William Orbit

William Orbit (born William Mark Wainwright, 15 December 1956 in Shoreditch, London) is an English musician, composer and record producer who has sold 200 million recordings worldwide of his own work and his production and songwriting work, and is the recipient of multiple Grammys, Ivor Novello awards and other music industry awards.

Torch Song

William teamed up with Laurie Mayer in London in 1980. Along with another member, Grant Gilbert, they formed the electronic/synth group Torch Song, They initially self released them on an audio cassette series, generated from their home-built studio in a disused school in Notting Hill Gate alongside the Grand Union Canal. Neville Brody, the graphic designer joined the band for a period. Orbit and Mayer were also visual artists and created a series of art magazines called ‘The Ralph Hoover Guide’. In it he drew surrealist cartoons, and the issues were sold at various London galleries and at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in The Mall. Richard Law, who was the A&R for IRS Records, was a follower of their music and aesthetic, and took it to industry mogul Miles Copeland, who had discovered and managed The Police and The Bangles in 1981. When Copeland signed them to the label the deal enabled them to build their ideal studio. There they recorded two albums and four singles,^[1] the most successful being the dance chart hit “Prepare to Energize”,^[2] which was featured in the film ‘Bachelor Party’.^[3] They also composed the soundtrack to the ice hockey movie ‘Youngblood’,^[4] starring the very young Rob Lowe and Keanu Reeves, and another song “White Night” which was used in ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2’.^[5]

This first incarnation of Guerilla Studios had a Trident 80B mixing desk and Otari MTR90 MKII 24 inch tape multitrack housed in a back garden on the canals of Little Venice^[6] in Paddington, and they also ran it as a commercial enterprise.

Productions and remixes

Later collaborations and productions included U2, Britney Spears, Pink, Katie Melua’s album ‘'The House'’, Madonna, No Doubt, Ricky Martin, Beth Orton, Sarah McLachlan, Queen, The Joy Formidable, Robbie Williams, All Saints and Sugababes. When working with Beck, the two of them wrote a song for Pink, "Feel Good Time," which Orbit then produced for the soundtrack for the film Charlie's Angels.

He produced the album 13 by Britpop group Blur, in London and Reykjavik, Iceland.

Orbit had created remixes for Madonna previously such as "Justify My Love" and "Erotica" but he didn't meet her personally until 1997. That summer and fall they wrote together and produced her multi-Grammy/award-winning seventh album Ray of Light. The album took four months to record and it was the longest she ever spent recording an album. It was released on February 22, 1998.

In 2000, Orbit continued his songwriting for Madonna's 2000 album Music recorded at The Hit Factory in New York and also co-wrote and performed the song "Beautiful Stranger". The two joined up again for her 2012 album MDNA, co-writing and producing six of the tracks on the album. "Masterpiece" won a Golden Globe for Best Original Song in the Miramax movie "W.E.", at the 69th Golden Globe Awards.

Classical work

Inspired and encouraged by Rob Dickins, his first commercial release in this genre was Pieces in a Modern Style. It was originally released in May 1995 on Orbit’s N-Gram Recordings label, and then again in 2000 by Warner Music in the UK and Europe, and on Maverick in the U.S. The album reached No 2 in the UK album charts. The first single release from the album was ‘Barber’s Adagio for Strings’, and a dance remix of the track by Dutch deejay Ferry Corsten was hugely successful. The single reached number 4^[7][8] in the national singles chart. A follow up album, ′Pieces in a Modern Style 2′ came out in 2010, and was released as a two-disc set on the Decca label. He worked with German countertenor Andreas Scholl^[9] on an interpretation of Henry Purcell’s Dido’s Lament which was featured on the album.

In 2007 he took part in Alex Poots’ Manchester International Festival, and composed a symphonic work in nine movements ‘Orchestral Suite’ which was performed by the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, augmented by additional harps, pianos and percussion, and with The Manchester Chorale, conducted by Alexander Shelley at Bridgewater Hall.^[10]

Live performance/media/DJ work

During the N'Gram period, he directed a showcase of the label at Queen Elizabeth Hall^[11] on London's Southbank. The acts included Caroline Lavelle, The Electric Chamber (which performed the Pieces album) Strange Cargo, and Torch Song. Orbit included a range of power tools and axle grinders as part of the musical ensemble.

In 2001 he took part in the Stockhausen Electronic Festival^[12] at the The Barbican Theatre.

In 2013 he took part in the London Electronic Arts Festival^[13] in Shoreditch, curated by Rob Da Bank and Ben Turner, in a lecture and multimedia music performance. The event was highlighted by the presentation of the 'Gogobot' a collaboration between himself and friend Rico Conning. The device is an cybernetic drum robot constructed from low tech components such as car lock actuators and signal relays, controlled by their own software. This is a venture that the two continue to develop in California.

He participated in the Liberatum International Cultural Festival^[14] in Russia, during which he performed in Moscow and Novosibirsk, Siberia, and gave lectures.

More recently Orbit has deejayed at various clubs in London and Ibiza and at Buckingham Palace^[15] for Her Majesty The Queen’s annual staff and family Christmas party.

In 2013 William worked with Britney Spears and Will.i.am on her album ‘Britney Jean’, with fellow songwriters Ana Diaz and Dan Traynor with whom he wrote and produced the track ‘Alien’. He was a writer and producer on the Chris Brown song "Don't Wake Me Up" which was recorded at Record Plant in LA and for which he received an ASCAP^[16] award in 2013. The song has had 165 Million views on YouTube.^[17] This was followed by a production of the Queen track, 'There Must Be More to Life Than This', which featured archive vocals by Freddie Mercury and Michael Jackson. Orbit went on to produce another Queen song, 'Let Me In Your Heart Again'. In 2015 his composition ‘The Name of the Wave' was used in the Oscar winning documentary 'Amy', directed by Asif Kapadia.^[18]

He has recently performed in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and at a gala at Banqueting House in London’s Whitehall for the charity ‘Together For Short Lives’, a group that sponsors and supports children with terminal illness and their families.^[19]

Solo discography

Studio albums

Compilations

• 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^[25]

Singles

Ensemble discography

With Bassomatic

With Strange Cargo

With Torch Song

DNV 2012

Production and songwriting credits

References

External links

• William Orbit at the Internet Movie Database
• Official website