started with 'Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld', right? Sounds amazing for a record of its age.

MM: Finally, and perhaps most importantly, did you get to try the results of Thomas Fehlmann's pizza-making as portrayed in the film?

PB: I did, and it was very tasty! Served with salad on top! I think that scene was my favourite to edit, I was being silly and I didn't take any of it seriously. But it works. I can't remember that night too clearly now, after we put the camera away we ate pizza together, drank some white wine and talked for at least another hour or so - off the record. But it was the start of a great week in Berlin which holds the film together. 2014 was so long ago!

MM: Thank you very much for your time, Patrick, and congratulations on a fantastic film.

PB: You bet - and I appreciate your kind words.

Interview by Peter Muscutt.

'Lunar Orbit' is available as a DVD/Blu-ray combo pack from www.lunarorbitfilm.com from March 1st, 2022.

Watch the movie trailer below;