News & Events
- Staff
- In Memoriam
We are devastated by the loss of our brainwashed family member John Giorno.
Giorno was a NYC-based poet, artist, musician, and label owner who founded Giorno Poetry Systems in 1972, initially to release recordings that were served up on the Dial-A-Poem hotline. Over the years, GPS was responsible for issuing numerous collections with words contributed by William S. Burroughs, Anne Waldman, and Jim Carroll and music by Cabaret Voltaire, Coil, Diamanda Galas, Einsturzende Neubauten, and Swans.
Giorno kept active and his current exhibition, Do the Undone, is running through October 26th in NYC.
A wonderful obituary has been published by Art Forum.
We wish his friends and family our deepest sympathies.
- Staff
- In Memoriam
Daniel Garcia launched hollyfeld.org in 1995. In a world before multinational multibillion dollar social media empires, Dan provided a place for numerous communities to flourish. Hollyfeld.org began hosting the email discussion lists for Coil, Meat Beat Manifesto, The Legendary Pink Dots, Cabaret Voltaire, and Throbbing Gristle, among others, all out of the kindness of his heart, all 100% free of cost and advertisements. All lists remain active however the future is uncertain.
Daniel and Yulia lived life to the fullest, were active in photography, travel, digital arts, and remained supportive of the brainwashed music community. Our hearts go out to their closest family and friends. We will miss you dearly.
- Staff
- In Memoriam
Our hearts go out to the friends and family of David Berman, a beloved cult figure who was one of the most brilliant and poetic lyricists of his generation.  He was best known as the sole constant member of Silver Jews, which he formed with Stephen Malkmus and Bob Nastanovich in the late ‘80s.  Though Malkmus and Nastanovich were soon drawn away by the demands of their other band Pavement, Berman kept the band going with a shifting array of like-minded collaborators (1996's The Natural Bridge with New Radiant Storm King is a personal favorite).  Throughout it all, Berman remained a deeply reluctant live performer with an open aversion to touring, though he occasionally did public readings of his writings.  Consequently, he surprised everyone by finally touring with Silver Jews in 2005 in support of Tanglewood Numbers.
Berman released one more album after that tour, then famously ended the band in 2009, vowing "to stop before we got bad" and planned to instead devote himself to undoing the influence of his lobbyist father ("I am the son of a demon come to make good the damage.").  Eventually, however, Berman was drawn back to music, unveiling a new project (Purple Mountains) that debuted on Drag City in July.  At the time of his death, the ensemble was poised to embark upon their inaugural US tour.
Many wonderful tributes have been written about Berman's life and work this week.  This is an especially fine one:
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/postscript/david-berman-made-us-feel-less-alone
- Staff
- In Memoriam
We are very saddened to learn of the loss of Scott Walker and our hearts go out to his surviving family and friends.
Walker's work in the 1960s, both solo and with the Walker Brothers, has influenced a staggering amount of music that we cover here at brainwashed, while his more experimental work over the last few decades has solidified his role as one of the most important contemporary avant-garde composers.
For an extensive eulogy including a timeline of his career, please read what his label, 4AD has posted.
 
- Staff
- In Memoriam
Our hearts go out to the friends and family of Phil Western. Western was a member of Download (along with Cevin Key, Mark Spybey, and Dwayne Goettel), Frozen Rabbit, and recorded solo as Philth and under his own name. His family has issued the following statement:
"It is with profound sadness and heavy hearts that we, Phil's family, want to make this official announcement of his death this past week. The family are awaiting the Coroner's investigation into an official time and cause of death but we believe it was an accidental overdose. We will update when we receive further information. Phil was loved by so many of us. He was funny, intelligent, deep, creative and so many other wonderful things. We will miss him more than we could ever accurately convey. Much love to all those who are grieving with us. Phil's family xo"
- Staff
- In Memoriam
We are saddened by the loss of Hardy Fox of The Residents.
Our hearts go out to all of Hardy's friends and family and thank him for his years of the weird and absurd.
From The Residents Web site:
It is with with great sorrow and regret that The Cryptic Corporation announces the passing of longtime associate, Hardy Fox. As president of the corporation from 1982-2016, the company benefited from Hardy's instinct for leadership and direction, but his true value came from his longtime association with The Residents. As the group's producer, engineer, as well as collaborator on much of their material, Fox's influence on The Residents was indelible; despite any formal training, his musicality was nevertheless unique, highly refined and prolific. Blessed with a vital sense of aesthetics, a keen ear, and an exquisite love of the absurd, Hardy's smiling face was a constant source of joy to those around him. He will be missed.
After a series of recent health problems, Hardy succumbed to a brief illness. He is survived by his husband, Steven Kloman.
- Staff
- In Memoriam
Everyone at Brainwashed is devastated at the unexpected loss of composer Jóhann Jóhannsson. Brainwashed was first made aware of him through his releases on Touch and 4AD, and I had the pleasure of spending a brief amount of time with him while on tour in the USA, thanks to Adam Wiltzie of Stars of the Lid, who helped book his tour and provide sound for the shows. Since then, Jóhannsson has composed music for films such as Prisonders and Arrival, earned Academy Award nominations for best original film score for The Theory of Everything and Sicario, and won a Golden Globe for the score for Sicario. Our condolences to his friends and family.
- Staff
- In Memoriam
Unconfirmed reports have come in that our friend, Stefan Weisser, who the music world knows as Z'EV, passed away in Chicago on December 16th at 11:33pm. Z'EV has been an important pioneer in music for over 4 decades as a percussionist, sound artist, and poet. His music transcended genre names and he was equally comfortable playing alongside industrial, experimental, primitive, metal, rock, and numerous other classified artists. His health battles were made public over the last few years following being hospitalized with injuries suffered after a train derailment. Cause of his passing has not been confirmed at this time. He will be missed.
Please enjoy the following videos:
photo by Greg Cristman
- Staff
- In Memoriam
We are extremely saddened by the news of the passing of Mika Vainio, as reported initially by Rumba and confirmed by friends. Vainio was best known for his work in Panasonic/Pan Sonic but had numerous solo albums, releases as Ø, and in collaborations, such as VVV with his Panasonic partner Ilpo Väisänen and Alan Vega.
He will be missed dearly.
Brainwashed had the special pleasure of capturing Pan Sonic live and interviewing Mika for The Eye back in 2006. It's a rare video interview of Mika in his own words describing his musical history prior to Panasonic along with his then current experience creating music (Click here for the video.)
- Staff
- In Memoriam
Our hearts go out to the close friends and family of Pauline Oliveros, a legend who has touched so many lives. More than just your average accordion-and-tuba-playing leather-jacket-wearing motorcycle-riding early innovator of electronic music, Oliveros was a founding member and director of the San Francisco Tape Music Center in the 1960s,taught music at Mills College, the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. An author, composer, music theorist, and founder of the Deep Listening Institute, she was also a compassionate teacher and friend to many. She has left us with many recordings to give deep listening to and will be deeply missed.