The death of William Orbit has unleashed a wave of farewells from artists who worked with him or who recognized his influence, especially Madonna, with whom the British producer created some of the most important moments of his career.
Madonna has dedicated an extensive farewell to Orbit on Instagram in which she remembers how working with him changed her way of understanding music. «I realized that music didn’t have to fit into categories or genres. So we created our own. The singer remembers that Orbit made her discover new ways of singing and writing and that, during the ‘Ray of Light’ sessions, she felt that the studio was “like a church.”
“Only you could have inspired me to write a song like ‘Drowned World’ or ‘Swim,'” adds Madonna, who describes Orbit as “otherworldly” and “singular.” He also establishes a parallel between the producer and his daughter Lola, born at that time: “In many ways, you were my “Ray of Light,” as was my daughter Lola.”
One of the most significant moments of the message comes when Madonna acknowledges that, although over the years she continued making music with other people, “I have never forgotten you nor have I forgotten the magical time we had together.” The phrase takes on a special meaning after Orbit said a few months ago that it had prepared an album that it considered a continuation of ‘Ray of Light’, but that it had not received a response from Madonna. The producer went on to explain that he had worked on an entire album with the idea of a second part of that classic, although he had finally given up due to the singer’s silence.
Madonna closes her farewell by calling him “Billy Bubbles” and saying that she was “very lucky” to have met him and to have “fell down the rabbit hole” with him.
Among the rest of the tributes, Blur have limited themselves to sharing a broken heart emoji, while Melanie C, who worked with Orbit on their debut ‘Northern Star’, wrote: “It was an honor to work with this great man.” Melanie Blatt, of All Saints, with whom she recorded the hits ‘Pure Shores’ and ‘Black Coffee’, recalled that Orbit was “such an important part of our success and our history.”
Alex Kapranos, from Franz Ferdinand, has highlighted that Orbit “brought light to many lives”, while Sleaford Mods have mourned his death. Stuart Price, Madonna’s collaborator on ‘Confessions on a Dance Floor’ and this same year ‘Confessions II’, an album that ironically contains several tributes to ‘Ray of Light’, has also published an extensive memory in which he describes Orbit as “kind, curious, encouraging” and always willing to suggest and support.
In the comments of Orbit’s tribute, Fatboy Slim, who described him as “a pioneer and a gentleman”, Skin from Skunk Anansie, who remembers dancing to his music “for decades”, and Alison Goldfrapp, who sent her love to his friends and family, also left their messages.
Among the modern artists who have reacted to the news are also Kelly Lee Owens, who has said that she admired Orbit’s work “for all her life”, and PinkPantheress, who has also mourned his loss.
