View source for No wave

{{short description|Music scene}}
{{about|the music genre|the album by Music Revelation Ensemble|No Wave (album)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{Infobox music genre
| name              = No wave
| stylistic_origins = {{flatlist|
*[[Punk rock]]
*[[Avant-garde music|avant-garde]]
*[[noise music|noise]]
*[[funk]]
*[[disco]]
*[[jazz]]
*[[free jazz]]
*[[experimental rock]]<ref>{{cite book |last=Lawrence|first=Tim|title=Hold On to Your Dreams: Arthur Russell and the Downtown Music Scene, 1973–1992|url=https://archive.org/details/holdontoyourdrea00lawr|url-access=registration|year=2009|publisher=Duke University Press|isbn=978-0-8223-9085-5|page=[https://archive.org/details/holdontoyourdrea00lawr/page/344 344]}}</ref>
*[[art rock]]<ref>{{cite web |last1=Leone |first1=Dominique |title=Black Dice: Creature Comforts Album Review |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/751-creature-comforts/ |website=Pitchfork |access-date=October 6, 2022 |date=June 20, 2004}}</ref>
}}
| cultural_origins  = Late 1970s, [[New York City]]
| derivatives       = {{flatlist|
* [[Avant-funk]]<ref name="murray">{{cite book|last1=Murray|first1=Charles Shaar|title=Crosstown Traffic: Jimi Hendrix & The Post-War Rock 'N' Roll Revolution|date=October 1991|publisher=Macmillan|page=205|isbn=9780312063245|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CiWtlIxnQ6gC&q=avant-funk+no+wave&pg=PA205|access-date=6 March 2017}}</ref>
}}
| subgenres         = [[Post-no wave]]
| regional_scenes   = * [[Kansai no wave]]
* [[Chicago no wave]]
| local_scenes      = 
| other_topics      = {{flatlist|
* [[Art punk]]
* [[industrial music|industrial]]
* [[New wave music|new wave]]
* [[noise pop]]
* [[noise rock]]
* [[post-punk]]
* [[punk jazz]]
* [[punk-funk]]
* [[timeline of punk rock]]
}}
}}
'''No wave''' was an [[avant-garde music]] and [[visual art]] scene that emerged in the late [[1970s in music|1970s]] in [[Downtown New York City]].<ref name="romanowski" />{{sfn|Masters|2007|p=5}} The term was coined as a rejection of commercial [[new wave music]].{{sfn|Pearlman|2003|p=188}} No wave musicians took [[Rock music|rock]] instrumentation and experimented with [[noise music|noise]], [[dissonance (music)|dissonance]], and [[atonality]], as well as non-rock genres like [[free jazz]], [[funk]], and [[disco]].<ref name="caz">{{cite web |last=McLaren |first=Trevor |date=17 February 2005 |title=James Chance and the Contortions: Buy |url=http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=16407 |access-date=17 September 2013}}</ref><ref name="pitchfork.com">{{cite web |title=NO!: The Origins of No Wave |url=http://pitchfork.com/features/articles/6764-no-the-origins-of-no-wave/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305074133/http://pitchfork.com/features/articles/6764-no-the-origins-of-no-wave/ |archive-date=5 March 2016 |access-date=23 July 2013 |website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]}}</ref><ref>{{AllMusic|class=style|id=ma0000005018|title=No Wave}}</ref> The scene often reflected an abrasive, confrontational, and [[nihilism|nihilistic]] worldview, originally pioneered by New York artists [[Suicide (band)|Suicide]] and [[Jack Ruby (band)|Jack Ruby]].<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Calvert |first=John |date=2014 |title=A Beginner's Guide to no wave |url=https://www.factmag.com/2014/03/10/a-beginners-guide-to-no-wave/ |magazine=[[Fact (UK magazine)|Fact]]}}</ref>  

