William Orbit

William Orbit
Birth name	William Mark Wainwright
Also known as	William Orbit
Born	(1956-12-15) 15 December 1956
Origin	Shoreditch, Hackney, East London
Genres	Electronic music, house music, ambient music, downtempo
Occupation(s)	Composer, record producer
Instrument(s)	Keyboards, guitar
Years active	circa 1982–present
Labels	IRS, EMI, Virgin, N-GRAM, Maverick, Sanctuary, Kobalt, Decca
Website	http://www.williamorbit.com

William Orbit (born William Mark Wainwright, 15 December 1956) is an English musician, composer and record producer, perhaps best known to most for his work on Madonna's album Ray of Light. He has won three Grammy Awards for his work with Madonna. He produced 13 by Blur and remixed some of the songs on the album.

Biography

1956–1980: Early life & first work

William Orbit was born William Wainwright in London's East End in 1956. His mother, of Italian and Swedish descent, and his father, from Yorkshire, were both schoolteachers.

He does not have a formal education, having left school at 15 and being entirely self taught. Aged 16, and living in a squat in Norwich and working as a strawberry picker in the summer, he started to devote himself to guitar playing.

Living in squats around Europe and working at various jobs, hotel kitchen worker, motorbike messenger, at a ladies shoes factory, as an accounts clerk (in the days before computers), a night shift worker at the old Heineken Brewery in Amsterdam, junior draftsman at a North Sea oil rig design company (he was 'creative' with his CV') and so on.

In these early years he was creatively frustrated, with no means to bring his ideas to life. But an opportunity to work as an assistant at Basing Street Studios just off the Portobello Road in West London gave him a first glimpse into the world of recording.

Aged 23, he met Laurie Mayer who had just moved into his squat in an abandoned primary school in Paddington. This semi-derelict Victorian edifice was the perfect environment for live music to flourish, with bands such as Throbbing Gristle frequently performing there. Laurie and William held mini-festivals in the deserted classrooms and workshops of the old school. The building was also home to the Spanish Anarchist collective Centro Iberico.

It was around that time, in 1980, that William was asked to model clothes for the designer Takeo Kikuchi in Tokyo and this experience opened his eyes to the world of fashion and the visual arts. On that same trip was also the young Hamish Bowles, now International Editor at Large for Vogue magazine.

1981–1993: Torch Song, production & remix work

Laurie Mayer and William Orbit formed the band Torch Song. An experiment in audio cassette soundscapes that also included the graphic designer Neville Brody. Laurie and William have been close friends and creative collaborators ever since, with Laurie this year writing the melodic top line for Madonna's track "Falling Free" from the album 'MDNA'.

Encouraged by Laurie's creative zeal, he went on to build a commercially viable recording studio in Little Venice called Guerilla Studios (later situated in Crouch End, North London) A variety of clients booked the facility, including: The Cocteau Twins, Colour Box,Stewart Copeland, Belinda Carlisle, Etienne Daho, Howard Devoto, Erasure, The Fall, The Frank Chickens, Goldie and Metalheadz, Martin Gore, Kemistry and Storm, Laibach, Lords of the New Church, Daniel Miller , S'Express, Gary Numan, Renegade Soundwave, Les Rita Mitsouko, Sting, The Swans, 23 Skidoo, The Waterboys, Jah Wobble, World Party / Karl Wallinger

He began to create remixes for a long list of artists. At first for free, then later on, as word spread, for considerable sums. Remixed artists include: Prince, The Cure, Seal, Nitzer Ebb, Peter Gabriel, Depeche Mode, Seal & The Human League

1990–1992: Guerilla & Bassomatic

William founded Guerilla Records at the beginning of the 90s, releasing vinyl discs from artists such as Leftfield, Underworld, Felix Da Housecat and DJ Pierre in the then-new genre of 'Progressive House', and hosting illegal rave parties in disused warehouses in Central London, before forming the band Bassomatic, Fascinating Rhythm being their biggest hit.

1993 onwards: Strange Cargo III & Madonna

He then moved to California, living in the surfer haven of Hermosa Beach, and had a radio program on the Southern Californian radio station KCRW (he had always had a fascination for radio in all its forms) and in this pioneering station he found a true voice)

He also began recording his album Strange Cargo III, from which the track 'Water From A Vine Leaf', written with his ex-girlfriend Beth Orton, became an underground classic.

