William Orbit

Well known for his contributions to modern music, William Orbit is undoubtedly one of the world's most accomplished talents and continues to be internationally recognized as a premier artist, writer, producer and composer. Hello Waveforms, his upcoming release on Sanctuary Records, was performed and produced by William in his unique style.

Influenced by an eclectic range of musicians including Jimi Hendrix, Kraftwerk, and Miles Davis, William's involvement in the industry has not only created an impressive list of critically acclaimed work that spans genres and styles, but also ceaselessly defines the dance/electronica genre.

His most high profile projects to date include his Grammy Award-winning contribution to Madonna's Ray of Light album, U2's Electrical Storm, Blur's 13, plus 2000's classical/electro solo album, Pieces in a Modern Style and the UK hit single "Barber's Adagio For Strings."

While music is clearly William's forte, it was never an obvious career choice. "My parents are both teachers, but I left school at 16 with no university education and worked a variety of jobs such as a fruit picker and in a shoe factory, before spending time in the seventies doing my own thing, which included living on a boat in Holland," he says.

It was only when squatting in an old school house in Paddington during the 1980's that he formed Torch Song with Laurie Mayer and began to explore his innate creativity - thanks to the free electricity and lack of overheads. "We'd make cassettes and send them to everybody in the industry, which is basically how my music career began."

Four critically acclaimed albums followed under the name Strange Cargo, which produced the classic hit "Water from a Vine Leaf" featuring Beth Orton. During the 1990s William also released under the names The Electric Chamber and Bassomatic, whose material included the hit "Fascinating Rhythm."

William's 2000 release Pieces in a Modern Style is a pioneering collection of ambient classical pieces interpreted with his distinctive vision. Featuring Samuel Barber's "Adagio for Strings", Erik Satie's "Ogive Number 1", Antonio Vivaldi's "L'Inverno" and a Henryk Gorecki piece for the track "Piece in the Old Style 1", it won him both commercial and critical success.

In 2001 the grandfather of experimental electronic music, German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen, invited William to perform as part of England's hugely celebrated Elektronik Festival at Barbican. William's 2-hour set featured a live 30-piece wind, brass and choir ensemble.

Recorded in L.A and London (in particular, London's Leonard hotel where he lived for two years), William's long-awaited new album Hello Waveforms is released on Sanctuary Records, February 21st. Subtle and distinctive in style, it fuses strong melodies with electronic synths to produce a sophisticated sound.

Since the launch of his career, William's musical talent has provided a spark for musical progression. His extensive writing and production work includes Beth Orton's "She Cries Your Name," Pink's "Feel Good Time," Blur's "Tender" and Madonna's "Beautiful Stranger", as well as remixing for artists such as Prince, Sinead O'Conner, No Doubt, Peter Gabriel, Seal, U2, Malcolm McClaren, The Cure, Kraftwerk and Depeche Mode.