Founded by Alex Paterson and Jimmy Cauty in 1988,[1] the group's first release was the extended play Kiss EP, issued in May 1989.

[2] The single "A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules from the Centre of the Ultraworld", which marked the group's first foray into the ambient house genre, was released in October 1989 on Adam Morris and Martin Glover's record label WAU!

[6] The Orb's third studio album Orbus Terrarum was released in April 1995, charting at number twenty in the UK and producing the single "Oxbow Lakes".

[10][11][12][13] The Orb then collaborated with Jamaican reggae musician Lee "Scratch" Perry on the albums The Orbserver in the Star House (2012) and More Tales from the Orbservatory (2013).

More recently, the Orb have returned to their ambient roots, collaborating with Roger Eno and other musicians to produce Moonbuilding 2703 AD in 2015, COW / Chill Out, World!