R.I.P. Juan Mendez, a.k.a. Silent Servant

Techno artist Juan Mendez, part of Sandwell District and better known as Silent Servant, has died, per a report from Resident Advisor. His management, Triangle Agency, confirmed the news. And though a cause of death hasn’t been given, RA’s report states that “Mendez’s partner, Simone Ling, and Luis Vasquez, AKA darkwave musician The Soft Moon, are believed to have died in the same incident.”

Mendez released two albums with the techno collective Sandwell District, 2010’s Feed-Forward and 2011’s Sandwell District, as well as two albums as Silent Servant, Negative Fascination and Shadows of Death and Desire. He was also a member of darkwave group Tropic of Cancer, and frequently DJed at renowned clubs such as Berghain, Tresor, Bassiani and KHIDI.

In a 2018 interview with Treble, Mendez said, “I’m not attracted to darkness per se. Melancholy, yes. … I don’t wear shirts with upside-down crosses and shit. It’s not what it’s about with me. It’s more about an emotional response. A connection. There’s a side of my life that’s always been drawn to that, I think partially because I’m Hispanic. Like, Latin ballads, it all comes from the same place. I’m not a dark person, like “Fuck everything!”