Silent Servant is believed to have died in the same incident as his partner, Simone Ling, and her collaborator, The Soft Moon.
The techno world has been shaken today as news has broken that Los Angeles techno artist Silent Servant has died. Word initially spread on social media and has been confirmed by multiple media outlets.
At the time of writing, no cause of death has been disclosed for Silent Servant (real name Juan Mendez). His partner, Simone Ling, and her collaborator, Luis Vasquez aka The Soft Moon, have also passed away. It is rumored that all three died in the same incident.
Mendez had been involved with music since the mid-’90s. He originally produced music under the alias Jasper and oversaw a techno label called Cytrax, and by the turn of the millennium he had forged a key connection with Birmingham techno artist Regis.
By the mid 2000s, Mendez aligned the Silent Servant project with the experimental style of techno championed by Sandwell District, a label and collective comprised of Regis (real name Karl O’Connor), Female, and Function. Mendez filled in as the outfit’s art director and released a landmark record, The Silent Morning, on their imprint in 2006.
Sandwell District disbanded in 2011, but Silent Servant’s success carried on. Mendez launched his own label, Jealous God, alongside O’Connor and Croydon techno artist James Ruskin, in addition to releasing on the likes of Mote-Evolver, Hospital Productions, and Cititrax. He also performed at such celebrated techno clubs as Berghain, Tresor and Bassiani.
DJs and producers from every corner of the techno world have posted tributes to Mendez on social media. “RIP Silent Servant,” wrote Japanese techno artist Wata Igarashi in a Facebook post. “You did everything in the coolest style which will live forever. Thanks so much for that. I will never forget those few times sharing decks with you.”
Bournemouth DJ and producer Daniel Avery recalled a time that he asked Mendez about a track he was playing during a set in a post on X (formerly Twitter). “The next time I saw Juan he had bought me my own copy of the vinyl,” he wrote. “An amazing artist and incredibly gentle guy.”
No memorial details for Mendez have been shared with the public at the time of writing. We here at EDM Identity share our condolences with his friends, supporters, and loved ones at this time.