In 1978, [[Brian Eno]] produced the compilation album ''[[No New York]]'', which became an important document of the scene.<ref name=Masters2008p9>{{cite book |last=Masters |first=Marc |title=No Wave |publisher=Black Dog Publishing |location=New York City |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-906155-02-5 |page=9}}</ref> The no wave movement influenced independent film ([[no wave cinema]]), fashion, and visual art, then, in the mid-1980s, musical developments such as [[mutant disco]] and [[post-no wave]].<ref name="Masters, Marc 2007, p. 200">{{harvnb|Masters|2007|p=200}}</ref> At the time, regional scenes influenced by New York city no wave would emerge such as Japan's [[Kansai no wave]] movement along with the [[Chicago no wave]] scene in the Southern United States. 

Notable artists include [[James Chance and the Contortions]], [[Teenage Jesus and the Jerks]], [[Mars (band)|Mars]], [[DNA (American band)|DNA]], [[Theoretical Girls]] and [[Rhys Chatham]].

==Characteristics==

[[File:Glenn Branca.jpg|thumb|[[Glenn Branca]] performing in New York in the early 1980s]]
No wave is not a clearly definable [[Music genre|musical genre]] with consistent features, but it generally was characterized by a rejection of the recycling of traditional [[Rock music|rock]] aesthetics, such as [[blues rock]] styles and [[Chuck Berry]] guitar [[riff]]s in [[Punk music|punk]] and [[new wave music]].<ref name="pitchfork.com"/> No wave groups drew on and explored such disparate stylistic forms as [[Minimalism (visual arts)|minimalism]], [[conceptual art]], [[funk]], [[jazz]], [[blues]], [[punk rock]], [[avant-garde music|avant garde]] and [[noise music]].<ref name=romanowski>{{cite book | editor=Romanowski, P. | others=H. George-Warren & [[Jon Pareles|J. Pareles]] | title=The New Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll | orig-year=1983 | edition=Revised | year=1995 | publisher=Fireside | location=New York | isbn=0-684-81044-1 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonee00patr/page/717 717] | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonee00patr/page/717 }}</ref> According to ''[[Village Voice]]'' writer Steve Anderson, the scene pursued an abrasive [[Reductionism (music)|reductionism]] which "undermined the power and mystique of a rock vanguard by depriving it of a tradition to react against".<ref name="anderson">{{cite book|last1=Foege|first1=Alec|title=Confusion Is Next: The Sonic Youth Story|date=October 1994|publisher=Macmillan|pages=68–9|isbn=9780312113698|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sw6GE_5XTz4C&q=New+York's+last+stylistically+cohesive+avant-rock+movement}}</ref> Anderson claimed that the no wave scene represented "New York's last stylistically cohesive [[avant-rock]] movement".<ref name="anderson"/>

There were, however, some elements common to most no-wave music, such as abrasive [[Atonality|atonal]] sounds; repetitive, driving [[rhythm]]s; and a tendency to emphasize musical texture over melody—typical of [[La Monte Young]]'s early [[downtown music]].<ref name="Masters, Marc 2007, p. 200"/> In the early [[1980s in music|1980s]], [[Downtown Manhattan]]'s no wave scene transitioned from its abrasive origins into a more [[Dance music|dance]]-oriented sound, with compilations such as [[ZE Records]]'s ''[[Mutant Disco]]'' (1981) highlighting a playful sensibility borne out of the city's clash of [[Hip hop music|hip hop]], [[disco]] and punk styles, as well as [[dub reggae]] and [[world music]] influences.{{sfn|Reynolds|2005|pp=269}}

No wave music presented a negative and [[nihilistic]] world view that reflected the desolation of late 1970s Downtown New York and how they viewed the larger society. In a 2020 essay, [[Lydia Lunch]] stated there were many problems in the years that led into the 1970s, and that calling the year 1967 "the [[Summer of Love]]" was a "bald-faced lie".<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-01-16|title=Beth B: War Is Never Over|url=https://iffr.com/en/blog/beth-b-war-is-never-over|access-date=2020-10-02|website=IFFR}}</ref> The term "no wave" might have been inspired by the [[French New Wave]] pioneer [[Claude Chabrol]], with his remark "There are no waves, only the ocean".<ref>{{cite journal|last1=O'Brien|first1=Glenn|title=Style Makes the Band|journal=Artforum International|date=October 1999}}</ref><ref>Kalat, David. "Ch 20 The Story of Chabrol". ''The Strange Case of Dr. Mabuse: A Study of the Twelve Films and Five Novels''. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland, 2005. not pag. Print.</ref>

==Etymology==
There are different theories about how the term was coined. Some suggest [[Lydia Lunch]] coined the term in an interview with Roy Trakin in ''[[New York Rocker]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=January 2008|title=NO!: The Origins of No Wave|url=https://pitchfork.com/features/article/6764-no-the-origins-of-no-wave/|access-date=2021-05-01|website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]}}</ref> Others suggest it was coined by Chris Nelson (of [[Mofungo]] and [[The Scene Is Now]]) in ''New York Rocker''.<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=August 1997|title=Mofungo|url=https://www.furious.com/perfect/mofungo.html|access-date=2021-02-06|website=[[Perfect Sound Forever (magazine)|Perfect Sound Forever]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Lang|first=Dave|date=July 1998|title=The SST Records story – Part 3|url=http://www.furious.com/perfect/sst3.html|access-date=2021-02-06|website=[[Perfect Sound Forever (magazine)|Perfect Sound Forever]]}}</ref> [[Thurston Moore]] of [[Sonic Youth]] claimed to have seen the term spray-painted on [[CBGB]]'s theater at 66 Second Avenue before seeing it in the press.<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=June 2008|title=Conversations with Thurston Moore: No Wave|url=http://charmicarmicat.blogspot.com/2008/06/conversations-with-thurston-moore-no.html|access-date=2021-05-01|website=}}</ref>

== Influences ==
Although not from New York, [[Captain Beefheart]] and the confrontational [[proto-punk]] performances of [[Iggy Pop and the Stooges]] have been cited as an influence on no wave,<ref name="NO!: The Origins of No Wave" /> alongside [[Nihilist Spasm Band]], an early [[noise music]] band whose debut LP ''No Record'' was released in 1968. The band plastered the word "NO" on much of their equipment and handmade instruments, and recorded a film between 1965 and 1966 entitled "NO Movie".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Breznikar |first=Klemen |author-link=Klemen Breznikar |date=October 24, 2014 |title=The Nihilist Spasm Band Interview |url=https://www.psychedelicbabymag.com/2014/11/nihilist-spasm-band-interview.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170903071033/https://www.psychedelicbabymag.com/2014/11/nihilist-spasm-band-interview.html |archive-date=September 3, 2017 |access-date=February 6, 2023 |website=[[It's Psychedelic Baby! Magazine]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://mubi.com/en/gb/films/what-about-me-the-rise-of-the-nihilist-spasm-band |title=What About Me: The Rise of the Nihilist Spasm Band (2000) |access-date=2025-07-08 |via=mubi.com}}</ref> They have been cited as an influence by [[Thurston Moore]] of [[Sonic Youth]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Breznikar |first=Klemen |date=2014-11-24 |title=The Nihilist Spasm Band {{!}} Interview |url=https://www.psychedelicbabymag.com/2014/11/nihilist-spasm-band-interview.html |access-date=2023-04-29 |website=It's Psychedelic Baby Magazine}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=03/28/98 - London, Ontario @ Forest City Gallery |url=http://www.sonicyouth.com/mustang/cc/032898.html |access-date=2024-08-12 |website=SonicYouth.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Northern Resonance: What About Me? The Rise of the Nihilist Spasm Band |url=https://acudmachtneu.de/events/1064/northern-resonance-1-what-about-me-the-rise-of-the-nihilist-spasm-band/ |access-date=2025-07-08 |website=Acud Macht Neu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Nihilist Spasm Band No Record |url=http://www.canuckistanmusic.com/index.php?maid=186 |access-date=2025-07-08 |website=Canuckistan Music}}</ref> 

[[The Velvet Underground]], a 1960s New York City band, are also seen as early contributors to the no wave movement. As described by ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]''{{'}}s Marc Masters, "Mixing the [[noise rock|noisy rock]] leanings of [[Lou Reed]], the minimalist [[drone music| drones]] of [[John Cale]] (via his work with [[avant-garde]] pioneer [[LaMonte Young]]), and the art world influence of [[The Factory|Andy Warhol's Factory]], this seminal band provided a comprehensive model for No Wave."<ref name="NO!: The Origins of No Wave">{{cite web |first=Marc |last=Masters |date=15 January 2008 |title=NO!: The Origins of No Wave |url=https://pitchfork.com/features/article/6764-no-the-origins-of-no-wave/ |website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]}}</ref> Additionally, other '60s New York-based [[avant-garde music]] artists like [[Yoko Ono]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Perfect Sound Forever: Yoko Ono on Apple Records |url=https://www.furious.com/perfect/yokoonoapple.html |access-date=2025-07-18 |website=www.furious.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-02-18 |title=Yoko Ono Didn’t Break Up the Beatles. But She Did Help Invent Alternative Music. |url=https://tidal.com/magazine/article/yoko-ono-89/1-83418 |access-date=2025-07-18 |website=TIDAL Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Babcock |first=Jay |date=2007-10-01 |title=SCREAM AT THE SKY: Thurston Moore & Byron Coley talk with YOKO ONO (Arthur, 2007) |url=https://arthurmag.com/2007/10/01/yokoono/ |access-date=2025-07-18 |website=Arthur Magazine |language=en}}</ref> [[Cromagnon (band)|Cromagnon]],<ref>{{AllMusic|class=album|id=mw0000619006|title=Cromagnon – ''Orgasm''}}</ref> and [[The Godz (New York band)|the Godz]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Breznikar |first=Klemen |date=2022-12-20 |title=Jeffrey Wengrofsky {{!}} Interview {{!}} Here to Eternity with The Godz |url=https://www.psychedelicbabymag.com/2022/12/jeffrey-wengrofsky-interview-here-to-eternity-with-the-godz.html |access-date=2025-06-23 |website=It's Psychedelic Baby Magazine}}</ref> were also later recognized as precursors to no wave.

==History==

=== 1970s ===

==== Forerunners ====
New York City duo [[Suicide (band)|Suicide]], formed in 1970, by [[Alan Vega]] and [[Martin Rev]], have been cited as having "the biggest influence on no-wave" by Marc Masters.<ref name="NO!: The Origins of No Wave" /> [[Glenn Branca]] later stated, “If you have to find out who the godfather of no wave was, it was Alan Vega.”<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2019-02-07 |title=Musicology: The History of No Wave |url=https://mixdownmag.com.au/features/columns/musicology-the-history-of-no-wave/ |access-date=2025-07-25 |website=Mixdown Magazine |language=en-AU}}</ref>

New York band [[Jack Ruby (band)|Jack Ruby]], formed in 1973 in [[Albany, New York|Albany]], became early pioneers of the aesthetic, philosophy and sound of no wave as well as an influence on [[Sonic Youth]]. Members included [[Randy Cohen]] on drums and synthesizer as well as [[Boris Policeband]], who played viola through an FM transmitter and strapped police [[Walkie-talkie|walkie-talkies]] around his waist.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sokol |first=Tony |date=2016-02-29 |title=Real Vinyl History: Jack Ruby |url=https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/real-vinyl-history-jack-ruby/ |access-date=2024-11-18 |website=Den of Geek}}</ref> Subsequently, bassist [[George Scott III]] joined no wave group [[James Chance and the Contortions]] and collaborated with [[Lydia Lunch]] in [[8 Eyed Spy]].{{sfn|Masters|2007|p=41}}<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cohan |first=Brad |date=2014-04-24 |title=Stream 'Bad Teeth' from 1970s NYC Proto-Punk Nihilists Jack Ruby, Who've Influenced Every Single One of Your Favorite Bands |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/rk9ger/jack-ruby-bad-teeth-stream-premiere |access-date=2024-07-25 |website=Vice}}</ref> [[Thurston Moore]] said of Jack Ruby: "This was a band whispered about from the most inner circle of no-wave knowledge, as they pre-dated a lot of the aesthetic weirdness and wild style of so much of that scene."<ref name=":0">{{cite news |first=Thurston |last=Moore |date=25 April 2014 |title=Thurston Moore on Jack Ruby: The forgotten heroes of pre-punk |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2014/apr/25/thurston-moore-on-jack-ruby-the-forgotten-heroes-of-pre-punk |newspaper=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref>

==== Origins ====
In 1978, a [[punk subculture]]-influenced [[Noise music|noise]] series was held at New York's [[Artists Space]].<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/feature/31364/Interview_Interview_James_Chance| title = James Chance interview {{!}} Pitchfork}}</ref> No wave musicians such as [[the Contortions]], [[Teenage Jesus and the Jerks]], [[Mars (band)|Mars]], [[DNA (American band)|DNA]], [[Theoretical Girls]] and [[Rhys Chatham]] began [[Experimental music|experimenting]] with noise, [[Dissonance (music)|dissonance]] and atonality in addition to non-rock styles.{{sfn|Reynolds|2005|pp=140}} The former four groups were included on the compilation ''[[No New York]]'', often considered the quintessential testament to the scene.<ref name=Masters2008p9 /> The no wave-affiliated label ZE Records was founded in 1978, and would also produce acclaimed and influential compilations in subsequent years.{{sfn|Reynolds|2005|pp=269}}

In 1978, [[Rhys Chatham]] curated a concert at [[The Kitchen (art institution)|The Kitchen]] with two [[electric guitar]] [[noise music]] bands that involved [[Glenn Branca]] ([[Theoretical Girls]] and Daily Life, performed by Branca, [[Barbara Ess]], Paul McMahon, and Christine Hahn) and another two electric-guitar noise music bands that involved Chatham himself ([[The Gynecologists]] and Tone Death, performed by Robert Appleton, Nina Canal, Chatham, and [[Peter Gordon (composer)|Peter Gordon]]). Tone Death performed Chatham's 1977 composition for electric guitars ''Guitar Trio'', that was inspired by [[La Monte Young]]'s minimalist composition ''[[Trio for Strings]]'' and Chatham's exposure to [[The Ramones]] at [[CBGB]] via Peter Gordon.{{sfn|Nickleson|2023|p=159}} This proto-No Wave concert was followed a few weeks later when [[Artists Space]] served as a site of concrete inception for the No Wave music movement, hosting a five night underground No Wave music festival, organized by artists [[Michael Zwack]] and [[Robert Longo]], that featured ten local bands; including [[Rhys Chatham]]'s [[The Gynecologists]], [[Glenn Branca]]'s [[Theoretical Girls]], [[Rhys Chatham]]'s Tone Death,{{sfn|Nickleson|2023|p=158}} and Branca's Daily Life.{{sfn|Nickleson|2023|pp=151–152}}{{sfn|Reynolds|2005|page=146}} 

The final two days of the show featured [[DNA (American band)|DNA]] and the [[James Chance and the Contortions|Contortions]] on Friday, followed by [[Mars (band)|Mars]] and [[Teenage Jesus and the Jerks]] on Saturday.{{sfn|Reynolds|2005|page=146}} English musician and [[record producer|producer]] [[Brian Eno]], who had originally come to New York to produce the second [[Talking Heads]] album ''[[More Songs About Buildings and Food]]'', was in the audience.{{sfn|Reynolds|2005|page=146}} Impressed by what he saw and heard, and advised by [[Diego Cortez]] to do so, Eno was convinced that this movement should be documented and proposed the idea of a compilation album, ''No New York'', with himself as a producer.{{sfn|Reynolds|2005|page=147}}

