Cassius’ Philippe ‘Zdar’ Cerboneschi Dies At 50

The french producer who worked with Phoenix, Beastie Boys and more fell out of a window in Paris

French producer and Cassius co-founder Philippe ‘Zdar’ Cerboneschi has died aged 50.

Cerboneschi accidentally fell through the window of a high-rise building in Paris yesterday evening (June 19), his agent Sebastien Farran told the Agence France-Presse.

In addition to forming one-half of the pioneering French house outfit Cassius, he was also a leader in the French Touch sound as one-half of Motorbass alongside Etienne De Crécy. His mixing and production work saw him collaborate with Phoenix (on their 2009 album Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix), Beastie Boys and Franz Ferdinand, amongst others.

A new album from Cassius, titled Dreems, is due to be released tomorrow (June 21). Amongst the figures from the music world paying their respects this morning are The Black Madonna, Calvin Harris and Franz Ferdinand’s Alex Kapranos.

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