Electronic duo Orbital have teamed up with Sleaford Mods for a new single called “Dirty Rat.” It’s the first song we get to hear from Orbital’s forthcoming tenth album OpticalDelusion that’s coming out early 2023, which follows the duo’s 2018 LP Monster’s Exist. It was recorded in their Brighton studio and features plenty of other collaborators, including Penelope Isles, Anna B Savage, The Little Pest, Dina Ipavic, Coppe, and The Mediaeval Baebes.
“Dirty Rat” is a raging dance track built on a grumbling bass, darting synths, and a tinny, throbbing drumbeat over which Sleaford Mod’s Jason Williamson spews critical hellfire: “People talk about the right way to live / Shut up, you don’t know what ya on about / You voted for ’em, look at ya! / You dirty rat.” Commenting on the track, he digs deeper: “The ongoing culture of non-thought mostly exists because of a lack of education into critical thought. How do you mobilize a people firmly imprisoned by a concrete system?” Considering England’s latest Prime Minister Liz Truss resigned today, the track feels particularly poignant.
Orbital’s Paul Hartnoll added: “This track is a giant capital letter. Like in the Book of Kells, where the very first letter always gets the big treatment from the monk when he’s doing his illustrated borders. It’s got that old school dance music vibe with bits of Cabaret Voltaire in there, even bits of The Shamen. It’s a little bit punk rock, nice and loud. A really refreshing, ‘wake up’ kind of track. And Jason is just brilliant!