Stephen Raoul Jones, former member of Severed Heads, has died aged 75
The renowned musician and video artist is alleged to have been attacked outside of his studio on Gadigal Land/Sydney last week.
Stephen Raoul Jones, a former member of the cult electronic outfit Severed Heads and a renowned video artist and musician, has died aged 75.
Jones' death on Thursday (October 8), at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital on Gadigal Land/Sydney, was announced via a post shared on his Facebook page: "Stephen left this world with brother Ian and partner Wendy holding his hands. He was surrounded by friends."
The post alleges that Jones succumbed to injuries sustained after being "viciously assaulted outside his studio" two days prior. "A suspect has been arrested, charged with manslaughter; he appeared in court Thursday morning and is being held without bail," the post reads.
“We ask that people respect the ongoing investigation, chain of evidence, and refrain from speculation and sharing unverified information. This is an ongoing investigation, and we want justice for Stephen,” the post continues. “The family is working with police and are unable to supply any further details to you at this time. We ask for privacy during this difficult experience."
Born in Sydney in 1951, Jones began his career in music as a video artist, creating documentation works that have been featured across several major art galleries, including his 1976 'Stonehenge, TV Buddha and Tai Chi Transforms (The Systems Interfacing Reports)' piece, which is housed at the National Gallery of Australia.
In 1982, he joined the electronic outfit Severed Heads, the year after founders Richard Fielding and Andrew Wright departed, and worked with Tom Ellard, who joined shortly after its formation and remained its only consistent member. Jones was part of the group for a decade, playing synths and developing analogue video synthesisers for the group, which they used in live shows and music videos.
Jones remained with Severed Heads for some of their major chart successes, including their 1985 album 'City Slab Horror', and their 1988 single 'Greater Reward' and 1989 single 'All Saints Day', with the latter two building on the Australian chart success of the album to achieve chart success in international markets.
Jones departed the group in 1992, one year after the release of 'Cuisine (With Piscatorial)', returning to an arts-based vocation as a video post-production engineer. In 2007, he received a PhD in the history of the electronic arts, and in 2013 he featured as a guest curator for a 'This Is Video' exhibition as part of the 19th International Symposium on Electronic Art (ISEA).
San Francisco's Dark Entries Records paid tribute to Jones via a post on Instagram, writing: "Stephen was a huge part of Australian video history, building his own videosynthesiser and operating Heuristic Video in Sydney. As well as being his work with the Sevs, Stephen also did early video work with Laughing Hands and SPK."
"His book Synthetics: Aspects of Art and Technology in Australia 1956-1975 is an important work on the history of video and art in Australia," the post continues. "He will be greatly missed. Our deepest condolences to his family and friends."
Watch a short video of Jones demonstrating his analogue video synthesiser and a Severed Heads live performance featuring his work below.
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Megan Townsend is Mixmag Global's Deputy Editor, get in touch with her here.
