Biography of William O

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Biography of William Orbit(done)

Ambient pioneer, studio master, and omnipresent dance remixer William Orbit began his musical career in the new wave band Torch Song. Even while the group recorded several albums for IRS, Orbit remained in the studio to learn the ropes and began producing and remixing for artists including Sting, Madonna, Prince, the Human League, Erasure, and Belinda Carlisle. Orbit concurrently recorded his own material, and released his first solo album Orbit in 1987. That same year, he inaugurated the ambient project Strange Cargo, which released follow-up albums in 1990 and 1993. Also during the late '80s, Orbit latched onto the acid-house explosion in England and founded one of the scene's most notable labels, Guerilla Records. Orbit's own Bassomatic recorded for Guerilla alongside British progressive acts Spooky and React 2 Rhythm plus excellent Chicago producers Felix Da Housecat and DJ Pierre. Through Virgin, Bassomatic also released an album, Set the Controls for the Heart of the Bass.

Though his release schedule slowed slightly during the '90s, William Orbit continued producing and remixing at a furious pace. He also founded a new label, N-Gram Recordings, and prepared to release the classical-crossover work Pieces in a Modern Style as the Electric Chamber. The album, which featured electronic interpretations of classical pieces, drew angry protests from composers Arvo PSrt and Henryk Grecki, and they helped block the album's release. In 1998, after 15 years of behind-the-scenes post-production, Orbit's name hit the mainstream thanks to his helming the Madonna comeback album Ray of Light (Orbit not only produced the entire LP, but co-wrote many of the tracks). The album won Grammy awards for Best Pop Album and Best Dance Recording, and its success led to a host of remixing and production work, including Blur's 1999 album 13. In 2000, Orbit finally released Pieces in a Modern Style, and the album became an unexpected hit thanks to Ferry Corsten's trance remix of Samuel Barber's "Adagio for Strings.".

Basking in the post-Grammy glow of Madonna's 1998 banger, Ray of Light (Maverick/Warner Bros.) which he coproduced and cowrote, William Orbit has seen his stock rise dramatically. But a few realize that this English producer/artist has been around for a while, always keeping one foot in the underground and the other firmly planted up the arse of the mainstream.

His remixes for the Artist Formerly known as Prince (1990's "Batdance," "The Future," and "Electric Chair"), Sting (1985's "If you love Somebody Set Them Free"), Peter Gabriel (1992's "Digging in the Dirt" among others), and most recently, Brit-pop faves Blur, for whom he remixed last year's "Bustin' + Dronin'" and produced their newest epic, "13" (Virgin), have earned Orbit international acclaim.

But it is his own experimental work - for example, that on the Strange Cargo album series - that has created a cult following for this self-described "low-profile studio recluse".

But if the world were to crumble into itsy-bitsy grains of intergalactic space dust tomorrow, Orbit - who has always flirted around the edges of British Dance and ambient culture - would be remembered as the guy who delivered electronica to big mamma Madonna. Utilizing such techniques as the sped-up breakbeats of drum 'n' bass, the sculpted, atmospheric noise of ambient music, and the echo-and-reverb-drenched headlines of dub, Orbit took an aging pop diva famous for constantly reinventing herself and made her once again palatable to new and changing times. The union could not of been better - the album racked up heavy sales as well as a Grammy.

Recognize: There isn't a star in a galaxy of music William Orbit can't touch.

William Orbit might be well known as a megastar producer, the man who gave us Blur's '13' and Madonna's 'Ray Of Light'. This solo album sounds like neither of these.

Essentially, all on his own (he arranged, programmed, produced and performed, the album cover proudly tells us) Orbit has resurrected Beethoven, Barber, Handel and Ravel and even given Gorecki the remix treatment. We aren't talking techno of course - this is not the sort of fluffy Europop clubby effort one might have expected. Okay, he's used synthesisers where before there were string quartets and orchestras, but this is no crime. His remix of Barber's 'Adagio For Strings' sticks fairly closely to its original style, with not so much as a beat thrown in. It is as if Orbit has recognised that these pieces are beautiful as they are, and any large scale tampering would only be detrimental. Handel's 'Xerses' is a case in point - you can almost feel the beat that has been left off.

This album, then, isn't a house party essential, nor is it an attempt to fuse musical styles. Orbit is also known for trance music, and it is into this category, rather than classical or techno, that this album fits most snugly. This is background music to fall asleep to, and that isn't a criticism.

Collected by Wo's fan...called Eugene.