The record label Secretly Canadian today confirmed that singer/songwriter Jason Molina has died.
The 39-year-old is reported to have died at his Indianapolis home on Saturday March 16 of “natural causes.” Molina’s record label stated that he stopped touring in 2009 to deal with severe alcoholism. From the Secretly Canadian blog post:
This is especially hard for us to share. Jason is the cornerstone of Secretly Canadian. Without him there would be no us – plain and simple. His singular, stirring body of work is the foundation upon which all else has been constructed. After hearing and falling in love with the mysterious voice on his debut single “Soul” in early 1996, we approached him about releasing a single on our newly formed label. For some reason he said yes. We drove from Indiana to New York to meet him in person, and he handed us what would become the first of many JMo master tapes.
Molina is best known for releasing albums and touring under the name Songs: Ohia from 1996 to 2003. In 2003 he formed the band Magnolia Electric Co. Throughout his career, Molina collaborated on and created more than a dozen albums.
(Image courtesy Anders Jensen-Urstad/Wikimedia Commons)