Scott Hardkiss RIP
Scott Hardkiss (click to access his Facebook)
Peers of acclaimed US DJ/ producer Scott Hardkiss including Josh Wink, the Chemical Brothers and Nick Warren took to Twitter to write eulogies this week, after the San Francisco breakbeat legend died suddenly, aged 43.
“So sad that friend ?#ScottHardkiss has passed on! His music and vivid memories will stay in my heart! ?#RIP:” Josh wrote, echoing Justin Robertson’s poignant reaction.
“This is terrible terrible news, such a great man,” he wrote, “i am so sad, lovely lovely guy RIP Scott.”
Helping to pioneer America’s West Coast rave scene of the 90s, Scott (real name Scott Friedel) was one of the most popular and critically respected characters in America’s club scene and continued to perform regularly throughout the States. Visiting Miami’s Winter Conference last week he appeared cheerful, tweeting Yeah, ‘WMC, I’ve been here 20 minutes and all I see is a sea of fakers. Think I’ll hop a flight to Havana until its time to play’, adding soon afterwards ‘On second thought I may swim…’
On Facebook, however, he presented a decidedly darker picture of his life in a number on posts including a particularly graphic posting about going blind in one eye, having surgery, then struggling with his sight again after his vision failed again.
“Over a year ago I got corneal transplantation surgery from a recently deceased donor to try to restore vision in my left eye, which had gone blind from a degenerative disease called Keratoconus,” he wrote.
“I’m a little freaked out. But at least I’m alive and at the worst I’ll just probably go back to being blind in on eye. But people who say to me “At least it’s not your ears” do really upset me, they’re thinking about themselves and I would honestly rather see,” he wrote (Facebook: http://on.fb.me/ZX57An )
Writing last week, he sounded similarly downcast, musing ‘friends…how many of us have them? Friends…ones we can depend on?’ though his Facebook ‘About’ message remained resolutely upbeat.
“Play it from the heart or don’t play it at all. Show some love & enthusiasm or get out of the way & stop wasting our precious time. Stay up.” http://on.fb.me/14uGgsq
Jonty Skrufff: https://twitter.com/djjontyskrufff
