Electronic Producer William Orbit, Best Known for Madonna's 'Ray of Light,' Dies at 69

British electronic producer William Orbit (born William Wainwright) died at home on July 23, 2026, at age 69. His family announced the news in a social media statement on August 7, without disclosing a cause of death. "He touched countless lives with his music, friendship, and kindness, and he will be deeply missed," the statement read.

A three-decade production career

Wainwright was born December 15, 1956, in London to two teachers. He began making music in 1980 under the name Torch Song, working with Laurie Mayer and Grant Gilbert, and co-founded Guerilla Studios with Mayer, which later spun off into his own label, Guerilla Records.

In the early 1990s he remixed Madonna's "Justify My Love" and "Erotica," launching a long-running collaboration. In 1998 he served as executive producer on Madonna's Ray of Light, blending trip-hop, new age and techno into an album that set a first-week sales record for a female artist at the time, won three Grammys in 1999, and topped charts in 17 countries. He later worked on Madonna's Music and MDNA as well.

That same year (1999), he produced Blur's 13, steering the band from Britpop toward electronic and art-rock textures. His dance rework of Samuel Barber's