Who Can Calculate The Orbit Of His Own Soul?

Celebrating William Orbit aka William Mark Wainwright, 15th December 1956 to 23rd July 2026.

The news of William's passing broke on Friday, unexpected and deeply, deeply sad.

I first encountered William Orbit's work in the late 1980s when he remixed Dreaming by O.M.D., Camouflage by Stan Ridgway and More by Doctor & The Medics. 

The latter two were on the I.R.S. Records label, where William had not only found work as an in-house producer, but a home for his band Torch Song, with Laurie Mayer and Grant Gilbert and his first Strange Cargo album. There was a previous solo album - Orbit - in 1987 but, to be honest, it's not that good.

The 1990s not only saw an exponential growth in his work as an in-demand producer and remixer, but the launch of Guerilla Records, who were a go-to for quality electronic and dance music, including William's own Water From A Vine Leaf, featuring Beth Orton and era-defining remixes from Underworld and Spooky. 

The decade drew to an end with one of his greatest collaborations, Madonna's incredible Ray Of Light album. William's CV expanded to such an extent that I think it might be a greater challenge for anyone to find that they don't have music in their collection that has William Orbit's involvement in some shape or form.

In recent years, I greatly enjoyed William's musings and memories on social media, sometimes completely leftfield or stream of consciousness, but always entertaining. The insight into such an incredibly questing and creative mind, responsible for so much music that I've listened to , bought and treasured through my life.

I've created a 46 minute selection on the fly, very little deliberation over the song choices, other than wanting to include some overlooked gems and deeper cuts, and spanning the 1980s through to the start of the 21st century.

The nine songs create some strange bedfellows: Creation hopefuls 18 Wheeler next to Seal and Kate Garner (post-Haysi Fantayzee) followed by Limp Bizkit. All Saints fans may be out for my blood for choosing the instrumental version Pure Shores, but I wanted the music to have space to breathe. 

Likewise, I've skipped the singles from Ray Of Light for an album cut which is a perfect example of why the team up with William was so inspiring.

Bassomatic's finest moment is represented here with an alternative mix from the 12" single, 

Malcolm McLaren turns up with The Bootzilla Orchestra (remixed with S'Express guru Mark Moore, whilst I've closed the selection with William's remix of The Shamen, a memory of happy times in clubland.

Today's post title is lifted from De Profundis, a letter written by Oscar Wilde in 1897 whilst imprisoned in Reading Gaol, to his beloved Lord Alfred "Bosie" Douglas. If you have time to spare, you can find De Profundis in it's entirety here. The quote in question is on page 22 (of 28) and seemed fitting for this tribute.

Rest easy, William.

1) Stay (Strange L’Escargot Mix By William Orbit & Mat Ducasse): 18 Wheeler (1997)

2) Crazy (William Orbit Mix): Seal (1990)

3) Pure Shores (Instrumental) (Remix By William Orbit & Mark 'Spike' Stent): All Saints (2000)

4) Fascinating Rhythm (Soul Odyssey Mix By William Orbit): Bassomatic (1990)

5) Call A Wave (Orbital Mix By Mark Moore & William Orbit): Malcolm McLaren & The Bootzilla Orchestra ft. Gina Cie & Jeff Beck (1989)

6) Love Me Like A Rocket (Psychomix By Paul Caplin & Torch Song aka William Orbit): Kate Garner (1983)

7) My Way (William Orbit Remix): Limp Bizkit (2001)

8) Shanti / Ashtangi (Album Version By Madonna & William Orbit): Madonna (1998)

9) Hyperreal (Orbit) (Remix By William Orbit): The Shamen ft. Plavka (1990)

1983: Love Me Like A Rocket EP: 6

1989: Call A Wave EP: 5

1990: Crazy EP: 2

1990: Fascinating Rhythm EP: 4

1990: Hyperreal EP: 9

1997: Stay EP: 1

1998: Ray Of Light: 8

2000: Pure Shores EP: 3

2001: My Way EP: 7

Who Can Calculate The Orbit Of His Own Soul (46:45) (GD) (M)

It was only in May this year that I wrote about William and Guerilla Records. I've reactivated the link the to the bespoke Dubhed selection that accompanied the post.

The Fake History Of Dub Muzik

An hour long selection of Dub Pistols remixes, to bring the (big) beat back into your life and banish the blues of another working week. This one's dedicated to Mooz, creator of the awe-inspiring Moozler Music site, a repository of some frankly quite brilliant, genre-defying mixes.

Three weeks ago, I enthused about Dub Pistols' ninth and current album, Frontline. Mooz commented that he was new to Dub Pistols, bar a couple of remixes, and I made a note to self that I would trawl through my admittedly meagre collection of same to create a future selection and post. Typically, said post can take months, if not years, to appear so the fact that a mere two weeks have passed since I made that vague promise is bordering on the incredible.

Anyway, these pretty much cover a two year period in the late 1990s, when Big Beat was all the rage and Barry Ashworth's crew were one of the finest examples of this. The dub and dancehall influences are still in there but these mixes are all about giving it some welly in a nightclub and flicking that sweat all over the shop as you bust your moves. Or something like that.

Of the two remixes that Mooz mentioned, of Audioweb and DJ Spooky, I only own the former but the mix of Faker is superb so I had to include it. I'd argue that Hurricane #1, Bush and Limp Bizkit only sounded half decent when remixed and reworked to within an inch of their lives. I'd probably press 'skip' on the original versions of all of the songs featured here, but the Dub Pistols remixes elevate them to another level. Likewise, Moby's cover of the James Bond theme, unrecognisable as such here.

As for Korn, the All Mixed Up EP is the only release of theirs that I own and is likely to remain that way. Potty mouth precautions for this one is you have sensitive ears in proximity to your speakers. By contrast, we also have Natalie Imbruglia. So there.

I've had the Danmass single knocking about for ages but I've only just realised that it's Dan Carey and Massimo Bonaddio. I won't pretend I know anything about the latter, but Dan Carey is all over my record collection, not least for his work with Emilíana Torrini, Kylie, Róisín Murphy, Franz Ferdinand and Warmduscher, to name a (very) few.

Dub Pistols originally remixed Dust Junkys' Nothin' Personal in 1998. The version here, also known as Hooligan (Dub Pistols x Vega Remix), was re-edited and released by Vince Vega in 2016. One of Dust Junkys' founder members is Nicky Lockett, perhaps better known to you and I as MC Tunes.

 

In other undercover news, Girl Eats Boy is/was an alias for Lol Hammond (Drum Club, Slab). I discovered this one on a US compilation called Funk Off..! Vol. 1, which is an interesting curio of big beat and drum 'n' bass sounds from the UK. I don't think there was a Vol. 2.

Pop Muzik is an all-time classic and a fertile ground for remix artists. Dub Pistols first had a go in 2000, when Robin Scott (aka M) reworked and re-released the song as Pop Y2K. I'm not 100% sure but I think that the remix that appeared on the 30th anniversary celebration compilation in 2009 was an entirely new version.

 

I'm sticking with the late 1990s for tomorrow's Wednesday's* post.

 

1) Faces In A Dream (Dub Pistols Tornado Mix): Hurricane #1 (1999)

2) Napalm In Bohemia (Dub Pistols Mix) (Edit): Girl Eats Boy (1998)

3) James Bond Theme (Moby's Re-Version) (Dub Pistols Remix) (Cover of John Barry & Orchestra): Moby (1997)

4) Smoke (Dub Pistols Vocal): Natalie Imbruglia (1998)

5) Gotta Learn (Dub Pistols Sick Junkey Remix): Danmass (1998)

6) Good God (Dub Pistols Mix): Korn (1999)

7) My Way (Pistols' Dancehall Dub) (Remix By Dub Pistols): Limp Bizkit (2001)

8) Nothin' Personal (Dub Pistols Hooligan Riot Remix) (Re-Edit By Vince Vega): Dust Junkys ft. The Collective (2016)

9) Faker (The Dub Pistols Mix): Audioweb (1997)

10) History (Dub Pistols Mix): Bush (1997)

11) Pop Muzik (Dub Pistols/U2 Remix): M (2009)

 

1997: Deconstructed: 10

1997: Faker EP: 9

1997: James Bond Theme (Moby's Re-Version) EP: 3

1998: Smoke EP: 4

1998: The Woman I Love EP: 5

1999: All Mixed Up EP: 6

1999: Funk Off..! Vol. 1: 2

1999: Only The Strongest Will Survive EP: 1 

2001: My Way EP / New Old Songs: 7

2009: Pop Muzik: The Remix Album (iTunes Edition): 11

2016: Appropriation EP: 8

 

The Fake History Of Dub Muzik (1:01:07) (KF) (Mega)

 

* I changed my mind whilst drafting another post for this week, bringing it forward to Tuesday, for reasons which will become clear.