J Saul Kane, the UK producer who as Depth Charge was an influential figure in ’90s dance music, has died at age 55. The news broke via his friend, S-Express‘ Mark Moore, who wrote, “Very sad to be saying goodbye to J Saul Kane. Creator of so many magnificent tracks under the name of Depth Charge, Octagon Man and more.” No cause of death has been shared.
Moore went on to say, “Jonathan was super talented. I mean PROPER talented. Jonathan and I had mad laughs but he could also be super complicated. I may never know why he distanced himself from so many of his friends over the years but I’ll always remember the fun we had and his surreal sense of humour and I will smile every-time.”
Born in 1969, Kane started making music in the late ’80s, and with a style that featured orchestral samples including both spaghetti westerns and kung-fu films, Depth Charge was an early trip hop pioneer. He also made music as The Octagon Man, and was an influence on the big beat and breakbeat scenes. He ran labels DC Recordings and Electron Industries, and his love of kung-fu extended into being the UK distributor of Shaw Brothers films on VHS in the early ’90s.
Other tributes: Coldcut wrote, “Fly good brother Jonathan & thank you for your influence on Coldcut – Your wonderful remix of Keleketla’s Crystallise – you will be missed – A truly one of a kind original human.”
Sabres of Paradise wrote, “We are extremely shocked and deeply saddened by the passing of the electronic pioneer J Saul Kane. His incredible musical output under various pseudonyms was beyond compare. Under his infamous moniker of Depth Charge he also created a truly jaw dropping remix of Tow Truck for the Sabres. When we first played the remix he delivered in Sabresonic Studios we were absolutely gob smacked & completely in awe of what Jon has created, so much so that we actually decided to incorporate his remix into our gigs by playing his remix live. RIP Jonathan Saul Kane another one taken far too soon.”
Optimo wrote, “J Saul Kane was a giant of music (in our world), a forward thinking pioneering producer, and sadly a little forgotten in recent times. We were both big fans of his way before Optimo was ever conceived, and that fandom was one of our common points of interest that brought us together.”
Rest easy, Jonathan. Listen to some of his music below.
J Saul Kane RIP
Fly good brother Jonathan & thank you for your influence on @coldcut – Your wonderful remix of Keleketla’s Crystallise – you will be missed – A truly one of a kind original human
— Coldcut (@Coldcut) November 19, 2024