Echo Lake, the shoegaze/dream pop band out of South London, experienced a loss last Thursday when their dummer, Pete Hayes, passed away after losing his battle with a long-term illness. Specifics regarding Hayes’ death have not been made available to the public.

Multi-instrumentalist Thom Hill first joined forces with vocalist Linda Jarvis in art school, bonding over a mutual love of both dream pop and shoegaze music. Before long, the duo were penning their own songs, which were often compared to the likes of “My Bloody Valentine”. In 2011, the pair released the “Young Silence EP” on the London indie label No Pain in Pop. Although Echo Lake is primarily a two-person show, the band expanded to a five-piece for live gigs.

Sadly, Pete Hayes’ death comes just days before the band’s first full-length release, Wild Peace, is to be released here in the States courtesy of Slumberland Records.

In response to his passing, the band issued a statement on their official website, the text from which has been included below. If you haven’t heard of Echo Lake or their music, take a moment to listen to a number of their songs. You can find a widget loaded with tracks embedded in the space below. For more information about the band, swing by their official website.

Statement from Echo Lake Regarding Pete Hayes Death

We are so sad to say that our close friend and brilliant drummer Peter Hayes passed away on Thursday morning at the age of 25.

I can’t believe I’m actually typing these words, we’re all completely devastated and shocked.

If you knew Pete, then you’ll know what an amazing person he was.
If you didn’t know Pete then all I can say is that he was a total one off.
Always caring, always giving, always straight up and always with such a positive outlook on life. That was the thing with Pete, he just got on with it. Even in his last few weeks he would be sitting up in his hospital bed smiling and having a laugh with me.

It was this outlook on life that made me perhaps take advantage of our time spent together. This situation never seemed possible because he never ever stopped being positive and joyful. He never moaned, or acted ill and was an incredibly hard worker. It’s a really rare thing to find all of these qualities in someone and he deserved more time to live his life to the full, which he always did.

If you ever saw us play live then you’ll know what a great drummer he was.
I’ve been in 4 different bands over the past 10 years and while the line ups changed around us, me and Pete were always playing together. It was such a privilege to play music with him.

I’ll always remember in our first band me, Kier and Steve lying to promoters that we were over 18 and that we were old enough to play in pubs. We were 16 and Pete was even younger than us! I remember sneaking Pete in the venue hoping nobody would ask any questions and after the gig Pete’s dad Antony would pick him up and take him home because he had his year 10 GCSE exam later that week! I still can’t believe we got away with it really. He was like a younger brother to us and we always had a lot of fun.

I’m really glad that the four of us moved to London, met Linda and formed Echo Lake. I know he was really excited about the album finally coming out and the possibilities that lay ahead of us. I can’t believe that he won’t be around anymore to see them out with us.

I could go on writing about him and the amazing memories forever, but another part of me is struggling to find the words to do him justice. So I’ll just say that he put everything into Echo Lake and always played his heart and soul out. I’ll always appreciate that and will always owe him so much for helping us get as far as we have in the past 2 years.

Finally, I’d just like to send all my love to Pete’s family, who I am lucky to have gotten to know well over the years. When we were kids, your place was a home away from home for me (as it was for all of our friends who just loved being there so much!)
And to Pete’s girlfriend Caroline. I’m so glad that you guys met each other, you made him incredibly happy.

All the love Pete, we’ll all miss you so much.