David Berman has died aged 52.
The singer/songwriter – known for his projects Silver Jews, and Purple Mountains – passed away yesterday, his label Drag City Records have confirmed.
A message on their Twitter account read: "We couldn’t be more sorry to tell you this. David Berman passed away earlier today. A great friend and one of the most inspiring individuals we’ve ever known is gone. Rest easy, David."
David was due to start a North American tour this weekend to promote Purple Mountains’ self-titled debut album, which was released just last month.
He previously formed Silver Jews with Stephen Malkmus and Bob Nastanovich, and the group went on to drop six studio albums from 1994 to 2008.
The band had numerous line-up changes over the years, but David remained a constant member.
Before finding out David had died, Stephen tweeted: "I’m not up on astrology/cosmic slop –is there something up ??
cuz a lot of xxxtra bad stuff is happening to friends and also in the [world] #hippytwitter (sic)"
He then wrote: "I didn’t know about my friend DCB when I wrote this must have been in the air .His death is f**king dark ..depression is crippling.. he was a one of a kinder the songs he wrote were his main passion esp at the end. Hope death equals peace cuz he could sure use it (sic)"
In a statement released via Pitchfork, Bob said: "I was saddened to hear that David died. Stephen called me to tell me this afternoon.
"For most of my life, I was amazed by David as a person, a humorist and a writer. It was enlightening to have such a talented friend at a young age and realize that the talent wasn’t always a blessing.
"David battled mental illness for nearly all of his life. He had professional help and the unyielding support of hundreds of good friends. He had many loving and devoted fans.
"Please try to cherish your memories of him and his words and music including his last album Purple Mountains.
"I know I will and I’m grateful that the list of good memories and stories is long."
David Berman dead at 52
