Nigerian Funk Musician William Onyeabor is dead!

Nigerian Funk Musician William Onyeabor sadly passed away peacefully in his sleep on Monday following a brief illness and was discovered dead at his Enugu home, according to a statement posted to his Facebook page. He was 70.

Onyeabor is credited with pioneering a futuristic brand of afro-funk music that was heavily rhythmic and synthesized in style, featuring politically charged lyrics decrying war and oppression. Between 1977 and 1985, he composed nine albums, which he recorded, pressed, and printed himself at his personal pressing plant in southeast Nigeria.

In 1985, Onyeabor became a born-again Christian and all but abandoned his music career.

Two decades later, however, Onyeabor’s catalog saw renewed interest thanks to Who Is William Onyeabor?, an authorized compilation album organized by Talking Heads’ David Byrnes. To support the release, Byrne also formed a touring supergroup called Atomic Bomb! Band, which played a series of concerts and music festivals. The likes of Damon Albarn, Dev Hynes, Hot Chip’s Alexis Taylor, and LCD Soundsystem’s Pat Mahoney all joined Atomic Bomb! Band on stage over the course of their tour.

In a rare interview conducted in 2014, Onyeabor told The New Yorker, “I did study so many things, but they have nothing to do with my natural talent, because you don’t study talent. Talent comes from God.”