MADONNA has paid an emotional tribute to William Orbit following his death aged 69.
The Grammy award-winning music producer – who died on July 23 but whose death was only announced on Friday – worked with the singer on her album Ray Of Light in 1998 – known as one of her most beloved musical projects.
Featuring hits such as Frozen and Nothing Really Matters, the record marked a change in style for the Queen of Pop, moving her into an electronica sound following previous albums of dance-pop and disco.
Taking to Instagram, Madonna shared a video of her winning a Grammy for the album, which she accepted with William next to her on the stage.
In the clip she admitted the record wouldn’t have been possible without him.
A montage then showed that era in her career, working with the producer, with the title track Ray Of Light accompanying it.
She captioned the post: “Goodbye William Orbit – 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.
“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: Sad and Joyful, I sang in ways I’d never sung before – I used words without caring if they made sense or not.
“In many ways you were my Ray of Light -as was my daughter Lola who was born around this time – I 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 went on: “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.
“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.
“Goodbye Billy Bubbles – I was so lucky to have known you and fallen down the rabbit hole with you.”
William’s resume featured a plethora of musical icons – including Britney Spears, Pink, All Saints and Blur.
But Madonna was often considered the pinnacle, garnering him the most fame.
Having initially worked with her on singles Erotica and Justify My Love, Ray Of Light then followed, with the pair also collaborating on 1999 track Beautiful Stranger for the Austin Powers franchise.
Speaking previously about working with William, Madonna hailed him as a “complete madman genius”.
She told The Guardian: “I’d come to him with an idea of where I wanted to go musically, hum melodies or read lyrics, and then leave him alone in the laboratory.
“Sometimes he’d go in the direction I wanted and sometimes he’d swerve off somewhere else entirely.
“We’d end up with trance tracks that were eight minutes long and then keep adding and subtracting until we had real verses and choruses.”
The pop producer was hailed for his “friendship and kindness” in a touching statement on his social media.
It read: “It is with profound sadness that the family and friends of William Obit announce that he passed away at home on July 23. We are deeply saddened by his passing. He will be greatly missed by us and by so many whose lives he touched through his music.”