Written by: Alex Green

The Soft Moon’s Luis Vasquez has died.

The L.A.-born musician was 44. Although the cause of death at this point is unknown, it is believed that techno artist Silent Servant (John Juan Mendez) and his partner Simone Ling perished in the same incident as Vasquez.

Details are forthcoming.

Vasquez, who recorded under the Soft Moon moniker, put out five albums of jagged and dark post-punk and over the course of his career toured with Interpol and Depeche Mode.

SEM’s Paul Gleason once wrote of Vasquez: “Unafraid, he harnesses the inner chaos that swirls inside him and makes sophisticated musical structures, indelible vocal melodies, and some of the most painfully honest lyrics that you’ll ever hear.”

In terms of the contrast between dance grooves and darkness, he told Gleason: “Within all the darkness, there’s still that dance element; it’s almost like optimism within all the darkness. It’s also my way of bringing listeners closer to me. It makes the track more appealing. It’s my formula for making my music a little more relatable, even though it’s so dark and unique to my life. I just want to bring people into my world who wouldn’t necessarily be a part of it.”

He went on to say: “In the future, I think there will be some sort of hope in the end, and that’s what I’m trying to achieve. I’m fighting my demons, and I’m defeating them, or I’m on the verge of. Every time I look in the mirror, I’m bewildered by what I am as a human being. It’s strange to be a human being, and I don’t know what it is.”