The Daily Swarm

Legendary ‘rave’ producer Eon, a.k.a. Ian Loveday, passed away Wednesday, June 17, from complications with pneumonia. He was one of the first producers to gain popularity amongst the late-80s/early-90s rave scene with hits like “Spice” and “Fear the Mind Killer”, the sound being a link between early techno and modern breakbeat.

As Eon, his tracks made their way to early 90s pirate radio stations in London, and then out on vinyl through small labels like BAAD and Vinyl Solution. He would release his most well-known tracks on the seminal album, ‘Void Dweller’ in 1992 at the height of the spread of modern dance music in the US. ‘Void Dweller’, with the hit ‘Spice’ owing its recognizable hook to a sample from David Lynch’s movie “Dune”, was one of the first major label releases, on Columbia, for producers in the burgeoning rave scene.

His work saw release on numerous labels over the years, including Hooj Toons and XL Recordings. In ‘93 he teamed up with fellow British acid pioneer Peter ‘Baby’ Ford, producing many classic tracks including ‘Dead Eye’ which would eventually be released as a single on Richie Hawtin’s Plus 8 label. Loveday would go on to release under his Minimal Man moniker up until just before his death.

Eon performed live at Fabric and on Radio One over the years, and worked with producers like Mark Moore (S’Express) and Marcus J Knight. Most recently, he had been busy in the studio with long time collaborator Baby Ford on some new projects.