William Orbit dies aged 69, producer of Madonna's Ray of Light

He produced my favorite (and, I think, objectively the most cohesive) Madonna album. Great soundscapes lived in his head. www.theguardian.com/music/2026/a...

William Orbit, the Grammy-winning British electronic music producer who helped guide Madonna’s 'Ray of Light' and Blur’s '13,' has died at the age of 69. Access the free article here: www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...

RIP to William Orbit. Stream thr masterpiece Ray of Light in his honor today.

Here's a playlist of 10 beautiful compositions, productions and remixes by William Orbit, featuring tracks by Blur, Madonna, Torch Song, All Saints, Propaganda, Bass-o-Matic, One Dove and Malcolm McClaren (photo by Evapix) ▶️ open.spotify.com/playlist/61F...

あああああああああああああ、世界三大 orb （The Orb、William Orbit、Orbital）の一人、ウィリアム・オービットが亡くなったよ……『Strange Cargo』シリーズは90年代アンビエント・テクノを代表する傑作シリーズだったぜ（特に最初の３枚）……。 パンピーはブラー『13』、マドンナの最高傑作『Ray of Light』のプロデューサーと言えば分かるか（分からんか）。特に後者はオービット節が炸裂で、まるで彼のアルバム feat. マドンナな印象よ。やぁ、69歳とまだ若かったのに www.youtube.com/watch?v=XS08...

You can hear William Orbit's influence in Subnautica 2, FTL, and literally everything else I've made. I can't overstate how strongly his solo work inspired me. This hurts a lot.

I recognized the late William Orbit as an ace remixer before RAY OF LIGHT -- he'd also remixed the definitive version of "Justify My Love." From Belinda Carlisle to All Saints he had an ear for aqueous sonics and sudden dissonances. wp.me/pzXeC-lA9

Ray of Light is an exquisite work of art, one of Madonna’s best albums, which came out just as I was coming of age, so it holds a special place in by heart. RIP William Orbit.

RIP William Orbit 💙 His work with Madonna, Seal, Blur, Beth Orton and so many others defined the ‘90s dance sound but his original works are gorgeous too

Orbit’s guardian obit reads like a history of pop. Including the phrase, “pell-mell acid house”. www.theguardian.com/music/2026/a...

Le producteur William Orbit, proche collaborateur de Madonna, est mort à l’âge de 69 ans

Meantime ILX reminded me of another 1990 William Orbit high point that completely slipped past me earlier today -- his wonderful remix of "Inbetween Days" on the Cure's _Mixed Up_ collection. It's the next to last song on it before "Never Enough," excellent sequencing honestly.

William Orbit. Did so much work on Blur’s amazing 13 album that they had to learn the songs to be able to go on tour. Coffee and TV. Black Coffee. The man delivered coffee bangers. He’ll be missed.

Born William Mark Wainwright in #London, acclaimed UK musician/producer #WilliamOrbit has sold over 200 million recordings of his own work, his production and his song-writing. He most notably produced #Madonna’s 1998 Grammy award winning album RAY OF LIGHT. He died July 23, 2026 at age 69.

I love Confessions on a Dance Floor I & II, Like a Prayer, Erotica, etc, but objectively speaking, Ray of Light is Madonna’s greatest album. And she owes almost all of that to producer William Orbit. He was just on IG last month saying he wanted to do ROL II. 😞 RIP variety.com/2026/music/n...