Singer, DJ and BPitch Control artist Aérea Negrot has died

Berlin-based Venezuelan DJ and singer-songwriter Aérea Negrot has died aged 43-years-old.

As confirmed by her label, BPitch Control, the artist – whose real name was Danielle Gallegos – had previously been a classically trained dancer before working in music.

Born in Venezuela’s capital Caracas, Gallegos was raised by a family of professional dancers however her ballet career was haltered after a knee injury.

Due to this, Gallegos moved her passion to nightclubs and started the group Familia Felíz with Fata Kiefer and Milton Fermat before releasing their track ‘La Disco’.

Her stage name was inspired by her interest in travel and the inspiration from singers Toña La Negra and Olga Guillot.

In an interview with Remezcla, she revealed she first performed as Aérea Negrot aged 17 at Amsterdam’s Central Station, which later saw her secure a place at the London Centre of Contemporary Music.

After this, in 2008, she joined Andy Butler’s Hercules & Love Affair project and went on to contribute vocals for a collection of tracks from their 2011 album, ‘Blue Songs’.

Gallegos was later signed to Ellen Allien’s label BPitch Control which saw her release her debut album ‘Arabxilla’ in 2011 as well as multiple EPs.

She had also worked with the likes of Matias Aguayo, Miguel Toro, Billie Ray Martin, System of Survival, Massimiliano Paggliara and others.

The label’s announcement reads: “We are beyond heartbroken over the passing of our treasured and brilliant Danielle, artistically known as Aérea Negrot.”

Read BPitch Control’s full statement below as well as other tributes to the artist.

Becky Buckle is Mixmag’s Multimedia Editor, follow her on Twitter