Peter Rehberg, founder of record label Editions Mego, dies aged 53

Peter Rehberg, the British-Austrian founder of pioneering record label Editions Mego, has died aged 53.

As reported in The Guardian, Rehberg died of a heart attack and news of Rehberg’s passing was first shared by his collaborator François Bonnet, who records as Kassel Jaeger, and Bonnet’s label INA-grm.

Bonnet wrote on Instagram: “I am heartbroken. Peter is gone, suddenly. Just like that. He hated goodbyes, effusions. Out of reserve. Out of sensitivity. He was one of the most kind, loyal and reliable people I have ever known. I feel privileged to have known him, to have collaborated with him and to have been his friend. I owe him so much. So do many of us.”

He continued: “The last time I listened to him playing live, it was in Paris, February 2020, in a small venue, with an average sound system. His concert was great, though. I was really impressed. Each time, more and more impressed. Over the years, his music has become denser. It was still radical and bold, but it was also deeper, more ambivalent, more moving too. It revealed unfathomable depths.

“We sometimes forget how talented a musician Peter Rehberg was, because of so much energy he devoted to the music of others. But he was an amazing musician.”

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A post shared by Kassel Jaeger (@kasseljaeger)

Rehberg was born in Tottenham and raised in Hertfordshire before moving to his father’s native Austria.

An artist in his own right, Rehberg released many noise and ambient albums across a career that spanned 25 years. Some of his collaborators included Jim Jim O’Rourke, Christian Fennesz, and Sunn O)))’s Stephen O’Malley.

He released his debut album, ‘Seven Tons For Free’, as Pita in 1995; the previous year, he worked in a management role at Australia music label, Mego, which housed underground musicians and composers.

A year later, Rehberg relaunched the label as Editions Mego. Now a famed home for electronic music, it works with artists including Oneohtrix Point Never, Emeralds and Caterina Barbieri.
Rehberg is survived by his partner Laura Siegmund, his father Alexander, brother Michael and his daughter Natasha, from a previous relationship.

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