GENESIS BREYER P-ORRIDGE, avant-garde icon and founding member of cult experimental bands Throbbing Gristle and Psychic TV, has died, as Dais Records co-founder (and P-Orridge’s manager) Ryan Martin confirmed to Pitchfork. Martin shared a statement from P-Orridge’s daughters, Genesse and Caresse, who confirmed that their parent died the morning of March 14, 2020. P-Orridge was diagnosed with chronic myelomonocytic leukemia in 2017. P-Orridge was 70 years old.

P-Orridge identified as third gender, with the preferred pronouns she and her. The English musician, poet, performance artist, and occultist was best known for her influential work in the industrial music genre and was often referred to as the “Godparent of Industrial Music.” Her artistic stances on occultism, sex work, violence, and other taboo topics caused great controversy in the U.K.; this anti-establishment attitude and prolific output solidified her as status as an avant-garde cult figure.

P-Orridge was born Neil Andrew Megson in Victoria Park, Manchester and grew up in Essex. As a teenager, she attended Solihull School in Warwickshire where she developed interest in occultism, avant-garde art, and music. She dropped out of the University of Hull to join a London commune, and then departed the commune after three months to found avant-garde art and improvisational music collective COUM Transmissions and changing her name to Genesis P-Orridge. She helmed the famous Dadaist-inspired collective from 1969 to 1976. She formed Throbbing Gristle alongside Chris Carter, Peter “Sleazy” Christopherson, and Cosey Fanni Tutti towards COUM’s end.

Throbbing Gristle released their debut album “The Second Annual Report” in 1977 on their own Industrial Records. The band incorporated white noise, tape-based samples, and spoken-word poetry into their work, and were notorious for provocative imagery — such as Nazi concentration camps and pornography — used at their live shows. Their abrasive blend of rock, electronic, and punk ethos would go on to become the groundwork of industrial music. In total, Throbbing Gristle released nine full albums, despite breaking up in 1981 and getting back together almost two decades later. (SD-Agencies)