Robert Concina, known by his stage name Robert Miles, has passed away at age 47. Concina was known for producing trance music and his smash hit “Children.” His death was caused by an unreported illness.

The Swiss-Italian producer and DJ notably produced music used in films such as Ever After, The Bourne Identity, Derrida and City of Ghosts. “Children” was an instrumental composition originally released in 1995 on the album Soundtracks via DBX Records, but it initially didn’t gain any traction within mainstream music or on the charts. It was re-released later in the same year on the album Dreamland after Simon Berry of Platipus Records heard it in a Miami nightclub. It reached number one in more than 12 countries and was certified both gold and platinum. Concina has stated that the song was written as a response to seeing photographs of child war victims. With its slow intro and mellow pace as compared to other trance music, the song was also meant to calm rave attendants later in the night so that they could drive home safe. Listen to the track below:

After the success of “Children,” Concina went on to work with Kathy Sledge of Sister Sledge as well as Nina Miranda of Smoke City, among others. In 2000, he set up his own independent record label in the United Kingdom called Salt Records, which distributed his own music as well as that of Miles Gurtu and Blue Light Fever. The last album he released was distributed in 2011, titled Th1rt3en, and incorporated a blend of prog rock as well as his usual ambient and electronic music. One of his last projects was Open Lab, an online and FM radio station broadcasted from Ibiza dedicated to alternative culture, art, media, technology and innovation.

His many collaborators have made statements on his passing, including former DBX label boss Joe T. Vannelli, who stated “The tragic news of the death of a very talented artist of our time, makes me incredulous and upset. I will miss the fights, brawls, criticism, judgements but especially your talent in finding sounds and melodies unparalleled.”

The famed Finnish D.J. Darude also stated on Twitter, “#RIP Robert Miles. Thank you for the inspiration, direction & courage!” Including an embedded link to “Children” on YouTube.

Update 5/13/17: Miles’ cause of death has been released as stage 4 metastic cancer. “Robert passed away peacefully last night after a courageous battle with stage 4 metastatic cancer over the last 9 months. Throughout it he was strong, determined, incredibly brave and did everything he could to fight this horrendous disease,” OpenLab made in a statment.