Soundscape artist, multi-instrumentalist and
composer extraordinaire, William Orbit reveals
seven pieces of music that have rocked his
world.
Words: HELENE STOKES
The fi rst record you ever bought? The OC, when the characters fi nally meet
“We had a wind-up gramophone and my and it’s a kind of important moment when
parents always had records, but my own they kiss.
personal one that I obsessed on, when I “It’s got to be something that has a sense
was about eight, was ‘Love and Marriage’ of closure and renewal and it’s got to have
by Bing Crosby. I just played it over and that bit in the middle where you kiss, it’s so
over again. I didn’t know what ‘love and important. It’s an important kiss that one,
marriage’ meant. I think I bought it with my because it might mean a new thing. I see it
pennies at a jumble sale. It was a big heavy as a rather romantic time.”
10” that smelt of plastic.
“In the end, me and my brother smashed What album do you listen to when you’re
up the records and the gramophone player. travelling?
We used to break things up to see how they “I don’t drive, but recently I’ve been
worked.” listening to the Trentemøller album. It’s
just perfect for it. It’s really sparse and has
What track would you defi nitely dance to? lots of clicks and sonically it feels fantastic
“‘The Beat Goes On’: we’re still back in for driving around. I mean, I do a lot of
retroland, but any version pretty much. sitting around in the back of cabs on the wet
Sonny from Sonny and Cher wrote it, streets of London, so it’s perfect. It’s got a
but there’s a version by the Buddy Rich sonic place of its own and his music leaves a
Orchestra, there’s a version by a female lot of room for thought and contemplation.”
German artist whose name I forget, and the
All Seeing I version. What’s the most embarrassing record in
“It just gets me, ‘The beat goes on’. It’s a your collection?
wicked track. It’s a song about a beat and “‘Inspector Gadget’. I must admit I’ve
it delivers. taken it out with me a couple of times, and
“The fi rst time I ever danced when was I I always want to slip it in, but I’ve been told
went fruit picking in Norfolk and we stayed not to. I love it, but my friends will say, ‘No, Eno. I always found that was very sexy. It’s that point, but I can say without hesitation
in a tent on the beach. They used to have no!’ for intimate evenings. It might be to do with that it’s my favourite musical form, in terms
a weekly disco for us and I remember Jimi “It’s not like I’m DJing all the time but it’s a particular relationship. It meant a lot to of how much emotion and humanity went
Hendricks being played. It seems odd to one of those tracks that I think is funnier me at the time because I’d met this girl and into it.
dance to him but we did — we rocked out.” than my friends do and it should probably I was in love with her and that was playing, “I’ve seen it performed live several times
stay in the back of the box!” so it’s personal.” and I have to really struggle to maintain my
What track would you play at midnight on composure. And when you consider that
New Year’s Eve? Favourite album to play at ‘sexy time’? What’s your favourite track of all time? he was deaf when he wrote that, it was all
“If I was doing a set, I’d probably throw “I know the kind of music you mean. I get “Oh my goodness. I’ll tell you what it is, it’s inside his head, it’s incredible.”
in ‘Adagio For Strings’, but I don’t want to letters saying, ‘I was conceived to your Beethoven’s ‘Quartet Opus 132’, which isn’t
pick my own tracks. Mind you, I notice that music’… eeek! People write to me and say, necessarily something that DJmag readers
something that’s been catching on is that ‘Yeah, my parents listened to you and I’ve may be familiar with, but if they are they William Orbit’s fi rst compilation ‘Odyssey’
track ‘Dice’. It’s a song I did with Finley discovered you now’. might not fi nd it appealing straight away. is released through Ministry of Sound on
Quaye that got used in the fi rst series of “I think for me ‘Music For Films’ by Brian It took me an awfully long time to get to 18th January.
130
www.djmag.com
DJ481.LUCKY7.indd 130 9/12/09 10:18:55
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