Pitchfork

Our hearts sank this afternoon upon reading an item posted on Philebrity.com today, which reports that Philadelphia psych icon Jason DiEmilio has passed away. Born in 1970, DiEmilio was an integral figure in Philly's celebrated Psychedelphia scene, releasing countless albums, singles, and cassettes under the Azusa Plane moniker on his own Doorstep Vinyl and Colorful Clouds for Acoustics labels. The Azusa Plane live band also included Mazarin's Quentin Stoltzfus on drums, and DiEmilio sometimes performed solo under the name the Spires of Oxford.

DiEmilio excelled at conjuring sprawling, hypnotic sounds from his guitar, drawing inspiration from Spacemen 3 and other propagators of psych, drone, and noise. He found a devout audience among fans of spiritual cousins like Bardo Pond, Windy & Carl, and Flying Saucer Attack. Beyond his music, DiEmilio was admired for his strong DIY ethic. No additional details of DiEmilio's passing are known at this time. He will be missed.