Madonna Honors William Orbit After Producer’s Death

Madonna has paid tribute to William Orbit after the longtime music producer died at the age of sixty-nine. The pop icon singled out the creative spark behind Ray of Light, the 1998 album that helped revive one of the defining careers in pop music and remains closely tied to Orbit’s name.

In a message posted on Instagram on Saturday, Madonna described Orbit as someone who unlocked something new in her as an artist. She wrote that he “pressed a magic button” inside her and compared his music to a “magic carpet” that let her travel to new places. Orbit’s family said on Friday that he died at home on July 23 and called the loss profound. No cause of death was given.

Orbit, whose real name was William Wainwright, became an important collaborator at a moment when Madonna was entering a new phase in her career. Ray of Light fused electronic dance music, ambient techno, pop, and trip-hop, giving her a sound that was both modern and unusual for mainstream radio at the time. The album won three Grammy Awards and has long been viewed by many as her strongest work.

Madonna said she felt an immediate creative shift when she began working with Orbit. She said he encouraged her to sing and write in ways she had not before, without worrying whether the words made perfect sense. She also posted a video that showed her and Orbit together while accepting a Grammy Award, along with clips from projects they made during their years of collaboration.