Will Cullen Hart, a co-founder of the Elephant 6 collective and member of bands reminiscent of The Olivia Tremor Management, Circulatory System, and extra, has died. He was 53 years previous.
Hart handed away on the morning of Friday, November twenty ninth of pure causes, “out of the blue, peacefully,” in line with a Fb publish made by fellow Elephant 6 founder (and The Apples in Stereo frontman) Robert Schneider. In a tragic circumstance of timing, Hart’s dying occurred on the identical day that The Olivia Tremor Management launched their first new music in over a decade: the songs “Backyard of Mild” and “The Similar Place.”
In his publish, Schneider defined that the songs had been initially supposed to be a part of an idea album by The Olivia Tremor Management, however the undertaking was halted after the dying of badmember Invoice Doss in 2012. Through the manufacturing of the current Elephant 6 documentary, although, Hart’s ardour to complete the music was reignited — regardless of affected by a number of sclerosis, he returned to the studio with a variety of collaborators and accomplished the tracks.
“These stunning songs — maybe among the many greatest psychedelic pop songs ever recorded — exist at this time,” Schneider wrote. “Kelly [Hart’s wife] informed me that this morning Will was excited and blissful to see individuals had been downloading it. In the present day is a day of victory for W. Cullen Hart — his final day represented a triumph. In the present day is the day that Will’s perseverance, his sincerity, his wrestle with MS, and his devotion to Invoice and their widespread imaginative and prescient, bears fruit.”
“Backyard of Mild” and “The Similar Place” can be found as standalone singles on Bandcamp, and had been launched with the Elephant 6 documentary’s vinyl soundtrack. Stream the tracks, and skim the complete publish from Schneider, beneath.
Hart was born in 1971 and grew up in Ruston, Louisiana, the place he befriended Schneider, Doss, and future-Impartial Milk Resort founder, Jeff Mangum. After highschool, he relocated to Athens, Georgia, the place The Olivia Tremor Management grew to become a beloved act due to their dwell performances and EPs. In 1996, they launched their debut album, Music from the Unrealized Movie Script: Nightfall at Cubist Fortress.
The band followed-up Cubist Fortress with 1999’s Black Foliage: Animation Music Quantity One, a notable entry within the annals of psychedelic rock historical past. After Doss’ dying in 2012, the band hoped to finish their “third and ultimate document,” nevertheless it’s unclear what is going to turn out to be of that undertaking within the wake of Hart’s passing.
Along with Schneider, many buddies, followers, and collaborators are paying tribute to Hart, like Olivia Tremor Management member John Fernandes, who wrote, “I take some solace in the truth that Will bought to see the discharge of the Elephant 6 e-book, Infinite Infinite, and the discharge of the Elephant 6 film. And on the morning when he handed, he was excited concerning the launch of two new The Olivia Tremor Management tracks and was drawing… You can be missed, Will, however will dwell on in our recollections and all the gorgeous output you launched on the planet. I like you Will!”