Tragic news arrived as the Spanish DJ and producer, José Padilla, died at the age of 64 from colon cancer.
“It is with great sadness that we bring you the news that José passed away peacefully in his sleep on Sunday night here on his beloved island of Ibiza … Now he has gone and the sunset in Ibiza will never be the same without him, but the beautiful music of José Padilla will stay with us forever.”
José Padilla’s CM Post on Facebook
The pioneer of chillout music José Padilla was born in Girona in 1955. He moved to Ibiza in 1976 and began DJ’ing in the island’s clubs. The artist made huge progress in his career at the time he became a resident DJ at Café del Mar, which is a venue located in San Antonio that became famous for pairing relaxing music with sunset vistas.
Although the successful artist started his career selling bootleg mixtapes, his most famous work was his many Café Del Mar compilations. Padilla was the mastermind and DJ of the Café del Mar compilation series that started back in 1993. Tracks that made the compilations provided huge energy for the fans. The artist grew during the clubbing boom of the 1990s.
José Padilla Had a Great Impact on Café Del Mar and Chillout Music
The sad news reached social media where dance music institutions like Ministry of Sound or Defected Records shared their tributes to the artist. José Padilla’s Café del Mar’s success led to wider fame as a DJ, with numerous appearances on the BBC Essential Mix series. On top of that, he also produced his own music. His enormous talent earned him a nomination for a Latin Grammy in 2001 with his album, Navigator.
The Spanish artist made his cancer diagnosis public in July. He also warned his fans about his very bad financial situation, even having to ask for donations for his healthcare.
“My situation is very bad, I am completely broken after 5 months with no income whatsoever and no way to pay my rent.”
His family and friends would like to say thank you to everybody who sent donations and messages of support to help make his last few months easier, and to all the staff of Can Misses Hospital for taking care of him until the end.
