Peter Rehberg — the influential electronic music figure behind the Editions Mego label — has died. The artist and label founder suffered a heart attack and passed away suddenly. He was 53.
The news was confirmed by several of Rehberg's many collaborators, including François Bonnet, who records as Kassel Jaeger.
"I am heartbroken. Peter is gone, suddenly. Just like that," Bonnet wrote on Instagram. "He hated goodbyes, effusions. Out of reserve. Out of sensitivity. He was one of the most kind, loyal and reliable people I have ever known."
The British-Austrian musician and label head started his music career in 1995 under the Pita moniker, releasing that project's debut album Seven Tons for Free in 1996. Around this time, he also began to work with the Austrian label Mego, eventually taking on a management role.
After the label folded in 2005, Rehberg relaunched the company as Editions Mego — an imprint that over the years has released albums by the likes of Oneohtrix Point Never, Fennesz, Jim O'Rourke, Emeralds, Sunn O)))'s Stephen O'Malley, Merzbow, Mark Fell, Oren Ambarchi, Bill Orcutt and many more.
Editions Mego would go on to spawn multiple sub-labels over the years, including Spectrum Spools, Sensate Focus and O'Malley's Ideologic Organ imprint. In 2012, Rehberg and Bonnet also began to focus on archival releases under the sub-label Recollection GRM, unearthing lost works by the likes of Luc Ferrari, Bernard Parmegiani and Pierre Schaeffer.
As an artist, Rehberg was also a prolific collaborator. In 2006, he formed the duo KTL with O'Malley, with the pair releasing a long string of records together over the years. Rehberg also famously become one-third of the avant-garde supergroup Fenn O'Berg alongside Jim O'Rourke and Christian Fennesz.
Other Rehberg collaborators included Z'ev, Ramon Bauer and Nik Void of Factory Floor, with whom he then formed NPVR.
In a 2016 interview [via The Guardian], Rehberg opened up about his approach and views towards music, saying: "music these days is very much sold in its own little box… I have always been not very interested in that.
"I have always found that if you want to make something noisy, you have to make something that is harmonic as well. Dissonance and resonance have to co-exist, for the other to work, I think."
Below, you can find some of many tributes to Rehberg.
The news was confirmed by several of Rehberg's many collaborators, including François Bonnet, who records as Kassel Jaeger.
"I am heartbroken. Peter is gone, suddenly. Just like that," Bonnet wrote on Instagram. "He hated goodbyes, effusions. Out of reserve. Out of sensitivity. He was one of the most kind, loyal and reliable people I have ever known."
The British-Austrian musician and label head started his music career in 1995 under the Pita moniker, releasing that project's debut album Seven Tons for Free in 1996. Around this time, he also began to work with the Austrian label Mego, eventually taking on a management role.
After the label folded in 2005, Rehberg relaunched the company as Editions Mego — an imprint that over the years has released albums by the likes of Oneohtrix Point Never, Fennesz, Jim O'Rourke, Emeralds, Sunn O)))'s Stephen O'Malley, Merzbow, Mark Fell, Oren Ambarchi, Bill Orcutt and many more.
Editions Mego would go on to spawn multiple sub-labels over the years, including Spectrum Spools, Sensate Focus and O'Malley's Ideologic Organ imprint. In 2012, Rehberg and Bonnet also began to focus on archival releases under the sub-label Recollection GRM, unearthing lost works by the likes of Luc Ferrari, Bernard Parmegiani and Pierre Schaeffer.
As an artist, Rehberg was also a prolific collaborator. In 2006, he formed the duo KTL with O'Malley, with the pair releasing a long string of records together over the years. Rehberg also famously become one-third of the avant-garde supergroup Fenn O'Berg alongside Jim O'Rourke and Christian Fennesz.
Other Rehberg collaborators included Z'ev, Ramon Bauer and Nik Void of Factory Floor, with whom he then formed NPVR.
In a 2016 interview [via The Guardian], Rehberg opened up about his approach and views towards music, saying: "music these days is very much sold in its own little box… I have always been not very interested in that.
"I have always found that if you want to make something noisy, you have to make something that is harmonic as well. Dissonance and resonance have to co-exist, for the other to work, I think."
Below, you can find some of many tributes to Rehberg.
Safe Travels Peter Rehberg: You and Your incredible contributions to the world of sound will live forever.
— Alessandro Cortini (@blindoldfreak) July 23, 2021