The musician Tom Relleen, one half of Tomaga and a member of The Oscillation, Autotelia and more, has sadly diedhttps://t.co/kRJKGtqQrc pic.twitter.com/w04UpJBZSt

— The Quietus (@theQuietus) August 25, 2020

Relleen’s musical style is hard to describe. Comparisons to other ambient instrumentalists like Aphex Twin or Rothko can only go so far. His music with Tomaga ranges from relaxed tracks like Bluest that sounds like wind-chimes in the wind to more austere and disturbing ones like Senza. The latter could easily feature on a horror movie soundtrack, with the combination of a ticking clock and the abrasive scratching of a stringed instrument evoking a sense of impending doom.

His most recent project Autotelia, a collaboration with Demian Castellanos of The Oscillation, is more minimal and consistent in its style. Their first album, simply titled I, was released in July. It is an ambient five-track beauty that puts listeners in a trance using echoes and electronic sounds that ironically sound organic. 

The word Autotelia was coined by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalvi to describe people whose life purpose is internal rather than external. He argued that such people are not interested in ‘comfort, money, power or fame‘ but instead are driven simply by ‘curiosity‘.

our debut album will be release on 24th July by @RocketRecording .. … …. https://t.co/ydKeal4u3G — Autotelia (@Autoteliamusic) July 20, 2020

This is a fitting name for a band whose music shows not only a disregard for the conventions of popular genres but also pushes sonic boundaries in such an inquisitive way. This is true of Relleen’s entire body of work. Since he started releasing music back in 2007 as part of The Oscillation, Relleen has experimented with unusual combinations of sound and syncopated rhythm.

His inquisitive nature will be remembered by his friends and fans. Many took to Twitter to share their sorrow at his passing, calling him a ‘generous‘ and ‘kind‘ man.Musical collaborator Castellanos called him a ‘beautiful, inspiring friend who helped, encouraged and motivated many people‘. Marie-Peirre Bonniol of the Julie Tippex agency said his musical endeavours ‘not only shaped the London scene but also the European one‘, continuing that he did much work ‘connecting people and organising collaborations‘. His was an unselfish and prolific career, that will not be soon forgotten.