It is with a heavy heart that we report the news of the passing of one of Chicago House’s most influential producers and DJs, the mighty Paul Johnson.
An infectious, kind and loving character, Paul Johnson is best known for his self-taught DJ style of house music and his 1999 single “Get Get Down”, which became a worldwide hit.
It’s with a heavy heart that we have learned of the news that renowned producer and DJ i_o, born Garrett Lockhart, is dead.
A message on his Twitter account announced the tragic news, stating that aged 30, i_o passed away yesterday, November 23rd, 2020. “This extremely talented spirit taught us that even if nothing matters, you can still lead with love,” the post states. “Garrett’s truth and soul lives on through the music he shared.”
In the past few weeks you have likely read several articles, or at least headlines, proclaiming that the mp3 format is dead or will die soon. Some of these even came from authoritative sources in terms of music and technology, leading many to blindly believe that the death of mp3 was in fact real, and leaving many others to wonder what would happen as a result.
Resident Advisor stated that the “era of mp3 is over,” while those at Fossbytes announced that the “mp3 format is officially dead,”  and elsewhere at Gizmodo they announced that “developers of mp3 have officially killed it.” All these headlines, just like the countless others who followed suit with the hasty announcement, rushed to declare the death of the most popular audio compression format in circulation without examining all the facts. Interestingly enough it appears that they all regurgitated the same sensationalistic headline without properly reading the original statement of the Fraunhofer Institute and, above all, without confronting it against the sheer reality of the mp3’s role in today’s technologic world.
First of all, let’s examine what really happened: the only recent news, if we can really call it such since it’s been known for years, is that the latest American patents related to the mp3 format expired on April 16th, while in Europe they had all expired by the end of 2012. A few days later, on the 23rd of April, the Fraunhofer Institute, the former patent holder, published an official press release according to which the license for the mp3 format will be closed as the institute focuses its efforts on the AAC format.
Phuture. DJ Spank-Spank is on the left
DJ Spank-Spank, known as Earl Smith, Jr. and originator of âAcid Tracksâ on Phuture, has passed, according to a tweet from The Black Madonna.
Rest in power .@djspankspank one of the true innovators of the acid sound. Love and strength to @djpierre and Phuture family. â€ïž
â The Black Madonna (@blackmadonnachi) September 21, 2016
Although the details and cause of death are yet unknown, Smith suffered a stroke back in May and underwent surgery because of it. In the coming weeks, Phuture took to Facebook to express his concern for Smith and gratitude for the support.
Listen to ‘Rise From Your Grave Below’
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We wish our most heartfelt condolences to the entire Phuture crew and Smithâs family. Thank you for the unforgettable music.
Kiko Deal (right) and Jay Blakk (left) playing as Climbers
Kiko Deal, a member of the Mexicali duo Climbers, who have had releases on Culprit, Get Physical, and Akbal Records, has passed away. Jay Blakk, his Climbers and life âsoul-brotherâ, announced the sad news via Facebook:
[Translated from Spanish to English]
âMy dear friends, on this day I want to communicate with all of you that my soul brother, and the person who believed in all of my foolishness, has passed. The one who would always tell me, âGo hard or go homeâ. The one who dared to believe in two Mexicali motherf****** touring the world doing what they loved. The one Iâd watch play his guitar and knew everything was alright. The one who never over thought about anything too much, but acted with his heart. I love you brother and I now know youâre at rest. Rest in peace, Kiko Deal.â
LOS ANGELES, CA – JUNE 27: Musician Prince performs onstage at the 2006 BET Awards at the Shrine Auditorium on June 27, 2006 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
It is with a heavy heart that we just discovered that Prince was found dead this morning in his Paisley Park estate in Chanhassen, Minnesota.
Prince Rogers Nelson, the iconic music figure known world over as Prince, passed away at 57 for reasons yet to be determined. It was reported last week that the musician was on a flight back home from Atlanta last week when the pilot was forced to to make an emergency landing so that Prince could be rushed to a hospital. Reports that followed stated that he had a flu.
Born in Minneapolis, the music legend released a total of 39 studio albums throughout his prolific and illustrious career, including two last year alone: HITNRUN Phase One and Two. Perhaps his most applauded piece of work was 1984’s Purple Rain, followed by the film by the same name.
Word has just come out of London that rock legend David Bowie died peacefully at the age of 69Â after an 18 month battle with cancer.
His son confirmed the sad news and a statement was shared on the artist’s social media channels.
“David Bowie died peacefully today surrounded by his family after a courageous 18-month battle with cancer,” the statement reads.
“While many of you will share in this loss, we ask that you respect the family’s privacy during their time of grief.”
Despite various rumors that circulated about David’s health for a few years, he had just released his 25th album entitled ‘Blackstar’ on January 8th which was his 69th birthday. His work over the past 5 decades will forever live on as some of the most ground-breaking, thought-inspiring and game-changing music of all time.
Bowie had many hits over his long and stellar career including “Life on Mars“, “Young Americans“, “Space Oddity“, “Rebel, Rebel“, “Let’s Dance” and “Fame“.
Here is David Bowie in his latest video ‘Blackstar’:
