Madonna is remembering William Orbit. Days after Orbit’s July 23 death, Madonna took to Instagram to pay tribute to the music producer, with whom she collaborated on her 1998 album Ray of Light.
“I had an epiphany when I met you and started working with you. I realized that music did not have to fit into categories or genres. So we created our own,” she wrote. “You pressed a magic button inside of me and I fell into a galaxy of unrealized dreams. Your music gave me a magic carpet to fly on and I visited many places.”
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“I sang in ways I’d never sung before. I used words without caring if they made sense or not,” Madonna added. “In many ways you were my Ray of Light -as was my daughter Lola who was born around this time.”
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At the time of the album, Madonna noted that she was “starting a new chapter.”
“I was choosing another road to walk down, and you were right by my side with your crooked teeth and your genius, way of hearing music,” she wrote. “The studio was often church like and I would sit in silence, waiting for your ideas to explode out of your keyboard or your guitar and then I would run with them.”
“I miss those days. Only you could inspire me to write a song like ‘Drowned World’ or ‘Swim.’ You were so otherworldly. So singular,” Madonna continued. “The years passed and I moved on to make music with other people, but I have never forgotten you or the magical time we spent together.”
Madonna concluded her touching tribute by writing, “Goodbye Billy Bubbles. I was so lucky to have known you and fallen down the rabbit hole with you.”
Madonna’s seventh studio album, Ray of Light won four Grammys and six VMAs. Alongside her written tribute, Madonna shared a video of herself and Orbit accepting an award.
“First and foremost, I must that William Orbit,” she said in the clip. “Without his vision and his brilliance, this album would not be.”
Photo by Frank Micelotta/ImageDirect
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