Vale Ollie Olsen, an innovative electronic artist who painted with sound

The endlessly curious musical pioneer Ollie Olsen died this week aged 66.
Ollie Olsen, seen here in a 1991 publicity image for his electronic music project Third Eye.

Pioneering post-punk and electronic musician, DJ, sound designer and producer Ollie Olsen died on Wednesday (16 October) after losing his battle with the rare neurological condition, multiple system atrophy. He was 66.

Olsen, born Ian Christopher Olsen in February 1958 before legally changing his name in the 1990s, was due to be inducted into the Music Victoria Hall of Fame next week.

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Richard Watts OAM is ArtsHub's former National Performing Arts Editor; he also presents the weekly program SmartArts on Three Triple R FM. Richard is a life member of the Melbourne Queer Film Festival, a Melbourne Fringe Festival Living Legend, and was awarded the 2019 Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards' Facilitator's Prize in early 2020. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Green Room Awards Association in 2021, and a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in June 2024. Photo: Fiona Hamilton. Follow Richard on Bluesky @richardthewatts.bsky.social and Instagram @richard.l.watts