Lijadu Sisters were active from the mid-60s to the 80s at a time when it was rare to find frontwomen in Nigeria’s pop music scene, making idiosyncratic warped funk tunes that still sound unlike anything else. Twins Kehinde and Taiwo Lijadu were cousins of Fela Kuti, and between 1969 and 1979, they released four albums […]
Cuban ballet dancer Alicia Alonso, one of the greatest 20th Century ballerinas, has died age 98, with president Miguel Diaz-Canel saying "Alicia Alonso has gone and left an enormous void but unbeatable legacy", Independent reports. BBC has a short biography. After the 1959 revolution, she helped found the National Ballet of Cuba with then leader […]
K-pop star and actor Sulli has been found dead at the age of 25. The star was a victim of online bullying, had severe depression, and the Korean police says “it seems that she took her own life". Sulli was a member of the popular K-pop girl group f(x) from 2009, went on hiatus from […]
The media are making selections of best performances by Ginger Baker, a famous drummer who changed rock drumming raising it to another level. It goes from his rock staple Cream, collaboration with world-music great Fela Kuti, his works with Blind Faith, Public Image Ltd, Hawkwind, stoner rock pioneers Masters of Reality, to jazzers Charlie Haden and Bill Frisell. Louder […]
Robert Hunter was a poet and musician who wrote many of the Grateful Dead’s lyrics, has released a couple of solo albums in the mid-’70s and co-wrote two songs for Bob Dylan. In the early 1960s, Hunter met and befriended Jerry Garcia, Hunter composed his first lyrics for the Grateful Dead on acid when he […]
NME's Mark Beaumont made a selection of best covers of songs by Ric Ocasek's The Cars, to mark the passing of the new wave rock visionary. There are: soft rock standard 'Drive' covered by songwriter Matt Pond PA, new wave nugget 'My Best Friend's Girl' in a "gurning grunge" treatment by Nirvana, "a primal, drum-led […]
Lo-fi singer, songwriter and visual artist Daniel Johnston, rose to cult fame in the 80’s alternative and underground music scene. An outsider figure revered by musicians including Kurt Cobain and Tom Waits, his style combined childlike innocence, the avant grade and the eccentric – a style which earned him cult status amongst his many fans, The Austin Chronicle reports. […]
Very prolific and very talented musician Neal Casal has passed away at age 50. Casal was a member of Blackfoot, Ryan Adams & the Cardinals, and Chris Robinson Brotherhood, and he was also a solo artist, a member of The Skiffle Players (with Cass McCombs and others), and a collaborator of The Grateful Dead’s Phil Lesh, Lucinda Williams, […]
"Berman altered my perception, permanently. Because I’ve listened to and read him, I see city skylines as jagged rows of car keys, the ground sometimes seems to wobble in the moonlight, and I know that they build corduroy suits from gutters. When I drive by a yard filled with broken stuff I imagine the crumbled […]
David Berman, the songwriter and poet best known for co-founding the indie rock band Silver Jews, has died at the age of 52, his publisher Drag City confirmed. The cause of death is unknown at this time. Last month, Berman released a new album with the band Purple Mountains, after a 10-year hiatus, Billboard reports. NPR has […]
One of South Africa's most celebrated musicians, known as the "white Zulu", was a vocal critic of the apartheid government which ruled until 1994. The British-born musician uniquely blended western and Zulu music, and his best known hit 'Asimbonanga', released in 1987, was dedicated to Nelson Mandela. Independent...
Influential Brazilian singer and composer João Gilberto was known best as a pioneer of the bossa nova genre, which found international popularity in the 1960s, Huffington Post reports. Gilberto's style - mixing traditional samba music with modern jazz influences - inspired bossa nova, or new trend, with many other artists after him. His versions of […]
Tengger Cavalry frontman and multi-instrumentalist Nature Ganganbaigal has died - authorities informed the band that the musician’s body was found on June 13th. In leading Tengger Cavalry, Ganganbaigal pioneered a unique sound described as Mongolian folk metal (watch their latest video 'Lone wolf' below). The band had been based in New York City, but recently […]
French DJ and producer Philippe Zdar has died after accidentally falling from a building in Paris, CNN reports. Media put his age between 50 and 52. Zdar, born Philippe Cerboneschi, had produced tracks for the French rapper MC Solaar before founding the dance music duo Cassius in 1989. He also produced records for Cut Copy, […]
Bushwick Bill of legendary Houston rap group Geto Boys, has died at the age of 52, All Hip Hop reports. Alongside Scarface and Willie, Bushwick Bill made Geto Boys’ core lineup. Geto Boys’ 1991 album 'We Can’t Be Stopped' featured a graphic photo of Bill in the hospital after losing an eye in a gunshot incident. The […]
American singer Dr John has died at the age of 77 - the New Orleans musician was famous for blending black and white musical styles (blues, pop, jazz, boogie woogie, rock and roll), with a hoodoo-infused stage persona and gravelly bayou drawl. Alexis Petridis says Dr. John will be remembered "as visionary artist who took […]
Psychedelic rock legend and 13th Floor Elevators frontman Roky Erickson died last week, and Chelsea Wolfe is one of many who paid a tribute to him. She shared a haunting acoustic cover of 'Night of the Vampire'.