By the early 1980s, artists such as [[Liquid Liquid]], [[the B-52's]], [[Cristina (singer)|Cristina]], [[Arthur Russell (musician)|Arthur Russell]], [[James White and the Blacks]] and [[Lizzy Mercier Descloux]] developed a dance-oriented style described by [[Lucy Sante]] as "anything at all + disco bottom".{{sfn|Reynolds|2005|pp=268}} Other no-wave groups such as [[Swans (band)|Swans]], [[Suicide (band)|Suicide]], [[Glenn Branca]], [[the Lounge Lizards]], [[Bush Tetras]] and [[Sonic Youth]] instead continued exploring the forays into noise music abrasive territory.{{sfn|Reynolds|2005|pp=139–150}} For example, [[Noise Fest]] was an influential festival of no wave noise music performances curated by [[Thurston Moore]] of Sonic Youth at the New York City art space [[White Columns]] in June 1981. Sonic Youth made their first live appearances at this show.<ref>[[Simon Reynolds]], ''Rip It Up and Start Again: Post-punk 1978–1984'' (2006) Penguin</ref> 

The Noise Fest inspired Speed Trials, the [[noise rock]] five-night concert series held May 4–8, 1983, that was organized by [[Live Skull]] members in May 1983, also at White Columns (then located at 91 Horatio Street). Among an [[art installation]] created by [[David Wojnarowicz]] and [[Joseph Nechvatal]], Speed Trials included performances by [[The Fall (band)|the Fall]], Sonic Youth,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/05/06/arts/art-rock-6-groups-play.html|author=[[John Rockwell]]|title=Art Rock: 6 Groups Play|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=May 6, 1983}}</ref> [[Lydia Lunch]], [[Mofungo]], [[Ilona Granet]], pre-rap [[Beastie Boys]], [[3 Teens Kill 4]], [[Elliott Sharp]] as Carbon, Swans, [[the Ordinaires]], and [[Arto Lindsay]]<ref>{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p26651|tab=biography|title=Arto Lindsay|last1=Dougan|first1=John|last2=Westergaard|first2=Sean}}</ref> as Toy Killers. On May 10, the [[San Francisco]] noise-punk band [[Flipper (band)|Flipper]] closed the series out with a live concert at [[Studio 54]]. This event also included performances by [[Z'EV|Zev]] and [[Eric Bogosian]] and a video presentation by [[Tony Oursler]]. Speed Trials was followed by the short-lived after-hours [[audio art]] Speed Club that was established by Nechvatal and [[Bradley Eros]] at [[ABC No Rio]] that summer.<ref name="ReferenceA">[[Carlo McCormick]], ''The Downtown Book: The New York Art Scene, 1974–1984'', [[Princeton University]] Press, 2006</ref>

==Other art media in the no wave scene==
===Cinema===

[[No Wave Cinema]] was an underground low-budget film scene in [[Tribeca]] and the [[East Village, Manhattan|East Village]] from the late-1970s to the mid-1980s. Rooted in the gritty, rebellious ethos of the Lower East Side's no wave [[post-punk]] art scene, No Wave Cinema was marked by its [[DIY]] approach, low budgets, and an unpolished aesthetic that rejected mainstream filmmaking conventions. Musicians, visual artists, and filmmakers converged, regularly working across multiple mediums. This interdisciplinary collaboration and a sense of community was a hallmark of No Wave Cinema. 

