DJ Mighty Mouse Dies In His Sleep At 48, Label Confirms

DJ Mighty Mouse died in his sleep at his home in Spain on Oct. 20. He was 48.

His label, Defected Records, announced his death in a statement Tuesday. "We are devastated to confirm that Matthew Ward a.k.a. Mighty Mouse, died suddenly last Thursday at his home in Spain," the statement read. "Matthew died in his sleep from an aortic aneurysm. We are all lost without his enormous presence and talent.

"Our thoughts are with his partner, Ellen, and his Mum, Judy, as well as his wider family and many, many friends and fans. We would ask you to please respect the family's privacy at this terrible time," Defected Records continued.

The U.K. label also posted a tribute to the late house/disco producer on Twitter.

"Rest in Peace, Mighty Mouse," the company captioned a black and white photo of Mighty Mouse. "Everyone at Defected & Glitterbox are devastated to share the news that we lost Matthew on Thursday. An amazing human being."

Mighty Mouse launched his career as a DJ in the 2000s and has since then had a huge following, thanks to his Disco Circus projects. Although he had been active in the music scene as a DJ/producer for more than a decade, his rise to fame didn't come until 2019, when he dropped his breakout anthem "The Spirit."

The release made its way to the Defected's Glitterbox imprint and became the Hottest Record in the World. That same year, his remixes of ABBA's "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" and "Midnight Mouse (Revised)" also became instant hits after being played by French DJ Folamour at the FLY Open Air Festival.

Just before his death, Mighty Mouse dropped his remix of "Like You" by Ridney & Inaya. In his final Instagram post, he promoted the track and mentioned the "loads of support" it had received since its release, saying "it goes down really well in the club."

Meanwhile, tributes have flooded social media since the news of the DJ's passing. "Sending love & condolences to Matthew's family & friends. RIP Mighty Mouse," Veteran DJ Simon Dunmore wrote on Twitter before adding a broken heart emoji.

Musical artist Lee Mortimer, more popularly known as Friend Within, also tweeted, "Such sad news. An amazing musical talent. RIP Mighty Mouse."