Producer and DJ Andy Hughes, best known for his work with The Orb, has died aged 43.
He passed away at the Liver Intensive Care Unit at Kings College Hospital in London on 12 Jun following a short illness.
Hughes originally began working with The Orb as a live audio engineer and his first recorded appearance with the group was on their first release for Island Records, 'Live 93'. He then worked with founder member Alex Peterson and Thomas Fehlmann on the albums 'Orbus Terrarum', 'Orblivion', spawning their biggest hit, 'Toxygene', which reached number four in the singles chart in 1997, and 'Cydonia'.
Hughes left the group in 1999, during the production of 'Cydonia', for undisclosed reasons, although The Guardian at the time reported it as "another acrimonious departure from The Orb".
In 2000 he started working on his own music, and more recently produced artists such as Kovak and Basement Jaxx. He also mastered the latest Orb album, 'Baghdad Batteries', which is due for release on 7 Sep.
He is survived by two children, Gabriel and Circe.