Published
Thu, Jul 6, 2023, 12:00
- The US artist released on Throbbing Gristle's Industrial Records and collaborated with Psychic TV.
Monte Cazazza, a US artist and composer who played an important role in the formation of industrial music, has died aged 68.
Fellow artist and frequent collaborator Meri St. Mary broke the news on Twitter last Friday, June 30th. "It's with immense sadness and love that I had to let Monte go," the post read. "He was very ill and in pain so I take comfort in the fact that that part is over, but I miss him already. Wherever it is we go off to, I'm certain he'll be causing trouble in his own way. RIP the one and only Monte Cazazza."
Primarily based in San Francisco and the wider Bay Area, Cazazza is credited with coining the phrase "industrial music for industrial people." His early releases on Throbbing Gristle's Industrial Records, consisting primarily of noise collages and experimental sound manipulation, helped define the industrial music sound.
Like many of his provocateur contemporaries, Cazazza's art and performance was designed for maximum shock value. He collaborated with the likes of Psychic TV, Factrix and Survival Research Laboratories. His final solo release, The Cynic, was a chugging techno album released on Blast First Petite in 2010.
Read some tributes, and revisit Cazazza's debut EP, To Mom On Mother's Day.
Photo: Michelle Handelman