Luis Vasquez, the Los Angeles-born darkwave musician better known as The Soft Moon, has died.
News of Vasquez’s passing was confirmed via his Instagram page earlier today (January 19), with a note reading: "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."
The note continued: "If you have a memory of Luis, no matter if you were a close friend of his or not, please feel free to share. This is a huge loss and our hearts are broken."
A cause of death has not been disclosed but it’s believed that Vasquez died in an incident that also took the lives of the techno DJ and producer Silent Servant, AKA John Juan Mendez, and his partner, Simone Ling.
Born in Los Angeles to a Cuban immigrant mother and a Mexican father, who wasn’t part of his life, Vasquez started to play guitar as a child and formed his first punk band at the age of 15 having been inspired by groups such as Fugazi and Bad Brains.
Having spent time playing in various punk-rock bands through his teens, Vasquez founded his solo project The Soft Moon in 2009 and signed with the Brooklyn label Captured Tracks to put out his first single, Breathe The Fire, in 2010. His self-titled debut album under the project came out that same year.
Two further albums followed for Captured Tracks in 2012 (Zeros) and 2015 (Deeper), before Vasquez signed with Sacred Bones to release the album Criminal in 2018.
Vasquez’s final full-length record as The Soft Moon to date, Exister, was released by Sacred Bones in 2022. Speaking upon its release, he said: "The whole point of this record was to share every emotion that I feel. No two songs are the same. It’s about existing in the world as a human being and experiencing many emotions and experiences throughout life."
