Monte Cazazza, industrial music pioneer, dead at 68
Industrial music pioneer and Throbbing Gristle affiliate, Monte Cazazza, has died aged 68. Cazazza is so closely linked to the genre that he has long been thought to have been the first to use the word “industrial” to describe its sound.
Cazazza passed away on June 29th after battling an illness. His collaborator Meri St. Mary confirmed the news on Twitter. “It is With immense sadness and Love I had to let Monte go,” she wrote.
The statement continued: “He was very ill & in pain so I take comfort in the fact that that part is over but I miss him already! Where ever it is we go off to I am certain He will be causing trouble in his own way RIP the One & Only Monte Cazazza.”
Cazazza was instrumental in the development of industrial music through his recordings with British band and art collective Throbbing Gristle’s Industrial Records in the mid-1970s.
Known for his work in sound collage, Cazazza released eight studio albums in his time, with him one of the first signees to Industrial Records. It is rumoured that he defined the genre by describing his and his affiliates’ sound as “industrial music for industrial people”. His final album was 2010’s The Cynic.
Cazazza was known for his frequent work with Factrix, the experimental/industrial group from San Francisco. He also recorded soundtracks for Mark Pauline and his performance group, Survival Research Laboratories. His later oeuvre included co-founding the independent distribution and film company MMFilms with Michelle Handelman and recording several soundtracks.
Elsewhere, Cazazza collaborated with Chaos of the Night, The Atom Smashers, The Love Force and Esperik Glare. He would link up with former Throbbing Gristle leader Genesis P-Orridge’s collective, Psychic TV, and contribute to nine albums by them.
See Meri St. Mary’s announcement below.
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