the enigmatic and anachronistic singer-songwriter Leon Redbone has died, aged 127 or 69, depending on whether you believe his family's press release or Entertainment Weekly. Redbone purposefully obfuscated his personal biography, trying to seem like a figure stuck out of time. Redbone has released 13 studio albums and five live albums, he was a fixture […]
John Singleton, Oscar-nominated director of 'Boyz n the Hood', 'Poetic Justice', and 'Higher Learning', has passed away at the age of 51. With 'Boyz n the Hood', in 1991, then-24-year-old Singleton was the youngest nominee and the first black filmmaker to be nominated for the award. "He not only made me a movie star but […]
Michiel Eikenaar, vocalist for Dutch black metal bands Dodecahedron and Nihil, died last Friday (April 12) following a battle with cancer. Nihill were known for their relentless intensity and nightmarish atmosphere. Since forming in the early 2010s, Dodecahedron have released three records, distinguished by a more progressive and avant-garde sound. Nihill will cease to continue […]
Paul Raymond, longtime guitarist and keyboardist of the influential classic rock band UFO, died of a heart attack Saturday, April 13th. He was 73 years old. Raymond was still an active member of UFO, playing a show as recently as April 5th at London’s O2 Forum as part of the band’s 50th anniversary tour. UFO […]
Los Angeles rapper Nipsey Hussle has been shot dead outside his clothing shop Marathon Clothing in South Los Angeles. The 33-year-old was shot a number of times, two other people were wounded in the shooting outside. Nipsey Hussle's album 'Victory Lap' received a nomination for best rap album at this year's Grammy Awards (SOHH). Stars […]
Stephen Fitzpatrick, 24, and Audun Laading, 25, of Liverpool band Her's, and their tour manager Trevor Engelbrektson, died while travelling to a gig in California on Wednesday. The label described them as "one of the UK's most loved up and coming bands". The duo had recently released their debut album (BBC). Listen to their song […]
Ranking Roger, longtime frontman of British ska punk band the Beat has died aged 56, after health complications. In 1978, at the age of 15, Charlery co-founded The Beat as the lead vocalist and main toaster (the Jamaican dancehall style of talk-singing over a rhythm). The band recorded three albums before their breakup in 1983, […]
Scott Walker, one of the most enigmatic and influential figures in rock history, has died at the age of 76. The star, whose songs included The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore and Joanna, influenced many - Radiohead, David Bowie, Jarvis Cocker, Arctic Monkeys, The Divine Comedy, to name just a few. He found fame as […]
Singer and producer Andre Williams has passed away at the age of 82. The rhythm ‘n’ blues legend started his career in America in the 1950s. He found a home in Detroit's R&B scene and signed with the R&B label Fortune Records as a teenager. Williams fronted the 5 Dollars and issued hit solo tracks […]
The guitarist Dick Dale, the pioneer of surf rock, affectionally known by many as 'The King of the Surf Guitar', has died age 81. Dale developed his distinctive sound by adding to instrumental rock influences from his Middle Eastern heritage, along with a “wet” reverb sound and his rapid alternative picking style. His most famous […]
The Prodigy star Keith Flint was found dead at his home in Dunmow, Essex, on Monday morning. The band, who were due to tour the US in May, confirmed his death in a statement, remembering Flint as a "true pioneer, innovator and legend". In a post on The Prodigy's official Instagram account, bandmate Liam added: […]
The leader and singer of british synth pop stars Talk Talk, Mark Hollis has died. Guardian published the nicest obituary: "He was an artist with a completely singular and uncompromising musical vision that would eventually spawn an entire musical sub-genre... The music mapped out a new territory somewhere between avant-garde rock, jazz, modern classical and […]
Peter Tork, singer, bassist and co-founder of The Monkees, has died at the age of 77. Initially conceived as America’s answer to The Beatles, The Monkees were assembled by television producers specifically for a television series, which aired from 1966 to 1968. However, the band’s popularity would ultimately grow far beyond the small screen; members […]
