Diplo reflects on ‘powerful’ grief in tribute to Oliver Tree

US record producer Diplo has reflected on his “powerful” feelings of grief in a tribute to late singer Oliver Tree.Tree, who was best known for the songs Life Goes On and Miss You with Robin Schulz, and KSI collaboration Voices, died aged 32 in June, when the helicopter in which he was travelling crashed in Brazil.Diplo, with whom he collaborated on the theme for Netflix superhero film Ultraman: Rising, revealed he took a photo of Tree to The Temple during the Burning Man festival as a tribute to his friend.The 47-year-old DJ, real name Thomas Pentz Jr, shared an emotional tribute on Instagram on Saturday with a carousel of images and videos of himself alongside Tree.The post, which also featured snaps from the annual US festival in Nevada, included a lengthy tribute in which Pentz explained how he is struggling to understand his feelings of grief.“We’re pretty bad at death. We have funerals. We say some words. We put someone somewhere. Then everybody goes home and somehow you’re supposed to understand what happened,” he wrote.“I don’t. I think the grief is so powerful because it’s the same as love just the other side of it.“It’s not a bad thing but it can move you to tears at any moment and love does the same if you really concentrate.”Oliver Tree died after two helicopters collided in Rio de Janeiro (Ian West/PA)PA WirePentz said he “dragged” a picture of Tree, which he bought at the singer’s memorial and celebration of life in July, to the event in Nevada.He said: “You leave their photograph beside thousands of other people’s photographs.“Strangers learn their face. Someone writes something beside them. Someone cries for a person they never knew“And eventually you let it all burn. Years ago, I did it for my mom. This year I did it for Oliver.”Pentz went on to say that in previous years, he would visit The Temple and “sit there and cry for hours alone”.Speaking about Tree, he wrote: “His family loved him beautifully. His friends loved him ridiculously.Read More“And out there, complete strangers loved him for a minute too. That’s the strange thing about love, ’cause the person can leave but family just keeps getting bigger.“I’m more convinced than ever that happiness isn’t a state. It’s moments and Oliver made a f****** million.“So this wasn’t goodbye. It was another moment. And for once, Oliver actually got set on fire instead of just telling everyone he did.”Diplo has remembered his friend and collaborator Oliver Tree (Ian West/PA)PA ArchiveAt the time of his death, Tree was only weeks into his World’s First World Tour where he had planned to play shows on all seven continents.Tree, who was well known for his signature bowl cut, was due to play more than 70 shows across 30 countries including the UK, with dates scheduled in Glasgow, Manchester and London in September.He released his fourth studio album, Love You Madly, Hate You Badly in April.He had a number three single on the UK singles chart with Miss You, Voices reached number 11 and Life Goes On also charted. He also had a UK hit album with Ugly Is Beautiful in 2020.In 2020 he broke the Guinness World Record for the largest kick scooter, 0.16m tall and 3.13m long, and according to the world record adjudicator’s website the record was broken to “fulfil a lifelong dream”.