Biography Wikipedia
Wikipedia:
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.
