Luis Vasquez, the musician behind the project the Soft Moon, has died at the age of 44. The news of Vasquez’s passing was confirmed in a statement on the Soft Moon’s social media accounts. “It is with great sadness that we announce our dear friend, Luis Vasquez has passed away. Our hearts and thoughts are with his family, friends and extended music family,” it read. “We ask to respect their privacy during this difficult time…This is a huge loss and our hearts are broken.” No cause of death was provided.
According to Resident Advisor, Vasquez’s death occurred during the same incident that also killed the techno artist John Juan Mendez, known as Silent Servant, and his partner Simone Ling.
Born in Los Angeles, Vasquez started playing in punk bands as a teenager before moving to the Bay Area and making music as the Soft Moon. His self-titled debut album came out in 2010 on Captured Tracks. He relocated to the Italian mountains for 2015’s Deeper, then to Berlin for his Sacred Bones debut, 2018’s Criminal. In 2021, Vasquez released Body of Errors under his own name. His last album as the Soft Moon was 2022’s Exister.