Prolific French Producer and Cassius Member Philippe Zdar Dies After Falling from Building

One-half of French house duo Cassius and prolific producer Philippe “Zdar” Cerboneschi has died after accidentally falling from a window of a building in Paris two days short of his album’s release, per the New York Times. He was 52 years old.

Zdar was a central figure in the “French Touch” electronic movement (out of which Daft Punk arose) as a member of Cassius, which quickly rose to prominence in the electronic scene in the late ‘90s. The group’s latest studio effort Dreems was set for release on Friday, June 21.

Alongside his work with Cassius, Zdar was known for producing a number of critically acclaimed works, including Phoenix’s Grammy Award-winning album Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix and Cat Power’s Sun. The producer also recorded Kanye West on the Watch the Throne cut “Why I Love You.”

Following the news breaking on Wednesday night, a number of prominent and emergent artists and producers came forward to memorialize the artist, including Rostam, Calvin Harris and Mark Ronson. See their tributes to Zdar below.

So fucking sad to learn about Philippe Zdar last night. A true, true legend whose influence hangs over not just dance but indie, hip hop, all of it. I remember buying Feeling For You when it first came out and being blown away… My condolences to his family and friends

— Mark Ronson (@MarkRonson) June 20, 2019

Awful news about Phillipe Zdar, what an unbelievably lovely man with an incredible legacy. I was mesmerized by this record as a 15 year old https://t.co/H79OZ19Nxq

— Calvin Harris (@CalvinHarris) June 20, 2019

philippe zdar was such a huge inspiration. i remember spending weeks mastering ‘unbelievers’ — putting it up against phoenix’s ‘1901’ as the benchmark of an incredible mix, —nothing could touch it. we had to mix it over and over again just to get close.

— Rostam (@matsoR) June 20, 2019