Richard Swift, former drummer for the Shins, touring bassist with The Black Keys and solo musician, has died age 41. He was taken into hospital last month with an undisclosed life-threatening condition, and passed away on the 3rd of July.

His death was confirmed via a statement on his Facebook page, which simply said:

And all the angels sing
“Que Sera Sera”

Richard Ochoa Swift
March 16, 1977 – July 3, 2018

Born in California, Swift worked all his life as a prolific self-taught musician and producer, drumming for The Shins between 2011 and 2016, and playing bass on tour with The Black Keys in 2014. He also founded National Freedom, an independent recording studio in Oregon, as well as producing the work of Foxygen, Sharon Van Etten and Guster, amongst others.

Those paying tribute to Swift over social media included the lead singer of The Black Keys Dan Auerbach, who said the musician had now joined his mother and sister. He ended his tribute with the words “I will miss you my friend”.