Psytrance Pioneer Goa Gil Dead at 72

Psychedelic trance DJ and producer Goa Gil — born Gilbert Levey and later taking on the name Mahant Managalanand Puri — passed away on October 26th, 8:30 pm PST after a battle with cancer.

A message on the pioneering artist’s website and Instagram confirmed the news of his death. It stated, “Dear Global Community, Words are inadequate for what we wish to communicate with you. It is with heavy hearts that we share with you news of Shri Mahant Managalanand Puri aka Goa Gil has left his worldly body in the comfort of his home.”

The message, which came with a GoFundMe page to cover “final expenses,” also stated that Gil was cared for in his final days by his family, devotees and friends. “In his final days Babaji wished to send his love and blessings to all and wanted to thank everyone for the love and support he has received over the years. He was at peace and was ready for his onward journey. We thank you for your respect and support during this sensitive period.”

In February this year, Gil moved to California to undergo treatment for high-grade B Cell lymphoma, starting on a four-and-a-half month process of chemotherapy and canceling all his tour dates for 2023. Within two months of remission in late June, his “cancer returned at an alarmingly aggressive rate,” according to a post on the GoFundMe page. Further health complications prevented doctors from carrying out any surgery or resuming chemotherapy. Over the last 10 days, Gil spent his last days at home in California, surrounded by loved ones.

A practitioner of yoga and psychedelic culture all his life, Goa Gil was born in California and was first part of the counterculture, hippie movement in he Sixties in the West Coast. He eventually moved to Amsterdam and then to Goa, which was a hippie haven in the Eighties. Since then, Goa Gil’s style of electronic music contributed to creating the Goa trance movement, famously performing for up to 24 hour-sets and pushing psytrance all around the world, including India.

According to the GoFundMe page, Goa Gil’s legacy will also include a samadhi temple built in Ujjain “where he will have special pujas and ceremonies performed by his peers on the day of his death every year.” At his burial site in a cemetery in California, a smaller samadhi temple is also being planned as “the perfect place to visit and meditate with Babaji in the years to come.”