William Orbit

(Translated from my original Italian text by ChatGPT and Piero Scaruffi)

Torch Song (essentially William "Orbit" Wainwright and singer Laurie Mayer), active between 1983 and 1987, were known only for a small synth-pop hit: Don't Look Now (1984), which followed their first single Prepare To Energize (1983). They disbanded shortly after, having released only two albums, Wish Thing (IRS, 1984) and Ecstasy (IRS, 1985), later supplemented by a posthumous remix, Toward The Unknown Region (N-Gram, 1995). Orbit immediately launched a solo career. His first album, Orbit (IRS, 1987), with Peta Nikolich on vocals, continued in the same vein. Love My Way (IRS, 1987), Feel Like Jumping, and Swamp Dog were unpretentious synth-pop tunes. Orbit later disowned that album. The right inspiration came with Strange Cargo (IRS, 1988), a collection of instrumental soundtrack pieces recorded over the previous five years. Via Caliente served as the manifesto of the new direction, but Fire And Mercy and Silent Signals better showcased his new ambitions. Orbit then formed Bassomatic with singer Sharon Musgrave. The duo had an acid-house hit with Fascinating Rhythm and produced two adventurous albums, Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Bass (Virgin, 1990) and Science And Melody (Virgin, 1991), in which techno and house were disrupted by all sorts of perturbations and cacophonies. Strange Cargo 2 (IRS, 1990) instead mixed dance tracks like Dark Eyed Kid with Jon Hassell-style ethno-electronic arrangements. Ruby Heart and Millenium were the album’s tour de force. Orbit also launched the Spill project with his favored singer Beth Orton, yielding the single Don't Wanna Know 'Bout Evil (1992). Showcasing his skill as an electronic “arranger,” Orbit became a highly regarded producer. His “ambient” style culminated on Strange Cargo 3 (1993) with tracks like Best Friend Paranoia (with hints of jazz and African folk), Hazy Shade Of Random (highly ethnic), and Into The Paradise (the darkest), while tracks like Gringatcho Demento and Monkey King thrived on psychedelic distortions and free-form sounds. Water From A Vine Leaf elevated the album to a classic of ambient techno. Orbit also earned a reputation as one of the most creative remixers, and the Spill single Don't Wanna Know About Evil (Orbit and Beth Orton) was essentially an attempt to capitalize on that talent. The album Hinterland (WEA, 1996), the fourth part of the “Strange Cargo” project, further refined his sound-production talent. This time, Orbit collaborated with a host of female vocalists. The compositions, both melodic ones like Million Town and dramatic ones like Montok Point, feature lush, fashionable arrangements.