The Orchids

Genesis P-Orridge founded Psychic TV in 1981 after Throbbing Gristle's dissolution — and where TG had been confrontational and industrial, PTV was more varied, more interested in pop forms as a vehicle for altered states of consciousness. Dreams Less Sweet (1983) ranged from acoustic folk to pure noise.

The Orchids is among PTV's most beautiful recordings — a gentle, acoustic piece as far from P-Orridge's industrial provenance as possible. The beauty is deliberate: P-Orridge was always interested in the full range of emotional experience, not merely the extreme.

Beginning 2026 on New Year's Day with "The Orchids" — a song about delicacy, cultivation, beauty — is a considered curatorial choice: the year starts with something that could easily be overlooked, played by someone who spent their career refusing to be overlooked.