Avant-garde filmmakers like [[Andy Warhol]], [[Pier Paolo Pasolini]], [[Jean-Pierre Melville]], [[Rainer Werner Fassbinder]] and [[Jack Smith (film director)|Jack Smith]] were notable influences, as was French [[French New Wave|Nouvelle Vague]] cinema, [[Italian neorealism]], early 1970s intimate low budget European films, such as [[Bernardo Bertolucci]]'s 1972 film [[Last Tango in Paris]], and a general interest in the history of [[film noir]]. Handheld [[Super 8 film camera]]s were initially the means to shoot the films often in the street, in downtown nightclubs, in cars, or apartments using available light.

The first No Wave film was [[Ivan Kral]] and [[Amos Poe|Amos Poe']]s 1976 film, ''[[The Blank Generation]]''. It explored the No Wave music scene in [[CBGB's]] with artists such as the [[Ramones]], [[Talking Heads]], [[Blondie (band)|Blondie]] and [[Patti Smith]], among several others. The second No Wave film was the 1977 short, ''X-Terminator'', directed by [[Michael Oblowitz]]. Oblowitz made the film whilst studying at [[Columbia University|Columbia]] [[Columbia University|University]] and editing [[Semiotext(e)]] alongside [[Kathryn Bigelow]] and [[Sylvère Lotringer]]. Further No Wave filmmakers included [[Eric Mitchell (filmmaker)|Eric Mitchell]], [[Scott B and Beth B]], [[Jim Jarmusch]], [[Jamie Nares (artist)|Jamie Nares]], [[Coleen Fitzgibbon]], [[Diego Cortez]], [[Charlie Ahearn]], [[Tom DiCillo]], [[Lizzie Borden]], [[Susan Seidelman]], [[Vincent Gallo]], [[Charlie Ahearn]], [[Adele Bertei]], [[David Wojnarowicz]], [[Vivienne Dick]], [[Kiki Smith]], Michael McClard, [[Andrea Callard]] and Seth Tillett.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.luxonline.org.uk/articles/no_wavelength(1).html|title=Luxonline|website=www.luxonline.org.uk}}</ref> Eric Mitchell's 1985 film ''[[The Way It Is (film)|The Way It Is or Eurydice in the Avenues]]'' is considered the climatic apogee of low-budget production values of no wave filmmaking as the film's dialogue track was dubbed over the 35mm film in editing.<ref>[https://www.moma.org/calendar/events/3976] ''The Way It Is or Eurydice in the Avenues'' at [[MoMA]]</ref> 

For many years the scene was centered around the [[Mudd Club]] and [[Colab]]'s New Cinema Screening Room on [[8th Street and St. Mark's Place|St. Marks Place]] in the East Village. No Wave Cinema actors included [[Patti Astor]], [[Steve Buscemi]], [[Cookie Mueller]], [[Debbie Harry]], [[John Lurie]], [[Eric Mitchell (filmmaker)|Eric Mitchell]], [[Rockets Redglare]], [[Vincent Gallo]], [[Duncan Hannah]], [[Anya Phillips]], [[Rene Ricard]], [[Arto Lindsay]], [[Tom Wright (American actor)|Tom Wright]], [[Richard Hell]], and [[Lydia Lunch]].{{cn|date=December 2024}}

===Visual art===
[[Visual arts|Visual artists]] played a large role in the no wave scene, as visual artists often were playing in bands, or making videos and films, while making visual art for exhibition. An early influence on this aspect of the scene was [[Alan Vega]] (aka Alan Suicide), whose electronic junk sculpture predated his role in the music group Suicide, which he formed with fellow musician [[Martin Rev]] in 1970. They released ''[[Suicide (1977 album)|Suicide]]'', their first album, in 1977.

