Tomcraft, DJ and ‘Loneliness’ hitmaker, dies aged 49

Thomas Brückner, the Munich-born DJ best known for co-producing the chart-topping 2002 electro house hit ‘Loneliness’ under the alias Tomcraft, has died. 

In a post shared to the artist’s social media pages today (16th July), his family confirmed that he had passed away yesterday. No cause of death has been disclosed at the time of writing. 

The post read: “With a heavy heart we need to inform you that yesterday, the 15.07.2024, our beloved father and husband has passed away. We will forever carry you in our hearts and love you until we’re reunited again.”

Just three days ago, Brückner had shared an Instagram post recapping his DJ set at Steinbruch Open Air festival. In a Facebook post paying tribute to his friend, DJ Westbam wrote that he had played alongside Brückner just two weeks ago. “I chatted with him three days ago and he said he was recovering from a flu but seemed in good spirits. Tom had fantastic new music coming and was very much looking forward to playing with all of us at Rave The Planet. As we know now: That wasn‘t to be. It is truly heartbreaking. Rest in peace Brother.”

Brückner began his DJ career in Munich in 1994, spinning a combination of techno and progressive trance styles. His debut track, ‘This Is No House’, was released in 1995. 

He met his longtime collaborator Eniac in 1996, with whom he’d go on to produce tracks such as ‘Viva’, ‘Prozac’, ‘Silence’ and, in 2002, ‘Loneliness’. 

With an instantly-recognisable vocal hook sampled from American R&B singer Andrea Martin’s ‘Share The Love’, ‘Loneliness’ was released in Germany in September 2002 and in the UK in April 2003. The single went to No.1 in the UK charts, with Tomcraft even making an appearance on Top Of The Pops that May. British pop artist Will Young would later go on to sample ‘Loneliness’ in his 2015 single ‘Love Revolution’, while Dutch EDM star Hardwell released his own remix of the track in 2023 alongside DJs From Mars. 

Tomcraft continued to DJ and make music in the years since, playing to 1.3 million people at Berlin’s Love Parade in 2003 as well as numerous festivals and clubs around the world. He released four albums, with the most recent being 2007’s ‘For The Queen’.  His most recent single, ‘Rude Place’, was released in March.

Listen to ‘Loneliness’ and read tributes to Brückner below.