April 20 sees the release of William Orbit’s new EP, Optical Illusions, his first in three years. There’s been a massive demand for William’s production skills over the past few years, leading him to head into the realms of pop to work with the likes of Madonna, Blur, Britney Spears and Pink, to name just a few. But Optical Illusions – taken from his forthcoming eighth studio album, My Oracle Lives Uptown, out on May 4 – suggests a return to the more experimental days of his early Strange Cargo albums. The downloadable five-track EP features four remixes and a radio edit, and although the track is largely instrumental, Orbit loves to work with singers, so vocalist Karen Poole provides a vocodered hookline set among acoustic guitars and keyboards. Remixes come from hot new dubstep DJ Aaron Jerome, who won critical acclaim for his debut album Time To Rearrange and has remixed the likes of Gotan Project, Future Loop Foundation, Roy Davis Jnr and Little Dragon. Next is a rerub from dubstep remixer Trenchman, who came to prominence with his mix of Lil Wayne’s A Milli. The EP also boasts mixes by Bristol’s Dr Meaker, a well-known face on the drum ’n’ bass scene, and a more subtle rearrangement of the vocals and atmospherics by Orbit himself in the Billy Buttons mix – so called because it ties in with some of the sound effects ‘buttons’ on William’s blog.
Optical Illusions is out on Kobalt Digital on April 20. The album My Oracle Lives Uptown follows on May 4. Visit www.williamorbit.com
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