Rayman Composer Remi Gazel Passes Away

Remi Gazel — the composer of the original Rayman — has passed away following a battle with cancer. The news was shared via Gazel’s wife on Facebook.

“Rémi my husband just left us,” wrote his wife. “Despite his struggle of every moment, his desire to live and the permanent and unwavering support of his loved ones, cancer has been right about him. We hoped until the end but the opponent was too strong. The fight was lost in advance and death became a liberation against the unbearable suffering endured despite the care and painkiller administered.”

Gazel — a musician based out of Montpellier, France — is best-known for serving as the composer of Rayman, also known as Rayman 1, which released back in 1995 via the PlayStation, Atari Jaguar, Sega Saturn, and PC/MS-DOS. The game has since been ported to multiple systems, and was notably included in the recent PlayStation Classic. As you may know if you played it, one of the things it was applauded for was its terrific soundtrack.

Rayman 1 is Gazel’s only listed video game credit on his website, but it’s far from his only impact on the music industry.

“Self-taught musician passionate about digital technologies and the endless opportunities they offer, Rémi is an ever-evolving artist,” reads Gazel’s website. “His personal journey brought him to experiment many creation fields from music to digital art, video making, web design… He now feeds from all this very different experience to give birth to a very personal artistic work, always eager to learn and improve himself.”

Of course, we would like to extend our deepest condolences to Gazel’s family and friends during this very difficult time. A funeral for the musician will be held on May 31, 2019.