Holger Czukay, the co-founder and bassist of the iconic Krautrock band Can, has died, Cologne newspaper Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger reports. He was 79. He was reportedly found dead in the original Can studio in Weilerswist (formerly a movie theater) near Cologne, where he had allegedly been living. His cause of death is unknown. The band released a statement Wednesday via Facebook—read it below. Czukay’s death marks the second loss for the band this year; founding drummer Jaki Liebezeit passed away in January. A prolific inventor, Czukay helped pioneer sampling, which at the time involved the laborious process of manually cutting tape. Aside from his work with Can, he released several solo albums, including his most recent, 2015’s Eleven Years Innerspace.
Can got their start in 1968. In addition to playing bass for the band, Czukay also engineered and recorded the vast majority of their albums. Their debut Monster Movie was released in 1969. He would go on to release nine albums in total with the band. He left Can shortly after their 1977 album Out of Reach to focus on his a solo career. He released his debut LP Movie! the following year. It was recently reissued in 2016. Czukay also collaborated with several artists over the course of his career, including U.N.K.L.E, Brian Eno, and Eurythmics.
In June, the band released a new compilation collectiong their hits, Can — The Singles. Last year, founding member Irmin Schmidt joined the band’s first singer, Malcolm Mooney for a 50-year anniversary show. Liebezeit was scheduled to appear before his death. Can are due to release an autobiography, All Gates Open, in 2018.
In a Facebook post, Can wrote:
