RIP Benjamin Curtis of School of Seven Bells

I had heard the news that Benjamin Curtis was battling cancer, but it still somehow came as a total shock when I found out he passed away last night.

Needless to say, he was way too young. You can find a note with more info from his manager here.

I had the pleasure of meeting Benjamin in studio during the two School of Seven Bells live performances on MBE and he couldn’t have been lovelier. The band has some stunner songs — “Half Asleep“, “Windstorm” and “I L U” — particularly the live acoustic version below.

As fate would have it, photographer Andrew Youssef, who also lost a battle with cancer earlier this month, was in studio to photograph their last visit in 2010 and you can see his beautiful photos below.

by Andrew Youssef