Jose Luis Vasquez (May 30, 1979 – January 18, 2024), known professionally as the Soft Moon, was an American musician and record producer. Vasquez was the lead vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and sole official member of the Soft Moon, which he founded in 2009.

Early life

Vasquez was born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, to a Cuban immigrant mother, and to a Mexican father who was never present in his life. At the age of nine, the family relocated to

Victorville, California Victorville is a city in Victor Valley in San Bernardino County, California. Its population as of the 2020 census was 134,810. Victorville is the principal city of a Victor Valley–based urban area defined by the United States Census Bureau: ...

, a town in the

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert (; ; ) is a desert in the rain shadow of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains and Transverse Ranges in the Southwestern United States. Named for the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous Mohave people, it is located pr ...

. As a teenager, Vasquez started out playing

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

inspired by

Descendents The Descendents are an American punk rock band formed in Manhattan Beach, California, in 1977, by guitarist Frank Navetta, bassist Tony Lombardo and drummer Bill Stevenson (musician), Bill Stevenson as a power pop/surf music, surf punk band. I ...

Bad Religion Bad Religion is an American punk rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1980. The band's lyrics cover topics related to religion, politics, society, the media and science. Musically, they are noted for their melodic sensibilities and ...

Bad Brains Bad Brains are an American punk rock band formed in Washington, D.C., in 1976. They are widely regarded as pioneers of hardcore punk, though the band's members have objected to the use of this term to describe their music. They are also an ade ...

Fugazi Fugazi (; ) is an American post-hardcore band formed in Washington, D.C., in 1986. The band consists of guitarists and vocalists Ian MacKaye and Guy Picciotto, bassist Joe Lally, and drummer Brendan Canty. They were noted for their style-transc ...

and

Minor Threat Minor Threat was an American hardcore punk band, formed in 1980 in Washington, D.C., by vocalist Ian MacKaye and drummer Jeff Nelson. MacKaye and Nelson had played in several other bands together, and recruited bassist Brian Baker and guita ...

. After graduating from Hesperia High School, he moved to

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

where he briefly played in San Francisco-based psychedelic band Lumerians as a percussionist.

Career

As Luis Vasquez, he created the Soft Moon project in 2009, and shortly after, Brooklyn-based label

Captured Tracks Captured Tracks is an American independent record label based in Brooklyn, New York. The label was founded in 2008 by Mike Sniper. About Current flagship artists include: Craft Spells, DIIV and Wild Nothing. Captured Tracks has reissued reco ...

approached him with a record deal. In 2010 his first single "Breathe The Fire" and "Parallels" were released on 7" vinyl under the Captured Tracks imprint. His first album with the Soft Moon was released in 2010 and the band toured in 2011, opening in the US for

Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL (abbreviated as ICPO–INTERPOL), commonly known as Interpol ( , ; stylized in allcaps), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime cont ...

and

Mogwai Mogwai () are a Scottish post-rock band, formed in 1995 in Glasgow. The band consists of Stuart Braithwaite (guitar, vocals), Barry Burns (guitar, piano, synthesizer, vocals), Dominic Aitchison (bass guitar), and Martin Bulloch (drums). Mogwa ...

. In 2012, Vasquez was robbed at gunpoint while walking in his Oakland neighborhood, and his backpack with a laptop containing a finished album and two years' worth of demos were stolen. In October of that year, the Soft Moon released its second album, '' Zeros''. He moved abroad to

Venice, Italy Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are linked by 438 bridge ...

in 2013 to write his third album, '' Deeper'', which was released in 2015. The album's lead single, "Black", earned Best New Track honors from ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

''. While writing the album, The Soft Moon opened for

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music, electronic band formed in Basildon, Essex in 1980. Originally formed with the line-up of Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andy Fletcher (musician), Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke, the band currently consists ...

on a European leg of their Delta Machine Tour in 2014. The Soft Moon was scheduled to open for

Killing Joke Killing Joke were an English rock music, rock band formed in Notting Hill, London, in 1979 by Jaz Coleman (vocals, keyboards), Paul Ferguson (drums), Geordie Walker (guitar) and Youth (musician), Youth (bass). Their first album, ''Killing Joke ...

's 2016 North American tour, but Killing Joke canceled because of a band member's illness. During a performance in Oakland on January 29, 2016, the band's van was broken into, with luggage, recording equipment, records and merchandise stolen. The Soft Moon's fourth album, ''

Criminal In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definiti ...

'', was released in 2018 and was recorded in a basement studio in Vasquez's new home city of

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. It was his first album on

Sacred Bones Records Sacred Bones Records is an American independent record label founded in 2007 and based in Brooklyn, New York. The label has released recordings from artists including Zola Jesus, David Lynch, John Carpenter, Spellling, Blanck Mass, Crystal S ...

