The man who died after being doored while riding an e-bike and then run over by a passing truck in downtown Manhattan was a popular and influential synthwave artist known as “Starcadian,” mourning fans and friends said Saturday.
Electronic producer and musician George Smaragdis, 44, was biking westbound on Broome St. in Soho when he slammed into the door of a Mercedes van that its driver had just opened near Centre St. around 10:10 a.m. on Thursday. The collision sent the cyclist tumbling into the path of a red delivery box truck, and he was crushed when the driver ran him over.
Smaragdis suffered severe head trauma and died at Bellevue Hospital, police said.
He lived in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, and worked as a visual effects artist by day.
Fans of Smaragdis remembered him Saturday as a “titan” in the synthwave genre scene, who remained humble despite his wide influence.
“George was the kind of guy not to brag about it, even though he was literally a titan in this genre,” said fan Mark Ryan, who said he’d met Smaragdis on one occasion. “George was one of the most influential guys to touch the scene. So many people were inspired to pursue synthwave careers because of his music.”
Synthwave is new electronic music often based on soundtracks of sci-fi, action and horror movies from the 1980s.
Smaragdis, who called himself an “independent electronic producer and musician” on his site, gained notoriety in 2013 after a hit music video. He had since released six albums and one EP.
In Smaragdis’ final Facebook post on Jan. 19 he wrote, “Hi I’m alive and working very hard on the best album I’ve ever made, I can’t wait to play it for you.”
In his Starcadian persona, Smaragdis always wore a distinct silver mask, along with a red hood.
“Most people know him for his music persona, and the mask he wore. He had a whole backstory and persona for his Starcadian personality,” said Julian Green, 53, a Toronto DJ and fan of Smaragdis. “But George himself was pretty private,” he added.
“He was socially and politically conscious. He was a very smart guy,” Green said, adding that Smaragdis was also “eco-conscious” and the type to ride a bike.
Green recalled meeting Smaragdis in person and mentioning to the musician how disappointed he was that his newest vinyl record had sold out.
“He left the bar, ran to his condo, got some vinyls, signed them, came back and gave them to me for my trip back to Toronto,” Green said.
Smaragdis was set to perform in 2026 at Neotropolis, described on its site as “a five-day immersive cyberpunk and science fiction” music festival in the Mojave Desert.
In a heartfelt tribute on Facebook, Neotropolis event director Jared Butler said Smaragdis had just told him how excited he was to perform.
“We lost a giant in our music scene. Starcadian was a musical genius and an amazing person. The news of his death in a tragic traffic accident was such a shock and it’s hard for me to believe he’s gone,” Butler wrote. “He was kind, he was funny, and a world class musician by ANY standard. Goodbye, George. Your music and your memory will be with us forever.”
Jake Bissen, a filmmaker in Milwaukee, said Smaragdis stood apart from other creators in his genre.
“What’s interesting with him is, to my knowledge, he was a completely independent artist,” Bissen said. “He was self-taught, he had no formal music training, and basically he built out these crazy audioscapes that I’ve always felt the stuff that he produced was some of the highest quality things I’ve ever listened to. And it was just him. It was just him doing it for fun at first and he was incredibly smart.”
Friends and fans are struggling to come to terms with the sudden and unexpected death of the talented musician.
“It’s sad and tragic how this happened,” Green said of the fatal accident. “It’s a tragic loss.”
The drivers of both the van and truck remained at the scene. It’s not yet clear if either of them will be charged with anything, police said.
“It happened so fast,” the van driver, who declined to give his name, told the Daily News after the accident. “I opened the door. I didn’t even see the guy. I only saw the accident. But I saw a video, and it seemed like he hit my door.”
