Cult Psych-Folk Musician Ed Askew Has Died
Ed Askew, the psych-folk singer-songwriter and painter, has died. He was 84. His musical collaborators Jay Pluck and Jerry David DeCicca each announced the news separately on Instagram, with DeCicca writing: “You were loved and always will be. Thank you for letting me be a part of your life & music. Producing For The World was an honor.” A cause of death has not been announced.
Born in 1940 and raised in Connecticut, Askew studied to become a painter before he considered making music. After graduating from Yale School Of Art in 1963, he began a nearby teaching job and started writing songs in his free time. He also bought his first Martin Tiple — a 10-string instrument similar to a ukelele — which he’d go on to use often in his music. In 1968 he released his debut album Ask The Unicorn, which was reissued by Drag City in 2015 as part of a resurgence of interest in Askew’s work.
After moving to New York City in the ’80s, Askew would establish himself as a local underground acid-folk legend. He put out 11 proper studio albums throughout his career — 2011’s Drag City release Imperfiction and 2013’s aforementioned For The World, which include most of his top-streamed tracks — and over the past couple of years, he’s regularly released songs on his extensive Bandcamp page. He frequently collaborated with other singer-songwriters, too, including Chris Gantry and Sharon Van Etten.
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