News of Smith’s passing was shared in a statement on behalf of the company he founded, Sequential. “It is with heavy hearts that we share the news that Dave Smith has died,” it reads. “We’re heartbroken, but take some small solace in knowing he was on the road doing what he loved best in the company of family, friends, and artists.”

Smith played no small role in the sound of ’80s pop music, having designed the Prophet-5 alongside John Bowen. Released in 1977, it was the world’s first polyphonic synthesizer, meaning that it could play multiple notes at once.

The Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) was perhaps Smith’s most impactful contribution. Introduced in 1985, it allowed instruments manufactured by different companies to exchange information in one universal language. The protocol recently received a significant update in the form of MIDI 2.0.

No memorial details for Dave Smith have been shared with the public at the time of writing. Sequential encourages anyone who wishes to share memories of him to email RememberingDave@Sequential.com.

Régine Zylberberg, the self-described “Queen of the Night,” credited herself as the inventor of the modern-day discothèque and opened the DJ format nightclub Le Whisky à Gogo in 1953. In an interview with the BBC, she explained that she began booking DJs to continuously play music all night because “when the music stopped, you could hear snogging in the corners. It killed the atmosphere.”

In order to accomplish this, she installed two turntables in place of a jukebox. She worked as an attendant, hostess, bartender, and door attendant at the club. “I was the first-ever disc jockey,” she told interviewers.

Her first club, Chez Régine, sprouted into a network of more than twenty clubs spanning the globe. One of her flagship clubs, New York’s Régine’s, opened in 1976. Andy Warhol and Joan Collins would regularly attend the club along with a roster of celebrities and socialites. Eventually, members of the public were allowed entrance under a strict door policy.

Many of Zylberberg’s clubs began to decline in the ’80s, partly due to the success of newer venues such as Studio 54. Numerous other clubs closed, though she maintained a few of them later in life while she performed in Paris.

Régine Zylberberg passed away on May 1st. The news was announced by her granddaughter, Daphne Rotcajg. Her cause of death is currently unknown.

While no cause of death has been released as of this writing, news of his death was shared on his official Facebook page. “With deep sorrow we have to inform you that Klaus suddenly and unexpectedly passed away yesterday on April 26th, 2022 at the age of 74 after a long illness,” reads the post. It is signed by Maximilian Schulze and “on behalf of the family and the Klaus Schulze team.”

Born on August 4th, 1947, Schulze began his musical career in 1969 as the drummer for German electronic music group Tangerine Dream. Since then, he has released dozes of albums containing live, solo, and previously unreleased work. He also worked under the pseudonym Richard Wahnfried.

Beginning in 1994, Schulze worked with frequent collaborator Pete Namlook on a series of releases called The Dark Side of the Moog. In it, Schulze and Namlook reimagine a number of Pink Floyd songs using a Moog synthesizer. The first synthesizer he used was an EMS Synthia A.

Schulze remained active his entire musical career, with an unreleased album titled Deus Arrakis still set for release sometime in 2022. He is survived by his wife, two sons, and four grandchildren.

MC Skibadee is a name with which most drum and bass fans are more than familiar. Over his nearly 30-year career, the emcee graced various DJ sets and music releases within the drum and bass and jungle realm. Be it his more recent collaborations as part of SASASAS with DJ Phantasy, fellow MCs Harry Shotta and Shabba D, or packed out warehouse sets at Westfest, he stood out with a unique style of his own.

Initially starting out on pirate radio stations in 1993, Bondzie quickly became a staple amongst other emcees. He would go on to work with genre greats such as Shy FX, Nicky Blackmarket, Brockie and Dillinja.

Bondzie’s firstborn son shared the news by making two posts from his father’s Facebook page.

As of this writing, Alphonso Bondzie’s specific cause of death remains unclear.

Born in Berlin in 1980, Klemann got his start as part of the DJ collective 61 Rocker. While with this group he played hip-hop and curated a floor at ’90s drum & bass party Hard:Edged.

In 2002, the organizers of Hard:Edged opened an institution in Kreuzberg named Watergate Club. Klemann was signed on as a resident at the club, where he played an influential role in Berlin’s growing minimal house scene. He regularly played at Berlin clubs such as Cookies and Berghain.

Klemann also cofounded My My, a DJ and producer trio consisting of himself, Lee Jones, and Nick Hoeppner. Within the group, Klemann and Hoeppner mainly DJed while Hoeppner and Jones made the music. Through this collaboration, Klemann connected them to a label called Playhouse which eventually released their early EPs and only album. He also programmed their monthly residency at Watergate.

Taking to Instagram to share his condolences, Hoeppner wrote, “Getting to know you has been one of the most meaningful encounters of my life. You will be missed!”

Jones also expressed his sadness, writing on Facebook, “Goodbye friend, colleague, brother. I’ll never forget our time together. You were a giant of a man.”

Born May 22nd, 1942 in West Virginia, Simon moved to New Jersey in his teens. While working at a barbershop, he formed a doo-wop group called The Parliaments with coworkers George Clinton and Grady Thomas, along with customers Ray Davis and Fuzzy Haskins.

