Remembering Benjamin Curtis - Stereogum

“When news broke that Benjamin Curtis had lost his battle with cancer on December 29, two basic trends seemed to dominate people’s reactions. With a common denominator of simply being crushed at the news of a prolific musician’s life being cut short at just 35, the reactions otherwise divided along generational lines. Music critics of a certain age mourned Curtis and reached back to the past — to his time in Secret Machines. Some referenced formative experiences seeing the band at New York clubs; plenty others acknowledged them as a rock band of the ’00s that never quite got their due. Younger writers, though they seemed to be fewer in numbers, knew Curtis from School Of Seven Bells, his band since his departure from Secret Machines in 2007. In either case, there was a common refrain. All manner of synonyms for “underrated” accompanied our mourning, and none of them were inaccurate. This is the second trend, the one attendant to the fact that people seemed to remember Curtis as having one of two separate and distinct lives and/or jobs. (He also had earlier stints as a drummer in UFOFU and Tripping Daisy.) No matter how we came to know Curtis, those of us who listened to some era of his music knew there was something special there that never got the full appreciation it deserved.”

— Ryan Leas (Stereogum)

A terrific essay on the loss of a great musician.

See also, this great piece by Ian Cohen at Grantland:

The nostalgic, “Damn, he made some music that was really good” tone of the condolences wasn’t a surprise; tragedy tends to galvanize opinion in this way. But the immediate and wide-ranging outpouring of the condolences and nostalgia was a surprise, as was the consensus and faintly apologetic nature of it all; people wish they were more adamant about this sadly overlooked and underrated artist in real time.

Nailed it. I dropped the band's name into conversations, and I even shoehorned a reference into the Juliana Hatfield fan site I run, but I know what Cohen means. 

As I said earlier this week my reborn zest for discovering new music owes so much to School Of Seven Bells,

If you haven't heard Disconnect From Desire or Ghostory, give them a go.

Benjamin Curtis 1978-2013

Last night, on the School Of Seven Bells Facebook page:

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

I read this late last night and even though I knew he was ill it was still a horrible shock. As it was with Kurt and John Peel, I had that heartbreaking feeling of losing someone who has touched your life even though you never met them.

I've been more engaged and excited by new music in the last couple of years than perhaps I've ever been, moreso than even during the great Melody Maker / Shoegazey excitement of the early 90's.

A lot of this is thanks to my late discovery of Disconnect From Desire, the second album from School of Seven Bells, a record I played several times a week for many months. 'Dreampop' or whatever label you want to put on it doesn't necessarily do it justice as it's music I find to be as engaging as it is mesmeric. In early 2012 I declared SVIIB as my favourite new band. Two years on and over 800 song plays later, it's hard to remember my collection without them.

Today hurts badly as a fan but my thoughts are with Benjamin's friends and family, not least Alejandra - his partner in life and the band.

An exceptional talent and a great loss. Thanks for everything. Your music shines on.