Friends have taken to social media to pay tribute to Cruel Sea guitarist James Cruickshank, who they say has died after a long battle with cancer.

Cameron Roc Callope from Australian Indigenous hip hop group Native Ryme expressed his condolences on Thursday night.

"The music industry lost a brother today. I lost a brother today. A good mate. A mentor. Rest In Peace James Cruikshank," he wrote on Facebook.

"The years spent together and the things I learnt from you, just being around you, will never be forgotten.

"Native Ryme scored our first ARIA associated nomination from the works we created. And we enjoyed outrageous tours together. Rest in peace my old friend. One of the world's truly master talents."

Born in Melbourne in 1962, Cruickshank's three-decade career included joining The Cruel Sea in 1989, aged 27, playing guitar and keyboards.

He toured Europe with the band and won a swag of ARIA awards, including for the band's best-known record, The Honeymoon is Over, which hit number four on the ARIA charts in 1993.

The musician also played guitar and keyboards for former Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds member Mick Harvey and released a number of solo albums.

"RIP James Cruickshank," actor Rhys Muldoon tweeted, adding that it was a sad day for music.

Cruickshank's friend Edward Clayton-Jones also expressed his loss on Facebook.

"I'm very sad at the passing of my dear friend James Cruickshank," he wrote.

"He passed away after a hard fight with cancer. He never lost his sense of humour even where so many would whine and complain.

"James finished on a high note — a few days ago he was swimming in the sea, and now he's gone."

AAP/ABC