I heard an instrumental track in 1996 that was was either by Orbital or The Orb. It had a slow tempo and was almost entirely composed of poignant strums on a lead or rhythm guitar. Has anyone any idea what it was?
No, but because of this thread I rediscovered Orb’s Toxygene. “RAVE RAVE AGAINST THE DYING OF THE…ack, cops are here…EVERYBODY OUT THE BACK!!” 
p.s. I have been going over some of their songs on Youtube, but I can’t really tell if anything matches what you’re looking for. Try googling, because not only do Youtube videos show up, but it seems The Orb has a page that links directly to the results, so a few show up right on top and you can click and listen without going off the page; nice set up.
I hope you find your song, and thank you for reminding me of them. 
What were the skies like when you were young?
Fluffy, but that’s not the track. Similar ambience, but I don’t think the percussion was very prominent.
LOL … sorry … couldn’t help myself. I love The Orb but I can’t remember any specific track well enough to help you.
Even if it’s wrong, thanks for reminding me of this song. 
Aw, man. I was a HUGE Orbital fan in the mid 90s. I remember when In Sides came out (the album with The Box on it). At first I had hard time getting into it. It was so different than Snivilisation, the album I’d been listening to obsessively while waiting for their new one to come out. But I gave it a shot, and listened to it until eventually it became one of my all time favorite albums of that time period (FSOL’s Dead Cities was a close contender).
It sounds kind of like The Box, especially the album version with the extra long intro track. The “strumming” was a harpsichord.
Thanks for your replies, but it’s not The Box - I already have that on CD. I tried the tracks on the Orb Myspace site but it wasn’t there, and I’ve also been through most samples on i-tunes without success. Hmm…
Pomme Fritz (Meat 'N Veg).
It’s not dissimilar to Pommes Fritz, or Star 6 & 7 8 9, but they’re not the one. The guitar is less plinky and more like someone just strumming chords and arpeggios on a lead guitar - it could pretty much stand alone, without the backing.
I’m now wondering if it was in fact the Aphex Twin or someone similar.
I wonder if you can actually contact The Orb through their site? I am sure they would be pleased to know a song struck someone so hard for so long that even without the name it’s memorable
Yes, it’s a good one.
Heh. I have exactly one song each by Oribital and The Orb in my mp3 collection. You two got both of them.
As a complete longshot, I’ll suggest the instrumental version of Rob Dougan’s “Furious Angels.”