Last night (Australian time) Twitter was flooded with reports that French DJ Mehdi had been involved in an "accident" and had passed away.
Sadly, news reports this morning confirmed those rumours. According to
DJ Mag, Mehdi was with a group of friends on a rooftop in Paris, celebrating the birthday of Riton, his partner in Carte Blanche, when the roof collapsed. "A number of others are reported to have been seriously injured in the tragic accident," says the report. "Riton, aka Henry Smithson, is said to be the only person not to have fallen through the roof." Mehdi was 34.
DJ Mehdi (aka Mehdi Faveris-Essadi) was a French born hip-hop/electro producer of Tunisian descent, who rose through the ranks of the French electro scene to become an influential member of Ed Banger records, working with the likes of MC Solarr, Daft Punk, Cassius, Carol King, and Chromeo. Recently, he had teamed up with Busy P, Cassius, and Justice under DJ name Club 75, as well as his partnership with Rosin under the Carte Blanche moniker. He was due to return to Australia at the end of 2011, to
appear alongside Ed Banger boss Busy P at the Summadayze festivals.
Twitter reactions:
“The void he has left behind is unbearable” – Bloody Beetroots
"I can only see mehdi smiling.. He was always so happy he always smiling in all my memories he did everything with so much positivity." - Diplo
"One year ago you dj'd MoMA Warm Up. After 2 hours u yelled in my ear "the highlight of my summer, thank you" Thank YOU Mehdi. Love from DFA" - DFA
"We lost our brother. No words." - Chromeo
"Words fail us right now. What a smiler, what a gent, what a DJ, what a producer. you will be missed." - Fabric London