10 Artists That We Miss

Memorial Day is one of those holidays that gets misconstrued; the way some talk, you'd think today was dedicated in the memory of the guy who invented

Not Available Lead
Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

Not Available Lead

Memorial Day is one of those holidays that gets misconstrued; the way some talk, you'd think today was dedicated in the memory of the guy who invented the charcoal grill (because DADs don't propane). Memorial Day is spent remembering those who we've lost due to war, and DAD feels like the music game can be a battlefield, so we wanted to take a look at artists that we've lost over the years. Some of these producers and DJs are still around, but traded one sound we loved for another. Others have left this earth too soon. Whatever the case may be, we wanted to remember those that are gone in whatever capacity. You are appreciated.

DJ AM

Not Available Interstitial

Where Is He?: Deceased

AM was seen by many as a "DJ's DJ." If you'd heard his work with Crazytown, Papa Roach, or Will Smith, you might think "those cuts are nice," but it was his solo DJ gigs and, more famously, his work with Travis Barker as TRV$ DJ-AM that we really began to see the talent he had as a selector. He was an obvious student of multiple genres of music, and knew how to stitch tracks you might not think would work into quality blends. He was also great at branding himself; he not only appeared in Iron Man 2, filming his cameo two months before his passing (the film is dedicated to his memory), but he owned clubs, management companies (Deckstar along with Steve Aoki), and was rocking residencies in Vegas before the EDM wave was ready to take over. He's even credited as the one who showed Aoki how to DJ.

AM had a lot of personal demons, and had battled drug addiction throughout his life, ultimately succumbing to those addictions in 2009. He was even filming a documentary-style program for MTV during the last year of his life. If anything, let this be a lesson: AM was so naturally gifted, with many speaking highly of him as a man and as a performer, and it all slipped away due to his addiction. Strive to continue AM's legacy.

The Prodigy

Not Available Interstitial

Where Are They?: Prepping their album

They debuted two tracks from a forthcoming album last year, but we still have no indication as to when the full release is coming out. Averaging an album every four years, we can't help but look at the 2009 release of Invaders Must Die and wonder if we are overdue for some new work. They tour sparingly, and were certainly the first rock stars in electronic music. We miss this energy.

DJ Mehdi

Not Available Interstitial

Where Is He?: Deceased

Mehdi (born Mehdi Favéris-Essadi) was one of those rare talents that made music that bridged genres. He's probably more known for his work on Ed Banger Records, but his style was unique. He passed away in an incident at home two years ago, and it rocked the music industry. His career was right on the cusp of exploding into superstardom. He never compromised his sound to fit into a market. Mehdi was a phenomenal DJ and made great music, but the thing that sticks out to us is the amount of artists that tell stories of what a good person he was.

Virgo

Not Available Interstitial

Where Is He?: Holding onto records

While this producer isn't gone by any means, he released some of the craziest grime / dubstep hybrid tunes ever in 2006. And holding onto his tracks isn't helping a thing. Nothing on his SoundCloud is downloadable, and most of the tracks are just clips, which ultimately makes his plays suffer. He went from being one of the most anticipated names in the game to blocking his own success.

Boymerang

Not Available Interstitial

Where Is He?: Missing in action

Does the name Graham Sutton sound familiar? Probably not. And unless you've been nerding out since the '90s, neither will his production name, Boymerang. But more than 15-years-ago, a small handful of enthusiasts were mesmerized by his ONLY full drum & bass release, Balance Of The Force. I was with khal sometime in the late '90s as he purchased this on CD. He opened it up, and there were randomly two copies. Of course he handed me the extra disc of this beautiful drum & bass record. Only in researching where Boymerang disappeared to did I find his real name, and his credits point to him settling as a sound mixer and engineer. Perhaps the money was better. Perhaps he found a lane that he was more comfortable in. But this is still one of my favorite drum & bass records of all time, and I can't help but wonder what Boymerang would sound like now.

TRG

Not Available Interstitial

Where Is He?: Making house music

Cosmin TRG has posted six songs in the last 24 months on his SoundCloud. He is still making cool music. But what's gone are the days he was making deep dubstep as TRG. As this "new" sound started to circulate in the States in 2005-2006, he was releasing tracks that were on par with Skream, then he started to make house and disco. Did he get bored? Was he looking for something "more?" Whatever the case may be, we can't help but wish he stayed at 70 BPM.

Desimal

Not Available Interstitial

Where Is He?: Deceased

The drum & bass community was hit hard when word of Desimal's untimely death hit the Internet seven years ago (almost to the day). Did he have a huge catalog of music? Not at all; even today, checking out his material on Discogs pulls up less than 10 releases. The impact of his suicide (after battling schizophrenia since 1999) was that his music was getting great recognition at the same time. There was a post-Konflict sound that Daniel Disaster was calling "biofunk" at the time that Desimal's music properly characterized. He brought a sound that was alive, the true ghost within the machine. Tracks like "Afterlife" and "Earthling" still sound fresh, highlighting how truly forward thinking he was as an artist. The sound is still alive, but we can't help but wonder what could have been.

Mylo

Not Available Interstitial

Where Is He?: Missing in action

Mylo has released five original tracks on his SoundCloud in the past four years. The man that created one of the most fun records of the new millennium ("Drop The Pressure") charted in the UK four more times, licensed the SHIT out of all of those singles (to compilations like Clubland, The Best Club Anthems 2005, and Ministry of Sound), and fell off the face of the planet. His discography has been blank since 2009. We hope he hasn't cashed out and hung it up.

Pieter K

Not Available Interstitial

Where Is He?: MIssing in action

Pieter K's Everything All Of The Time was one of the most forward-thinking records of its time, and was the defining record of his career. It got overwhelmingly positive press, and was followed by a stream of incredible records, but we can't find anything from this talent since 2006. He was one of the most talented (and perhaps most overlooked) names in American drum & bass, and hasn't released anything in the past seven years. We heard rumor that he's creating music in some capacity for Disneyworld. We don't know this for sure, but we do know that he isn't releasing tunes as Pieter K anymore.

Gimpmode

Not Available Interstitial

Where Is He?: Deceased

We're based nearly 1000 miles away from Atlanta, but like to feel that we have our hands on the pulse there. Our support of Heroes x Villains, Mayhem, Kid Cedek, HYDRABADD, heRobust, and a giant handful of artists is no mistake. The bass scene in this city is different. A gritty hood vibe has been prominent in electronic music culture for quite some time, and the cross-pollination with the rap scene has been a consistent theme.

Gimpmode's Wobble House brand was widely respected in Atlanta, and his dubstep edits of rap tunes were futuristic. His untimely passing left the city stunned, but his life continues to be celebrated. And Heroes x Villains bringing Gucci Mane out to perform a live version of Gimpmode's "Heavy Fabrication" should indicate the amount of love that his community had for him:

Latest in Music