Published
Mon, Oct 31, 2022, 12:20
- The Seattle-based artist passed away from cancer over the weekend.
US synth artist and sound designer Norm Chambers, AKA Panabrite and Jürgen Müller, has died.
The Seattle-based musician passed away at home yesterday, October 30th. In 2019, he was diagnosed with a rare form of sinus cancer.
"Norm was a brilliant composer, sound designer and musician," Pete Prezzano, founder of Love All Day Records, wrote on Chambers' Fundly page. "He was an ardent, lifelong record collector, DJ and listener [...] It was Norm's music, and records more generally that brought me to know him some 15 years ago. I'm deeply and truly grateful for having made that connection."
Chambers, a musician since the early '90s, started out playing guitar in rock bands before discovering and falling in love with synthesizers. Between 2009 and 2022, he released dozens of albums under various solo and collaborative aliases, including Panabrite, Spiral Index, Jürgen Müller, Water Bureau (with Daryl Groetsch), Soft Mirage (with Christian Richer) and his given name. His music, broadly categorised as ambient, is beloved for its lush, cinematic, tonally rich quality.
"He relentlessly pursued new pathways and forms in sound, but did it in such a relaxed and unassuming way," Prezzano continued. "It will always serve as a model to me on how to approach art and life in general. Even as he faced serious health issues, he continued to do what he loved with good humour and grace, and he never gave up. Everyone loved Norm's early music, but he was never satisfied to go on repeating himself; always searching for unknown and fascinating terrain."
Revisit Panabrite's celebrated 2014 album Pavilion, and read some tributes on social media.