Multi-instrumentalist, producer, singer, and songwriter Jose Vasquez – born in Los Angeles, California on May 30, 1979 – was better known by his stage name, The Soft Moon. Inspired by punk rock as a teenager, he moved to Oakland, California after graduating from high school and briefly joined psychedelic rock band Lumerians. In 2009, he formed the post-punk / electronic solo project The Soft Moon and signed with the Captured Tracks label. The following year, he released his first single, “Breathe the Fire,” and his self-titled debut album to critical acclaim. After nearly two years of working on his sophomore album, Jose Vasquez was robbed at gunpoint and his laptop computer – which contained a finished album and demos – was stolen. He was able to release a version of his second album, Zeros, in 2012. Relocating to Venice, Italy in 2013, he began to work on his third album, which was put on hold when The Soft Moon was the opening act for Depeche Mode’s 2014 tour. The Soft Moon released their third album, Deeper, in 2015, which was later reinvented on vinyl with two volumes of Deeper Remixed in 2016. After dealing with their van being broken into and losing equipment and merchandise, The Soft Moon was scheduled to tour with Killing Joke in 2016, but the tour was cancelled. Vasquez – and The Soft Moon – persevered and released Criminal in 2018,which also received a vinyl two volume Criminal Remixed release that same year. In 2021, Luis Vasquez issued the solo album A Body of Errors before returning with The Soft Moon’s fifth album, Exister. Jose Vasquez died on January 19, 2024, of a suspected fentanyl overdose. His body was found alongside those of DJ Silent Servant (John Juan Mendez) and Mendez’s wife Simone Ling, who also died of suspected overdoses.
