E’ morto nel sonno Alan Vega, pseudonimo di Boruch Alan Bermowitz (Brooklyn, 23 giugno 1938 – 16 luglio 2016), cantante statunitense, fondatore, assieme a Martin Rev (sintetizzatore e drum machine), nel 1971 dei Suicide gruppo rock-punk elettronico.
Il primo album, Suicide (1977), è considerato uno dei grandi classici “maledetti” del rock contemporaneo. Sebbene non siano mai stati popolari tra il grande pubblico, vengono oggi considerati estremamente innovativi ed influenti. Riferendosi al gruppo il critico Wilson Neate dichiarò: “sono stati influenti come i Clash. Ascoltando il loro omonimo album di debutto del 1977, appare ovvio: il suono del synth pop, della techno e dell’industrial dance degli anni ottanta e novanta, e la nuova New Wave dai suoni metallici, tutti fanno riferimento a quell’album fondamentale”.
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Questo il messaggio della famiglia pubblicato nel sito di Henry Rollins:
With profound sadness and a stillness that only news like this can bring, we regret to inform you that the great artist and creative force, Alan Vega has passed away.
Alan passed peacefully in his sleep last night, July 16. He was 78 years of age.
Alan was not only relentlessly creative, writing music and painting until the end, he was also startlingly unique. Along with Martin Rev, in the early 1970’s, they formed the two person avant band known as Suicide. Almost immediately, their incredible and unclassifiable music went against every possible grain. Their confrontational live performances, light-years before Punk Rock, are the stuff of legend. Their first, self-titled album is one of the single most challenging and noteworthy achievements in American music.
Alan Vega was the quintessential artist on every imaginable level. His entire life was devoted to outputting what his vision commanded of him.
One of the greatest aspects of Alan Vega was his unflinching adherence to the demands of his art. He only did what he wanted. Simply put, he lived to create. After decades of constant output, the world seemed to catch up with Alan and he was acknowledged as the groundbreaking creative individual he had been from the very start.
Alan’s life is a lesson of what it is to truly live for art. The work, the incredible amount of time required, the courage to keep seeing it and the strength to bring it forth—this was Alan Vega.
Alan is survived by his amazing family, wife Liz and son Dante. His incredible body of work, spanning five decades, will be with us forever.
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