Charlie Cooper, one half of the ambient electronic duo Telefon Tel Aviv, died January 22. The news was announced today by bandmate Joshua Eustis. Cooper was 31.
Eustis posted a letter to fans on the band’s MySpace blog, paying tribute to his friend and fellow musician. The announcement was devoid of any details on the circumstances surrounding Cooper’s death, which are as yet cloudy, according to CBS Chicago.
According to CBS, Cooper was last seen a little before midnight on January 21, when he left the home of a friend in the Wicker Park area of Chicago after arguing with his girlfriend. He had no contact with family or friends after that point until his body was found. CBS reports that Cooper has had a history of threatening suicide, but did not make any suicide claims last week. Medical examiners hope that an autopsy, scheduled to take place today, will help determine the cause of death.
The band had just released its third studio album, Immolate Yourself, January 20 on Bpitch Control.
The full text of Eustis’ announcement reads as follows:
Hello, Everyone.
It breaks my heart to inform you all that Charlie Cooper, my better half in Telefon Tel Aviv, passed away on January 22nd.
We have been friends since high school, and began making records together a decade ago. We have been so fortunate to tour the world together, while at the same time having a massive amount of laughs at one another’s expense.
Aside from Charlie’s singular genius and musical gifts, I can tell you that he was a total sweetheart of a guy, and a loving friend and confidant to people everywhere. His musicianship was surpassed only by his greater gift to the world – his warmth, his generosity, his unquenchable humor, and his undying loyalty to those whom he loved. In the spirit of honorable mention, however, I should mention that he had a shoe collection that was marvelous, knowledge of hip-hop that was profound, and knowledge of wine that was subtle.
He is survived by a sister, a neice, a nephew, his mother, his stepfather, me, and more adoring friends than the Universe has dark matter. As such, his family and I ask for your discretion and consideration of our privacy during these extremely turbulent waters.
Yours in Music,
Joshua Eustis
January 28th, 2009 at 12:26 am
This is so sad :’(
Telefon Tel Aviv is one of the best ambient techno bands around.
They were so innovative and interesting and it’s really sad that it had to end like this. I wish I had gotten to see them once.
January 28th, 2009 at 6:34 am
Wow… waaaay too young. I had the pleasure of seeing these guys in Atlanta with STS9 a couple of years ago. It was awesome.
January 28th, 2009 at 6:52 am
this is extremely saddening
January 28th, 2009 at 8:04 am
This is just very sad news.
I met Charlie by chance when TTA came to play in Los Angeles at the Blue Monkey lounge some years back. I got to the gig a bit early and decided I’d dine at the neighboring Thai take-out when in comes Charlie Cooper. With no one else dining at the place he grabs a table next to mine and we chatted for a bit as he stuffed himself of pad thai and egg rolls; a voracious one at that. Anyway, in those 20 or so minutes I felt like I’d known the guy for years just in his manner of being and unparalleled friendliness. He suggested I check out the film, “The Russian Ark”, which I did and we kept in touch casually both suggesting films to check out while hardly ever talking music. He was one of the coolest guys I would hardly get to know.
Wow, such sad news. Rest in peace, Charlie.
January 28th, 2009 at 8:51 am
rip charlie
the remix you did of too rude is my favorite song.. i listened to it all summer and it got me through some hard times.