After traveling the world, and encountering different cultures and worldviews, he met Madonna in New York in 1997 and they recorded the multi Grammy Award winning album 'Ray of Light'. The two have remained friends since, and created tracks such as 'Beautiful Stranger' (circa 2000) and this year William co-wrote and co-produced six tracks for her album 'MDNA'.

He has said on many occasions that he remains truly grateful to Madonna for seeing what nobody else saw at the time, and giving him a global platform for his work.

Since then he has written and recorded with a wide range of artists, from Andreas Scholl in the classical world, to Beck, Pink, The Cure, Kraftwerk (a project with Ralf Hütter), Blur (the album '13'), All Saints ('Pure Shores' 'Black Coffee' and other songs), Katie Melua, Robbie Williams, Sugababes, Ricky Martin and the late Malcolm Mclaren.

He lived at the Leonard Hotel just behind Oxford Street in London for three years where he recorded most of Bono's vocals for 'Electrical Storm'. A track that he produced and performed on for U2

He has created a series of classical renditions 'Pieces in a Modern Style', from which came the club classic 'Adagio For Strings, Ferry Corsten mix'

In 2007 Orbit composed an orchestral suite for full orchestra. and choir. In nine movements. It debuted on 8 July 2007 with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester.

DJ & Radio

William deejays occasionally, with a hardcore techno set, in various locations around the world such as Paris, Tokyo, Thailand and Novosibirsk, Siberia, He has described his mission as 'to get everyone on their feet, despite what they usually listen to'.

He also conducts lectures and masterclasses. And appears on BBC Radio and the BBC Worldservice discussing his work and guest editing music and arts programmes.

Recent work

After a recent first-time trip to Hong Kong, as part of a cultural festival with his friend Sir V S Naipaul, Pharrell Williams and screenwriter Paul Shrader, he is currently in discussions about a regular club event in Hong Kong

He has recently been in the studio, writing and producing with Kid Cudi, Mika, St. Vincent, Kreayshawn, Roger Taylor from Queen & Anoushka Shankar

And has recently co-written and co-produced a track with Chris Brown, 'Don't Wake Me Up', for his forthcoming album 'Fortune'.

He has just completed the fifth album in the 'Strange Cargo' series, which is due for release later in 2012.

He is currently half way through his first (autobiographical) book

Location & Interests

He primarily records in London, Los Angeles and at The Palms Casino's in-house studio in Las Vegas.

Orbit now lives in North London and Los Angeles and has his office and studio at Hoxton Square, London.

His interests in addition to composing and producing music are: photography and design, Cinema and the dramatic arts, Collecting rare books, Performance art and audio visual installations, Radio controlled helicopters, Unorthodox deejay events.

Discography

William Orbit discography
Studio albums	15
Compilation albums	3
Singles	9

More details and information about his discography can be found when exploring external links

Torch Song

Year	Album
1984	Wish Thing Labels: I.R.S. Records
1986	Ecstasy Labels: Y II Records
1987	Exhibit A Labels: I.R.S.
1995	Toward the Unknown Region Labels: N-GRAM Recordings

Bassomatic

Year	Album
1990	Set the Controls for the Heart of the Bass Labels: Virgin Records
1991	Science & Melody Labels: Virgin

Solo

Studio albums

Year	Album	Chart positions
		UK	AUS	US
1987	Orbit Labels: I.R.S. Records	–	–	–
	Strange Cargo Labels: I.R.S.	–	–	–
1990	Strange Cargo II Labels: I.R.S.	–	–	–
1993	Strange Cargo III Labels: Virgin Records	–	–	–
1995	Strange Cargo Hinterland Labels: N-GRAM Recordings	–	–	–
	Pieces in a Modern Style [A] Labels: N-GRAM Recordings (1995 release), WEA (2000 release)	2	33	198
2006	Hello Waveforms Labels: Sanctuary Records	136	–	–
2009	My Oracle Lives Uptown [B] Labels: Kobalt	–	–	–
2010	Pieces in a Modern Style 2 [C] Labels: Decca Records	–	–	–

• A^ The original 1995 release was credited to the Orbit alias 'The Electric Chamber', but was withdrawn from sale almost immediately. Re-released in 2000 with additional tracks taking the place of un-cleared tracks from the first release.
• B^ CD release has 4 additional tracks which are not available as a digital download
• C^ Released on single CD and double CD including notable remixes, and a digital version with a bonus track

Compilation albums

• The Best of Strange Cargos (1996, I.R.S.) — A compilation from Orbit's first three Strange Cargo albums, highlighted by two versions of "Water From A Vine Leaf", another collaboration with Beth Orton
• Strange Cargo Vol.1-3 (2000, EMI Records) — 3 CD Box Set
• William / Orbit (2002, Universal) — U.S. two-disc publishing CD set to support William Orbit's publishing catalogue

Singles

Year	Single	Chart positions			Album
		UK	AUS	US DC/P
1987	"Feel Like Jumping"	–	–	–	Orbit
	"Love My Way"	–	–	–
1993	"Water From A Vine Leaf" (William Orbit featuring Beth Orton)	59	–	–	Strange Cargo III
1999	"Barber's Adagio For Strings"	4	23	13	Pieces in a Modern Style
2000	"Ravel's Pavane Pour Une Infante Defunte"	31	–	–
2003	"Feel Good Time" (Pink featuring William Obit)	3	7	8	Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (OST)
	"Dice" (Finley Quaye & William Orbit)	–	–	–	Much More Than Much Love (Finley Quaye album)
2009	"Purdy"	–	–	–	My Oracle Lives Uptown
	"Opitical Illusions"	–	–	–

Other Online, Production & Live Performances

He often DJs at various locations. Additional information concerning the dates and places of his live performances appears on his webpage.

• William Orbit Odyssey by Ministry of Sound

‘Odyssey’ is a compilation of 42 tracks, including some of William Orbit’s own exclusives. The album was released in January 2010 and is divided into 3 discs; Discs 1 and 2 are unmixed, with many tracks reinterpreted to a greater or lesser extent, while Disc 3 is a continuous DJ mix by William Orbit.

• Orbit Streamcast

Orbit has recently enabled an internet radio (streamcast) which allow listeners to hear more than 10 hours of his music, completely for free. In the playlist are variations of his well-known tracks, as well as released material. In addition, and what's more appreciated by fans, unreleased and rare material can also be found in this streamcast.

• Latest productions

He produced Katie Melua's fourth album, called The House. It was released on 24 May 2010 and had a remarkable chart performance (Gold in Germany and United Kingdom, as well as Platinum in Poland).

He also produced a track on Nadine Coyle's debut solo album "Insatiable" released on 8 November 2010.

In September 2011 it was confirmed that Orbit will collaborate on Madonna's 12th studio album MDNA. On 3 February 2012 Orbit confirmed on his Twitter account that he produced six tracks - "Gang Bang", "Some Girls", "I'm a Sinner", "Masterpiece", "Falling Free" and "Love Spent".

• Solo career

In August 2010 Orbit released Pieces in a Modern Style 2, on Decca, which is follow-up a to the successful Pieces in a Modern Style. The two CD version containing some notable remixes of interpretations of Vaughan Williams Violin Concerto - Lark Ascending.

Orbit is working as part of the art collective Luxor, with former English National Ballet dancer Anna-Mi Fredriksson and the artist Pauline Amos.

Miscellaneous

• Stereo Odyssey — 4-CDR set of KCRW radio show William produced circa 1996
• Rare Orbit Vol.1 — A 3-CDR collection of rare & unreleased material & productions. 2008, source unknown. Contained unreleased sessions with Madonna, and some new material.
• Essential Mix — 2-CDR set of UK BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix, 6 February 2000
• XFM 2003 — 30 minute CDR of UK XFM Radio 'Superchunk', a mix/mashup collection of special rare and unreleased material, 17 August 2003
• XFM 2006 — 30 minute CDR of UK XFM Radio 'Superchunk', another mix/mashup collection, 12 March 2006
• World Odyssey Mix — 25 minute CDR of UK BBC Asia Network Radio 'Pathaans Musical Rickshaw', a diversified mix/mashup collection, 17 May 2009
• KCRW 2009 — 40 minute CDR of Los Angeles KCRW Radio Station show 'Morning Becomes Eclectic', a two piece live session with Laurie Mayer and interviews with Jason Bentley - 2 July 2009
• In 2010, some of the rare tracks were made public on www.orbitstreamcast.com.

External links

• Official website