After an unverified claim surfaced on Last.fm saying electronic music artist Sd Laika had passed away in 2023, the musician’s family has now issued a statement. In a quote sent to Mixmag, the loved ones of Sd Laika (real name Peter Runge) confirmed his passing, though no details, such as date of death and cause of death, were given.
“Peter was an immensely talented and original musician,” the family statement read. “He was also a super funny, smart, and kind-hearted person. Our family loves and misses him. We’re grateful to everyone in the music community who enjoyed and supported the art that meant so much to him.”
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Sd Laika is best known in the electronic music world for his sole full-length work, the 2014 album That’s Harakiri. In Pitchfork’s review of the Tri Angle-backed release, writer Nate Patrin wrote, “Runge’s music possesses an unnerving sense of man-machine fusion that sends viscera burbling out your speakers—the kind of glitched-out muck that leaves a permanent stain on everything in hearable radius and makes one thankful that you can’t actually smell music. It’s gruesomely tactile, dank stuff, the kind of keyboard gut-ripping that primarily resembles grime in the ‘Crime scene clean-up’ sense of the word.”
In reaction to Sd Laika’s death, Tri Angle founder Robin Carolan told Mixmag: “Peter was a very unique talent and I’m extremely saddened to hear of his passing. When I heard his music for the first time I was immediately aware I was listening to something truly original and incredibly forward-thinking. I don’t think Peter ever quite comprehended how good his music was, which is part of the reason I was so happy we were finally able to get That’s Harakiri out into the world, especially now given what’s happened. It exists as a testament to a musician who was genuinely operating in his own lane, and it’s a record I’ve always been immensely proud to have been given the opportunity to put out on Tri Angle. RIP Laika.”
