Lungbutter drummer and Montreal music scene fixture Joni Sadler has died. She was 35.
News of her death from a brain aneurysm on May 30 was announced in a statement shared via a memorial website and local label Constellation Records, where Sadler worked as the imprint's director of communications from 2017 until her passing.
Sadler grew up in Victoria before moving to Ottawa to study Communications at Carleton University. In Ottawa, she became the English music director at CHUO 89.1 FM, the University of Ottawa's campus-community radio station. After finishing her BA, she returned to Carleton for a Master's in Communications, writing her thesis "Challenging Expectations: Perceptions of Canadian Music and the Localized Practices of Experimental Artists," in which she argued for broader institutional support and inclusion of experimental, independent and D.I.Y. musicians in Canada.
Sadler would further immerse herself in the world of independent Canadian music when she moved to Montreal shortly after completing her MA at Carleton. In Montreal, she worked as a station co-manager at McGill University's campus-community radio station, CKUT 90.3 FM, from 2012 until 2017, and as Pop Montreal's Symposium director in 2017 and 2018.
Her role at Constellation Records found her serving as the label's publicist and general ambassador, helping to spread the word of new releases by artists such as Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Fly Pan Am, Markus Floats, JOYFULTALK and Land of Kush, along with the "Corona Borealis Longplay Singles Series" designed to help financially support the label's artists during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sadler also served as drummer of Montreal art-punk trio Lungbutter, who released their sole album to date, Honey, through Constellation in 2019 and were set to tour Europe in 2020 before those dates were cancelled due to the pandemic. Sadler also performed occasionally with ambient project Nennen.
Before her death, she had earned a diploma in Full-Stack Web Development from Concordia University.
The announcement of her passing has been met with tributes from members of Montreal's music community and beyond. See some below, and read the full obituary and a growing gallery of photos celebrating her life at her memorial website.
News of her death from a brain aneurysm on May 30 was announced in a statement shared via a memorial website and local label Constellation Records, where Sadler worked as the imprint's director of communications from 2017 until her passing.
Sadler grew up in Victoria before moving to Ottawa to study Communications at Carleton University. In Ottawa, she became the English music director at CHUO 89.1 FM, the University of Ottawa's campus-community radio station. After finishing her BA, she returned to Carleton for a Master's in Communications, writing her thesis "Challenging Expectations: Perceptions of Canadian Music and the Localized Practices of Experimental Artists," in which she argued for broader institutional support and inclusion of experimental, independent and D.I.Y. musicians in Canada.
Sadler would further immerse herself in the world of independent Canadian music when she moved to Montreal shortly after completing her MA at Carleton. In Montreal, she worked as a station co-manager at McGill University's campus-community radio station, CKUT 90.3 FM, from 2012 until 2017, and as Pop Montreal's Symposium director in 2017 and 2018.
Her role at Constellation Records found her serving as the label's publicist and general ambassador, helping to spread the word of new releases by artists such as Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Fly Pan Am, Markus Floats, JOYFULTALK and Land of Kush, along with the "Corona Borealis Longplay Singles Series" designed to help financially support the label's artists during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sadler also served as drummer of Montreal art-punk trio Lungbutter, who released their sole album to date, Honey, through Constellation in 2019 and were set to tour Europe in 2020 before those dates were cancelled due to the pandemic. Sadler also performed occasionally with ambient project Nennen.
Before her death, she had earned a diploma in Full-Stack Web Development from Concordia University.
The announcement of her passing has been met with tributes from members of Montreal's music community and beyond. See some below, and read the full obituary and a growing gallery of photos celebrating her life at her memorial website.
