This is terrible news. I’ve just learned that Dave Tyack is dead. And has been since 2002. And that his body was not found until 2004.
For those of you who don’t know, Dave Tyack was an extraordinarily talented musician and composer. I first heard him in about 1999 or 2000 on Radio 3’s “Night Waves”, specifically a tune from his “Am Deister” album (recording as “Dakota Oak”), called ‘da wollen wir him’. It sounds a little like Blue Rondo a la Turque, and was instantly captivating.
I sent Dave an email, saying how much I’d enjoyed his music. He was quietly amazed, I think, that anyone in their 40s, who worked in the City and wore — shock — a suit and tie could like his music. He emailed back to that effect, anyway, and I recall him saying that his ‘Dakota Oak’ persona was just a phase. I think he was teaching in a school at the time.
And now he’s dead, in what sound like particularly tragic circumstances:
Dave was found dead on the island of Corsica in June 2004, nearly two years after being declared missing, having apparently fallen to his death. An album titled Rip Van Winkle which featured his music was released posthumously[2]. The album contained a reading of Rip Van Winkle, read by former Can front man Malcolm Mooney.
Source: Wikipedia
Am Deister is still one of the most haunting, funny, quirky albums I know of. It’s a great shame that Dave did not live longer — 24, what a shocking waste.
notsokrates 