. The Soft Moon's fifth and final album, '' Exister'', was released on September 23, 2022. The Soft Moon performed at

Roadburn Festival The Roadburn Festival is an annual music festival held each April in Tilburg, Netherlands. It was founded by Walter Hoeijmakers and Jurgen van den Brand in 1999, who ran a stoner rock blog of the same name. The festival has been held at Tilburg ...

in Tilburg, Netherlands on April 20, 2023, and the Cruel World Festival in

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial d ...

, California, on May 20. The last The Soft Moon performance was at Thalia Hall in Chicago, Illinois, as part of Sanctum Fest on October 28, 2023. On October 18, 2023, Luis Vasquez announced via The Soft Moon's social media, that he was creating an original score for a short film entitled, ''Pumpkin Guts''. The film was written and directed by Bryan M. Ferguson, who also directed the music video for ''Exister'' single, "Monster".

Death

Vasquez accidentally died on January 18, 2024, at age 44, alongside techno DJ Silent Servant (John Juan Mendez) and Mendez's partner Simone Ling, from the effects of fentanyl, cocaine, ketamine, and ethanol. Their three bodies were discovered at Mendez's Los Angeles residence later that day after Vasquez's wife called for a welfare check. Their deaths were reported the following day.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''The Soft Moon'' (

, 2010) * ''Zeros'' (

, 2012) * ''Deeper'' (

, 2015) * ''Criminal'' (

, 2018) * ''A Body of Errors'' (released as Luis Vasquez, 2021) * ''Exister'' (

, 2022)

Remix albums

* ''Deeper Remixed'' (

/ aufnahme + wiedergabe, 2016) * ''Criminal Remixed'' (

/ aufnahme + wiedergabe, 2018) * ''Exister Remixed (

/ BITE, 2023)''

EPs

* '' Total Decay'' (

, 2011)

Singles

* "Breathe The Fire" (7" / Digital) – (

, 2010) * "Parallels" (7" / Digital) – (

, 2010) *"Die Life" (2012) *"Insides" (2012) * "Feel" (7" / Cassette / Digital) – (self-released, 2014) *"Far" (2015) *"Wasting" (2015) *"Black" (2015) *"Want" (2015) *"Wrong" (2015) *"Burn" (2018) *"Choke" (2018) *"It Kills" (2018) *"Like A Father" (2018) *"Give Something" (2018) *"HIM (Feat. fish narc) (2022) *"Become The Lies" (2022) *"Monster" (2022)

Collaborations

* "Evidence" – with

John Foxx John Foxx (born Dennis Leigh; 26 September 1948) is an English singer, musician, artist, photographer, graphic designer, writer, teacher and lecturer. He was the original lead singer of the New wave music, new wave band Ultravox, before leaving ...

and the Maths – (

, 2012) *"COLORS" (

HEALTH Health has a variety of definitions, which have been used for different purposes over time. In general, it refers to physical and emotional well-being, especially that associated with normal functioning of the human body, absent of disease, p ...

x The Soft Moon") ( Loma Vista, 2020) *"X-Rays & Šostakovic" (Matteo Vallicelli x The Soft Moon) (2021) *"HIM" (Feat. fish narc") (

, 2022) *"Unforgiven" (Feat. Alli Logout") (

, 2022)

Remixes

– "San Pedro" (The Soft Moon Remix) (2012) * How to Destroy Angels – "Ice Age" (The Soft Moon Remix) (2012) * Trentemøller – "Complicated" (The Soft Moon Remix) (2016) * Boy Harsher – "Pain" (The Soft Moon Remix) (2018) * Jakuzi – "Ne teselli ne avuntu" (The Soft Moon Remix) (2019) * She Past Away – "Rituel" (The Soft Moon Remix) (2020) * Qual – "VR Slaves" (The Soft Moon Remix) (2022) * Patriarchy – "Good Boy" (The Soft Moon Remix) (2023) * Editors – "Kiss" (The Soft Moon Remi) (2023) * M83 – "Oceans Niagara" (The Soft Moon Remix) (2024)

Soundtracks

* ''Pumpkin Guts'' (2024)

Cover songs

* "No-one driving" (John Foxx) (2016) * "Black Sabbath" (Black Sabbath) (2020)

Lineup

Although Vasquez wrote, recorded and produced alone, he was joined by other members for live performances. ;Final lineup * Matteo Vallicelli – drums * Luigi Pianezzola – bass guitar ;Former members * Damon Way – drum machine, sequencer, synthesizer * Justin Anastasi – bass guitar * Keven Tecon – drums

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Soft Moon, The 1979 births 2024 deaths American dark wave musical groups American industrial rock musical groups American noise rock music groups American post-punk music groups American musicians of Cuban descent American musicians of Mexican descent Captured Tracks artists Drug-related deaths in California Musical groups established in 2009 Musical groups from Oakland, California Sacred Bones Records artists