As SUICIDE, Vega and collaborator Martin Rev were noted for their pioneering use of early electronic synthesizers and drum machines. They were among the first groups to use the term “punk” to describe themselves, and their sound — noisy, echoing, sometimes dissonant — foreshadowed later electronic, industrial, and post-punk. Their work inspired artists as stylistically diverse as Bruce Springsteen, Trent Reznor, LCD Soundsystem, M.I.A., and Neon Indian.

 

SUICIDE released five studio albums between 1977 and 2002, as well as several recordings of their famously raucous live shows. Vega was also prolific on his own, releasing three solo records and more than a dozen others with various collaborators.

 

Born Boruch Alan Bermowitz in Brooklyn in 1938, Vega worked as an artist in the 1960s, creating paintings and light sculptures. He was inspired to start a band, he said in interviews, after seeing Iggy Pop and the Stooges perform. Although he suffered a stroke in 2012, he continued to live in New York City until his death.