Farewell to an electro pioneer.
One half of German electro-punk duo Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft, Gabriel Delgado-López, has died at the age of 61. The news was announced this morning, a cause of death was not given.
Delgado-López’s passing was confirmed by his D.A.F. bandmate Robert Görl on social media, who said, “Got word today my long time friend and bandmate Gabi Delgado passed away last night.”
Hitting the scene in the late ’70s, D.A.F. quickly earnt a cult following and dropped five albums in just three years before throwing in the towel in 1982. The following decades saw the on-again-off-again pair heralded ‘Grandfathers of Techno’. Just last year, D.A.F. made their explosive Australian live debut as part of Melbourne Music Week.
“We didn’t want to be in any tradition. We wanted to start from ground zero and do something that hadn’t been heard before,” said Delgado-López when we caught up with him last year. “If you have a strong new idea, and you’re patient, then sooner or later you will gather more and more followers. I believe in the power of ideas.”
A true trailblazer and techno genius, he will be missed.
