Apes confirm the passing of their bassist Sam Reale

The band's last release was in 2017

Sam Reale, bassist for Victorian band Apes, has passed away, according to a statement from the band on social media.

In a statement on Facebook posted late last night (April 22), the Ballarat band confirmed Reale’s passing last week, saying “[Reale] was the absolute heart and soul of everything we embodied”.

“He approached music in the same way he approached life. With love and passion,” the statement read.

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“Sam’s ability to help someone believe in themselves, even when they couldn’t see it, might have been among one of his greatest gifts.”

The band did not give the cause of Reale’s death. Read their full statement below.

Absolutely heartbroken to say that last week APES member Sam passed away. He was the absolute heart and soul of…

Posted by APES on Wednesday, April 22, 2020

Reale had formed Apes with frontman Ben Dowd and guitarist James Toohey. The band released their debut album, ‘Stranger Than Strangers’, in May 2017. The band launched the album with a show at Melbourne’s Yah Yahs the following month, and toured with San Cisco. The record followed their 2013 EP, ‘Helluva’ and a handful of singles.

Since ‘Stranger Than Strangers’, no new Apes music had been released on streaming platforms. Prior to yesterday’s statement, the last post on the band’s Facebook page was from November 2017.

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