Stephen Samuel Gordon, aka The Spaceape, the Hyperdub-signed vocalist and poet, has passed away following an ongoing battle with cancer. A statement released by the label said: "[Gordon] passed away peacefully after a five-year struggle with a rare form of cancer. He leaves behind his wife Luciana and six-year-old daughter, Cleo […] Our sincere condolences go out to his family and friends, and all who have been touched by his writings and performances. His Hyperdub family will always miss him."
The Spaceape had been a long-term collaborator with Hyperdub founder Kode9, with whom he put out the label’s first release, 2004’s ‘Sine Of The Dub’. He went on to release two albums with Kode9, Memories Of The Future in 2006 and Black Sun in 2011, which were followed this year by a new EP, The Killing Season, released this month. He also worked with Burial, The Bug, Jerry Dammers, Martyn, Redshape, Dub Gabriel, Echologist and more, as well as releasing a solo EP, Xorcism, in 2012.
Speaking to the Quietus’ Frances Morgan in a 2011 interview, The Spaceape said of Black Sun‘s lyrics: "The things that interest me are the things that make life sometimes feel unreal. That’s what captures my imagination […] But the stuff that you do every day, there’s a surreal quality to it; it can have a dreamlike quality. As you said, you can’t take things at face value. It’s like looking through a prism, you know? You look, and you can see the outlines of things, but there’s so many different variants of that one thing. Everything’s like that. That’s how I see it, anyway."
Watch the video for ‘The Devil Is A Liar’ from The Killing Season below:
