Award-winning DJ-producer Peter Rauhofer has died from a brain tumour at the age of 48.
Originally from Austria, Rauhofer moved to New York in the early 1990 where he set up pivotal tribal house label Star 69. He also performed under the name, as well as aliases House Heroes and Sizequeen, collaborated regularly with Victor Calderone, and remixed everyone from Depeche Mode and Madonna to Funky Green Dogs and Cevin Fisher.
Rauhofer’s manager Angelo Russo claimed that the music industry had “lost one of its true heroes” before adding: “Through his music, Peter will live forever. The brightest stars always burn out too soon.”
Tributes have also been pouring in from many of Rauhofer’s dancefloor peers. DJ Sharam tweeted: that he was “shocked and saddened” by the news, whilst Nic Fanciulli posted: “RIP Peter Rauhofer. Thank you for some amazing records.”
Rauhofer won a Grammy for Remixer Of The Year in 2000, following his 1998 ‘Star 69’ remix of Cher’s worldwide number one hit I Believe. Many of his pumping commercial remixes can be viewed as an early precursor of today’s Stateside EDM movement.
He died in New York on Tuesday, survived by his mother Helga, who lives in Vienna.
