Esta mañana hemos amanecido con la triste noticia del fallecimiento de Benjamin Curtis. Ya informamos hace unos meses de su delicado estado de salud, cuando se le detectó un cáncer. El periódico local Dallas Observer confirmaba su triste adiós, que llega a los 35 años de edad.

Curtis formó parte de bandas como UFOFU (en los 90, junto a su hermano Brandon) y Secret Machines o Tripping Daisy, aunque  su proyecto más célebre fue, claro, School Of Seven Bells, que lideró junto a Alejandra Deheza. Claudia Deheza, hermana de Alejandra, formó parte del proyecto, aunque su último trabajo, Ghostory, se produjo ya sin su concurso.

La noticia se confirmó posteriormente a través de un comunicado de prensa, en el que se informaba que Curtis, nacido el 23 de Septiembre de 1978, había perdido su lucha contra la enfermedad el pasado domingo 29 de Diciembre. La banda facilitó un comunicado a través de Facebook en el que mostró su gratitud por el apoyo recibido. Por su interés, lo reproducimos íntegro:

Dear friends,

Last night, Dec. 29th 2013, we lost our friend and brother Benjamin Curtis to his fight against cancer.

While we had hoped to delay this announcement until a more suitable time when his friends and family could feel better prepared and settled to greet any correspondences from folks attempting to reach out, unfortunately the news has prematurely leaked. So we felt it would be appropriate to at least offer an official acknowledgement from us, in light of all the fans who loved and supported Benjamin and his music.

We kindly ask that his immediate family, friends & bandmates’ privacy be respected during this time, and that instead, any inquires, well wishes, or notes-of-consolation be sent through School of Seven Bells’ management, where it can be shared with them at the suitable time. They can be sent to a special e-mail address here: sviib@wizkidmanagement.com

If relevant, further information will be made available through the suitable channels in the near future.

We can’t thank all of you who supported him and his music through the years enough. All of you who attended or participated in the various benefits in and around New York City over the past year since his diagnosis, and of course those who contributed and gave generously to help support him throughout that journey. You made it possible for all of us, and for him, to see how truly loved he was and how many lives he had touched through his music by your gestures. We will all miss this incredibly talented and rare person every day, but we are fortunate enough that he shared with us his music, and that is something that we can keep forever