Synopsis

Set to Orbital's dreamlike electronic track, the video follows Kirsty Hawkshaw as a suburban housewife moving through an ordinary day of domestic chores. As the routine continues, the familiar household environment becomes increasingly strange, with Hawkshaw appearing detached from reality and experiencing bizarre visions. The deliberately surreal imagery turns everyday domesticity into something unsettling and dreamlike, reflecting the song's themes of sedation, repetition, and emotional disconnection.

Factoids & Trivia

• Kirsty Hawkshaw, the vocalist associated with Opus III's "It's a Fine Day," appears in the video. Orbital sampled and reversed vocal material from that song for "Halcyon."

• "Halcyon" was inspired by the Hartnoll brothers' mother, who had become dependent on Halcion, a prescription tranquilizer. The video translates that personal background into the image of a woman moving through domestic life in an altered state.

• The track's title is commonly written as "Halcyon," although the medication that inspired it is spelled "Halcion."

• The better-known "Halcyon + On + On" version appeared on Orbital's 1993 album *Orbital 2*, also known as *The Brown Album*. The song later gained a wider audience through appearances in films including *Hackers*, *Mortal Kombat*, and *Mean Girls*.

• The video is notable for presenting a drug-related subject through surreal domestic imagery rather than an explicit narrative, giving the song a visual identity that is as ambiguous and hypnotic as its arrangement.