Denny Sakrie: (tribunnews.com)

The country'€™s best-known music critic, Hamdan Syukrie, popularly known as Denny Sakrie, passed away on Sunday. He was 51.

Denny died after he was rushed to the hospital in cardiac arrest.

'€œHe is no longer with us,'€ his wife Mieke Hendrawati told local media on Saturday, soon after news broke on social media of Denny'€™s death.

Denny, who was born in Maluku on July 14, 1963, started his career as a radio announcer for Madama Radio in Makassar, South Sulawesi, and as music director before relocating to Jakarta, where he started writing for a number of publications, including Tempo and Kompas.

He later became a regular contributor to Rolling Stone Indonesia.

Given the scarcity of professional music critics in the country, Denny was the go-to commentator on music-related programs aired on local television stations.

As an avid collector of physical releases '€” and backed with insider knowledge thanks to his connections to some of the country'€™s most prominent musicians and producers '€” Denny made efforts to chronicle the country'€™s music history.

Shortly before his death, Denny finished his manuscript for 100 Tahun Musik Indonesia (1905-2005) (100 Years of Indonesian Music), a massive volume chronicling everything from the first local record label to the mid-2000s digital explosion of the country'€™s music scene. The book is set to be published by Gagas Media.

Denny was also a judge and consultant for major music competitions and awards in the country and appeared in movies, playing characters much like himself.

He took on the role of music critic Hagi Haryadi in Agung Sentaus'€™ rock-themed film Garasi, which was produced by Miles Films in 2005.

Denny is survived by his wife, Mieke Hendrawati and an 18-year-old daughter.

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