Experimental electronic producer Dax Pierson has died, aged 54
The multi-instrumentalist co-founded experimental hip hop groups Subtle and 13 & God
Californian experimental electronic producer Dax Pierson has died, aged 54.
Pierson's bandmate from Subtle and 13 & God, Dorseone, real name Adam Drucker, shared the news in a post on Twitter on New Year's Eve, writing: “Dax Pierson has passed away. My best friend, bandmate, mentor and hero."
He continued: “To meet and have loved a singular human being with such strength and a heart the size of the entire sky is my life’s honour."
According to a memorial post on Echovita, Pierson died on December 30. No cause of death has been disclosed at time of writing.
On September 13 he shared in a post on Instagram that he would be cancelling his performance that evening due to physical health reasons.
The Oakland-based producer and multi-instrumentalist made his start in the 2000s as a buyer for the Californian record store, Amoeba Music. It was during this time that he co-founded the alternative hip hop group Subtle, teaming up with musician buddies like Drucker and Alexander Kort. He sung, played keys and composed for the group.
He was also a co-founding member of 13 & God, a collaboration between Oakland indie hip hop group Themselves (which Pierson was a part of) and German band The Notwist.
Pierson is regarded as one of the few Black, queer artists operating on the Bay Area hip hop scene at the time.
In 2005, Pierson was in an accident that left him severely injured. While on tour with Subtle, the group’s tour van rolled over in Iowa after hitting black ice on the highway. Pierson was thrown headfirst into the roof when the seat broke loose and he was paralysed from the chest down.
According to SFGATE, he sued Ford Motor Company in 2009, arguing that the defective van contributed to his debilitating injuries. He was awarded $18.3 million ($12.3 million medical expenses and lost earnings, and a further $6 million for pain and suffering).
The artist spent the next decade in recovery, releasing the album Live in Oakland in 2019 via Ratskin Records. Pierson’s powerful final album, 'Nerve Bumps (A Queer Divine Dissatisfaction)’, which was widely celebrated by critics, came out in 2021.
Read some tributes below:
Henrietta Taylor is Mixmag's Digital Intern, follow her on Twitter