Dean Roberts, the experimental composer and multi-instrumentalist who played in New Zealand noise trio Thela before embarking on a string of solo projects and records with Autistic Daughters, died this week, his labels Erstwhile and Kranky announced yesterday (August 14). . Roberts died in his sleep, Erstwhile's Jon Abbey wrote, citing the musician's sister. Roberts was 49 years old.
Roberts, then a teenager, formed Thela with Dion Workman and Paul Douglas in New Zealand in the early 1990s, rising to prominence through Auckland's free music scene with a pair of albums for US label Ecstatic Peace! The first, from 1995 I wantedwas a landmark of rock minimalism, combining post-hardcore guitar shredding with sonic sounds and sparse percussion. Next year Argentina added ambient elements and a flash of melody, attracting fans of the fusion post-rock grid as well as laptop composers such as Fennesz, who later collaborated with Douglas's Rosy Parlane project.
When Thela parted ways, Roberts split his production between his self-titled releases and his White Winged Moth project, often released on his own label, Formacentric Disk, as well as Mille Plateaux and Erstwhile. Although these works tended to bring out alien frequencies and complex noise elements—particularly his optimized collaboration with Thurston Moore and Dr. Chad- also started singing, turning the barren soundscapes into strange folk laments. He continued in the same vein on Autistic Daughters' two albums for Kranky, Jealousy and Diamond and Restless flowersbefore we take a break from the studio and return, from Berlin, in 2020 with No Firethe last studio album of his life.
Among those to pay tribute was Lawrence English, who wrote on social media: “I will miss you so much. Your way of moving the world into song. Your way to find the hidden voices in the instrument you were playing. Your smile and that laugh…always that laugh. In future ballads in future places.'
