Orbital, the Kent dance duo formed by brothers Phil and Paul Hartnoll in 1989, have split for the second time with Paul planning a solo career under the new guise of 8:58.
The Hartnolls released several key albums of ambient techno including Snivilisation and The Middle of Nowhere and Phil also worked as "rhythm consultant" on his brother in law David Gray's multi-million selling White Ladder album.
Orbital first disbanded in 2004 and reformed in 2008 but in a statement, Paul Hartnoll said: "Orbital had stopped working properly. We had a great four years since getting back together in 2008, but it was time to move on."
8:58 will be released in February and Cork actor Cillian Murphy provides a monologue for the first single.
Hartnoll says of his new project's name: "I’ve always had a thing for clocks and for time as a powerful force - but also the way it oppresses you.
"It’s one of those things I keep coming back to. For me, 8:58 is a moment of choice. It’s almost 9 o’clock. Are you going to school? Are you going to this job you hate? Everybody faces that decision now and again. 8:58 am is when you’ve got to make up your mind."
