Experimental music producer Sd Laika has died

Peter Runge, more commonly known as Sd Laika, has died.

The experimental music producer from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, passed away in 2023, a member of his family has confirmed in a statement sent to Mixmag.

His family shared a tribute with Mixmag, writing: “Peter was an immensely talented and original musician. He was also a super funny, smart, and kind-hearted person. Our family loves and misses him. We’re grateful to everyone in the music community who enjoyed and supported the art that meant so much to him.”

Mixmag also spoke to Robin Carolan, founder of Tri Angle Records, who shared his own tribute, writing: “Peter was a very unique talent and I’m extremely saddened to hear of his passing. When I heard his music for the first time I was immediately aware I was listening to something truly original and incredibly forward-thinking.

“I don’t think Peter ever quite comprehended how good his music was, which is part of the reason I was so happy we were finally able to get ‘That’s Harakiri’ out into the world, especially now given what’s happened. It exists as a testament to a musician who was genuinely operating in his own lane, and it’s a record I’ve always been immensely proud to have been given the opportunity to put out on Tri Angle. RIP Laika.”

Sd Laika first emerged in 2012 with his debut release ‘Unknown Vectors’, a six-track EP released via Louis Carnell AKA Visionist’s Lost Codes label, quickly catching attention in experimental circles with a style sometimes referred to as ‘Avant-Grime’, meshing volatile, abrasive noise textures with seismic square waves and 8-bit melodies.

In 2014 he signed to Tri Angle Records imprint, first releasing the received ‘Idiot Thug’ mix of 100% his own material in February that year, before following it up with a debut album ‘That’s Harakiri’ in April.

The release received critical acclaim, with his brash, mutant style of production praised as unique and innovative.

The release notes from Tri Angle stated: “It isn’t often an artist seems to materialize from nowhere with a sound so disinterested in following any conventional rules that it inspires equal measures bafflement and stunnedness, but in 2012 with the release of the ‘Unknown Vectors’ EP, Sd Laika did just that.

“Taking the already alien sounds of grime music as a starting off point and abrasively twisting them into something even more unknowable, Laika had developed a sound that defied any easy categorization.”

In the same year, Sd Laika was named by Aphex Twin as one of his favourite contemporary musicians in an interview with Groove.

Through his rise to prominence in the experimental sphere, Sd Laika maintained a low-key internet presence and not much was known about him publicly.

After self-releasing several tracks in 2015, ‘Mostly Trash’, ‘Sanpaku Island’ and ‘Dreadful John’, he released a final track in 2018, ‘Latent Fish’, a fast and pummelling experimental club track.

Although no more releases were heard from Sd Laika from there on out, his music—which often received airtime from electronic music’s leading names such as Björk in her Mixmag Cover Mix and Aphex Twin at Primavera Sound—continued to pop up in experimental DJ sets and be talked about as pioneering

Musical peers of Peter told Mixmag they had lost contact with him in recent years, with news of his death announced on his last.fm profile last month in a since-deleted comment, and now sadly confirmed by his family.

A number of tributes have been posted online in the last week, including from KAVARI, writing: “RIP SD LAIKA YOUR MUSIC CHANGED MY LIFE <3”, and CRYSTALLMESS, who wrote: “RIP SD LAIKA, ‘THAT’S HARAKIRI’ REMAINS A STAPLE OF BEAUTY”.

Listen to ‘That’s Harakiri’ below.

Patrick Hinton is Mixmag’s Editor & Digital Director, follow him on Twitter