William Orbit – Starbeam

Here’s a fact; William Orbit is one of the most prolific producers of the century. It’s not an unfounded statement; his multiple Grammy awards attest to that. The English producer had an immense impact on the sound of Y2k pop radio, shaping the direction of that era’s most influential records. There was Blur’s 13, and a string of soundtrack hits for blockbusters like the Charlie’s Angels and Austin Powers franchises. Most significantly though is his work with Madonna. Orbit was largely responsible for the Queen of Pop’s resurgence in the 90’s for his work on her acclaimed album, Ray Of Light. Orbit constructed the sonic aesthetic of that album by drawing on the underground sounds of breakbeats and ambient electro. He would go on to create three albums with Madonna, and his reformulation of her from retro 80’s act to bonafide 2000’s pop innovator had a resounding impact on the ensuing sound of the decade, making Orbit synonymous with the pop icon. His solo work, while present, was less a part of the cultural conversation as his architecture of the pop zeitgeist. It makes sense then that he should remerge at this moment, when the world is currently enraptured by a distinct early 2000’s nostalgia. Starbeam, his first solo release in seven years, looks to thrust Orbit back into the current dance music solar system. 

Stream and download Starbeam from Anjunadeep 

It’s almost necessary to relocate yourself to 2001 when listening to Starbeam. Yes, it’s definitely microwaved leftovers from that particular moment in pop, but there’s a tenacity to the fact that Orbit would unleash this sort of track on the current landscape. A sweeping trance cut, Starbeam relies entirely on the tropes of Orbit’s heyday; a mushy emotive piano riff, wispy vocal samples and synths that had at their prime sounded like the future. These motifs are sequenced together toward a tried and tested progressive pattern, with no percussion behind it. It’s sort of like an extended mix of the Windows Millennium Edition start up sound. Existing in the same moment as PC Music’s exaggeration of these same tropes to impossibly futuristic extents, Starbeam can’t help but sound trite. And yet, there’s something about it that plays on a distinct frequency of millennial nostalgia that makes it feel like a cult hit in the making. It would be no surprise if this track is embraced by GenZ, interpolated on TikTok or becoming the soundtrack to a new meme trend. If anything, it inspires a revisit of Orbit’s prime, when these sounds were at their freshest and would go on to inspire an entire generation of electronic music innovators. For that alone Starbeam deserves our appreciation, even when we’re kept waiting in anticipation for a classic Madonna hook that never arrives. 

See the music video for Starbeam (Extended Mix by Shocklee) below.

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