The group eventually shortened its name to Parliament and added more members. Throughout their career, they explored multiple genres including acid rock, R&B and funk. Simons’s vocals can be heard on the albums Mothership Connection and Funkentelechy vs. The Placebo Syndrome, as well as on LPs Maggot Brain and Cosmic Slop. In 1997, Simon, along with 15 other members, was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame by the late Prince.

Simon recorded gospel albums in the 2000s, which culminated in his debut solo album Share the News. After the record’s release, he was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. He managed to survive the diagnosis after throat surgery. He released two other solo albums: It’s Not Too Late in 2016 and I Believe in 2018.

Bandmate Bootsy Collins took to Instagram to announce the news, saying, “We lost another original member of Parliament Funkadelic today. A friend, bandmate and a cool classic guy.”

Born in San Jose, Banks was best known for producing hyphy, a music genre that began in Oakland. The term was coined by rapper Keak da Sneak. It is short for “hyperactive,” and utilizes uptempo, drum-driven beats to create its unique sound.

According to a report by the San Francisco Chronicle, Banks succumbed to a rare form of cancer he had been fighting since 2017. He had been under hospice care at his aunt in San Jose when he passed.

Banks’ manager, Prashant “PK” Kumar, said, “He was an amazing musician/producer. He was an integral part of the hyphy music sound which helped reopen the door for Bay Area hip-hop. He did it in 2004 or 2005, and the rest of California got on it and adapted his sound.”

In 2006, Banks released The Slapp Addict Mixtape. This self-produced album featured numerous local Bay-Area artists. In 2010, he signed with 454 Life Entertainment after producing the single “We Get Money” by Drew Weezy and Thai VG featuring Glasses Malone. After signing with them, he then produced the majority of the label’s complication album As Real as it Gets. A track of his titled “The Movement” is featured in the basketball video game College Hoops 2k7. 

As a member of U.K. grime crew Ruff Sqwad from 2004-2010, DJ Scholar played a large part in popularizing the genre. The crew formed in 2001 in Bow, East London where they began producing music on cheap home computers.

Alongside Ruff Sqwad members XTC, Sir Spyro, and Tinchy Stryder, DJ Scholar released influential grime mixtapes Guns and Roses Volume 1 and Guns and Roses Volume 2. They are also responsible for the well-regarded album White Label Classics.

Today, the Ruff Sqwad consists of Prince Rapid, Fuda Guy, and Roachee.

Grime artist DJ Jedah paid homage to Scholar on Twitter, writing, “I feel sick to my stomach. To find out my boy Scholar has passed away has destroyed me. Even recently I was speaking to him on the phone near enough every night till the late hours.”

Jedah, a regular host on Pyro radio, also dedicated the first half of his 7:00 PM slot to DJ Scholar.

His ex-wife, Mary Lucier, delivered the news on Facebook December 1st, saying, “The great Alvin Lucier has died. Long live Alvin Lucier.” His cause of death was not given. Lucier mentioned in interviews that he suffered from Parkinson’s disease, however.

Born in New Hampshire in 1931, Lucier obtained classic training through a Fullbright Scholarship. Much of his music was based on scientific principles and explored the properties of sound. For example, in his performance Queen of the South, he amplified the voice of a chorus onto a metal plate covered in sand. The vibration of the sound caused the sand to ripple and form vibrant designs.

Perhaps his most well-known production was I Am Sitting in a Room. The piece consisted of Lucier recording himself reading a piece of text and playing it into a room. He then would re-record the recording and again play it back into the room, repeating this numerous times. The specific geometry of the room emphasized certain frequencies while others attenuated. The process would go on until the words were unintelligible and all one could hear is the resonant frequency of the room.

During his long career, Alvin Lucier also authored a book, Chambers, held numerous positions at American music institutions, and cofounded the Sonic Arts Union.

Based out of Flensburg, Germany, Mumm was a prolific contributor to the German electro scene. Beginning in 2011 he began releasing numerous albums and EPs, including records such as 2011’s Unbekannte Kräfte, 2014’s Durchleuchtung, and the 2018 EP Fehlersuche.

Mumm’s latest record was Intergalaktische Föderation, released on September 10th. He released his work through record labels such as Fundamental Records, Transient Force, and Solar One Music.

DVS NME, a Colorado-based electro producer/DJ who collaborated with Mumm, expressed his condolences on Twitter. “My sonic tribute to Das Muster, who passed away over the weekend,” he wrote. To produce the tribute he used the MFB 522 drum machine sounds. Muster is known to have frequently used that machine in tracks he produced. DVS NME, who runs a live weekly electro mix series called Dark Science Electro, also posted numerous musical pieces that he and Muster produced together.

Fellow producer Opium Hum also took to Twitter to share his thoughts, writing that Mumm’s death is a “huge loss for the electro community.”

Das Muster’s final release is available for purchase in 12-inch vinyl record format via Kompakt.