Oliver Tree dies aged 32 in Rio de Janeiro helicopter collision

Oliver Tree, the chart-topping singer-songwriter, producer and viral cultural figure known for his eccentric persona and genre-bending music, has died at the age of 32. The musician was killed on Sunday morning after two helicopters collided mid-air over the coastal neighbourhood of Recreio dos Bandeirantes in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro confirmed that Oliver Tree Nickell was among six people killed in the crash, with no survivors. According to preliminary reports from the Rio de Janeiro Fire Department, the two helicopters struck each other mid-flight before plunging into a parking lot below. The impact damaged approximately 20 vehicles and triggered a fire that sent thick plumes of smoke over the residential neighbourhood.

The incident occurred in the southwest zone of the city, where one aircraft carried five people while the other carried only its pilot. Local authorities have identified the other passengers travelling with Nickell as Lucas Vignale, Lucas Brito Chaves and Gaspar Prim, a prominent Argentine YouTuber known online as Gaspi. The pilots of the two aircraft, Alexandre Souza and Charles Marsillac, were also killed.

The Brazilian Air Force announced that investigators from the Center for Investigation and Prevention of Aeronautical Accidents have been deployed to the crash site to preserve evidence and conduct an initial assessment. The investigation remains ongoing and forensic specialists are working to determine the cause of the collision. Emergency crews spent Sunday afternoon isolating the area and clearing debris.

Oliver Tree was in Brazil as part of a major world tour, having performed a concert in São Paulo on June 6. He was scheduled to begin the European leg of his tour in Lisbon, Portugal on July 13.

A career built on reinvention and electronic music roots

Known for his distinctive bowl haircut and cartoonish wide-leg pants, the California-born musician built one of the most recognisable visual identities in modern pop. His career, however, started in dance music. He spent his early years producing dubstep tracks and performing in the San Francisco Bay Area under the artist name “Tree”, releasing his first EP ‘Demons’ in 2013 under R&S Records.

In 2016, Whethan‘s release of ‘When I’m Down’ — featuring Tree — put him firmly on the map. A month later, he signed with Atlantic Records and released the single ‘Welcome to LA’, his first under the Oliver Tree name. His 2018 EP ‘Alien Boy’ saw his stock rise further, with his double music video ‘All That x Alien’ — which he wrote and directed — amassing over 50 million views.

His 2020 debut album ‘Ugly Is Beautiful’ topped a pair of Billboard charts and was certified Gold by the RIAA. The follow-up records, alongside viral singles including ‘Life Goes On’, ‘Miss You’ and ‘When I’m Down’, helped take his catalogue beyond 4.6 billion streams on Spotify.

Crucially, his footprint in the electronic music space remained throughout. Oliver Tree was an esteemed collaborator in the genre, working with Subtronics, Whethan, Robin Schulz and many other prominent DJs over the past decade. Indeed, his ability to move between pop, alt-rap, dubstep and electronic worlds made him one of the most genuinely cross-genre artists of his generation.

Beyond the music, Oliver Tree built a distinctive online persona that turned every album campaign into a piece of internet performance art. From staged retirements to elaborate cinematic rollouts, he positioned himself as one of the few modern artists treating the album cycle as a multimedia universe.

Our deepest condolences go out to Oliver Tree‘s family, friends, collaborators and fans, as well as the families and loved ones of all the victims of Sunday’s crash. The world has lost one of its most singular creative voices far too soon.