Sd Laika, 1989 to 2023
Peter Runge, from Milwaukee, made music as Sd Laika from 2011 to 2023. He studied at Oberlin College in Ohio and played in Birth-Days and Trail Magic before that. He died in June 2023, aged 33.
Nearly all the audio comes from two bootlegs, Lost Files (2019) and Laika (2020), both compiled by fans from uploads, comments and a private folder.
I want to know where the original files came from. Five of the 26 tracks can be compared across the two bootlegs. Levels match within 0.1 dB, and the copies are 87 ms and 166 ms apart, except Reckless, where the Laika copy starts 3.74 s into the recording. If you have a better copy, a surviving tag, the 2015 tracklist, or you know where a cover came from, get in touch.
- tracks, with the bootlegs, the 2015 tracklist and the measurements
- catalogue, with works, events, folders, labels and sources
- people, with credits, comments and handles
Open questions
Wikipedia and Find a Grave give Peter's dates as 7 October 1989 and 6 June 2023.
The family statement to Mixmag gives only 2023. I have not seen a civil record.
Evidence needed. A civil record or a family statement with the exact dates.
88888u may be Brayden Smith.
88888u signs the tags on both MEGA files and is known for Good Ass Job. Brayden's channel is disposable. I found no source that links the accounts.
Evidence needed. A link between the accounts or confirmation from either person.
Dirt, from 2015, is plausibly the same track as Dirt Boss on Laika.
The title appears in a 2015 scrobble list. Dirt Boss only appears on the 2020 bootleg. The match is plausible, not proven.
Evidence needed. Audio, tags or duration that allow the two to be aligned.
No origin is known for the cover of Unknown Vectors.
There is no credit on the record or in the press. XLR8R published the artwork without an explanation.
Evidence needed. A credit, an interview or the original file.
No origin is known for the cover of Lost Files.
It accompanies Brayden Smith's upload. There is no credit and no known original.
Evidence needed. A credit or the original file.
The sung vocal in "Decline" is Christina Aguilera's, from "Beautiful" (2002).
@dyland7567 identified it in March 2026, by ear and against the Creepy Crawling VIP. Neither release carries a sample credit.
Evidence needed. An isolated vocal, or confirmation from the label or the estate.
Wesley's note has been read as a hospital stay of six years.
Wesley writes "in the hospital for some of that period" and gives no duration. The number six appears in no source.
Evidence needed. A primary source that gives the dates.