Odetta Maxwell – an Adelaide musician, who performed under the name Pink Wasabi – has died, following a car crash earlier this week.
Maxwell, who was 25, was driving alone on the Port Wakefield Highway on Tuesday (January 31) when her car rolled onto bushland. She was flown to Royal Adelaide Hospital but passed away the following day.
As the ABC reports, Maxwell was also studying neuroscience and psychology while caring for her parents – both of whom had suffered brain injuries in separate car crashes. Her sister, Isobel Vlahiotis, has started a GoFundMe to raise funds for her sister’s funeral expenses and to assist their parents.
“As you all would know, Odetta lived many lifetimes and experiences in her short 25 years,” Vlahiotis wrote in the fundraiser’s description. “Odetta worked hard, loved hard and fought for everything she believed in.
“She held her loved ones close and was the most out going, impressive, intelligent, beautiful and larger than life woman. Her fearlessness and courage will live on with us all and if you knew her, please, honour her in every way you can; everyday.”
With her Pink Wasabi project, Maxwell made electronic pop music, uploading a pair of singles – ‘Tides’ and ‘Killer’ – to triple j Unearthed in 2019. Reviewing ‘Tides’ on Unearthed, Double J music editor Dan Condon described the track as a “sweet and carefree piece of music” that “retains a lot of heart”. Unearthed music director Dave Ruby Howe called it “curious and sparkly and at risk of drawing blood but most of all it’s exciting”.