Important exhibitions of no wave visual art were [[Barbara Ess]]'s ''[[Just Another Asshole]]'' show and subsequent compilation projects and [[Colab]]'s organization of ''[[The Real Estate Show]]'', ''[[The Times Square Show]]'',{{sfn|Masters|2007|p=19}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.timessquareshowrevisited.com/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120830204010/http://www.timessquareshowrevisited.com/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=30 August 2012|title=Times Square Show Revisited|website=www.timessquareshowrevisited.com}}</ref> and the ''Island of Negative Utopia'' show at [[The Kitchen (art institution)|The Kitchen]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Boch|first=Richard|title=The Mudd Club|publisher=[[Feral House]]|year=2017|isbn=978-1-62731-051-2|location=Port Townsend, Washington|page=332|oclc=972429558}}</ref><ref>Goldstein, Richard, "The First Radical Art Show of the '80s", ''[[Village Voice]]'' 16, June 1980, pp. 31–32</ref>

No wave art found an ongoing home on the [[Lower East Side]] with the establishment of [[ABC No Rio]] Gallery in 1980, and a no wave punk aesthetic was a dominant strand in the art galleries of the East Village (from 1982 to 1986).<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

==Legacy==
In a foreword to the book ''No Wave'', [[Weasel Walter]] wrote of the movement's ongoing influence:

<blockquote>I began to express myself musically in a way that felt true to myself, constantly pushing the limits of idiom or genre and always screaming "Fuck You!" loudly in the process. It's how I felt then and I still feel it now. The ideals behind the (anti-) movement known as No Wave were found in many other archetypes before and just as many afterwards, but for a few years around the late 1970s, the concentration of those ideals reached a cohesive, white-hot focus.{{sfn|Masters|2007}}</blockquote>

In 2004, [[Scott Crary]] made the documentary ''[[Kill Your Idols (film)|Kill Your Idols]]'', including such no wave bands as Suicide, Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, DNA and Glenn Branca as well as bands influenced by no wave, including Sonic Youth, Swans, [[Foetus (band)|Foetus]] and others.

In 2007–2008, three books on the scene were published: Stuart Baker's (editor) [[Soul Jazz Records]] ''New York Noise'' (with photographs by Paula Court),<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.souljazzrecords.co.uk/releases/?id=10566| title = Soul Jazz Records – ''New York Noise – Art and Music from the New York Underground 1978–88''}}</ref> Marc Masters' [[Black Dog Publishing]] ''No Wave'' (with a foreword by [[Weasel Walter]]),<ref>[http://www.blackdogonline.com/all-books/no-wave.html ''No Wave''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114153805/http://www.blackdogonline.com/all-books/no-wave.html |date=14 January 2009 }}, with a foreword by Weasel Walter (London: Black Dog Publishing, 2007), {{ISBN|978-1-906155-02-5}}.</ref> and [[Thurston Moore]] and [[Byron Coley]]'s [[Harry N. Abrams]] ''No Wave: Post-Punk. Underground. New York. 1976–1980'' (for which [[Lydia Lunch]] wrote the Introduction).<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.abramsbooks.com/Books/No_Wave-9780810995437.html| title = Harry N. Abrams, Inc. ''No Wave''| access-date = 2 December 2009| archive-date = 7 April 2015| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150407070737/http://www.abramsbooks.com/Books/No_Wave-9780810995437.html| url-status = dead}}</ref>

[[Coleen Fitzgibbon]] and [[Alan W. Moore]] created a short film in 1978 (finished in 2009) of a New York City no wave concert to benefit Colab titled ''X Magazine Benefit'', documenting performances by DNA, James Chance and the Contortions, and [[Boris Policeband]]. Shot in black and white and edited on video, the film captured the gritty look and sound of the music scene during that era. In 2013, it was exhibited at [[Salon 94]], an art gallery in New York City.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.salon94.com/video-wall|title=Pulse Generator Pastry, NY Mix—Salon 94|work=Salon94|access-date=28 June 2013|archive-date=28 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128122847/https://salon94.com/video-wall|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2023, the No Wave movement received institutional recognition at the [[Centre Pompidou]] with a Nicolas Ballet curated exhibition entitled ''Who You Staring At: Culture visuelle de la scène no wave des années 1970 et 1980'' (''Visual culture of the no wave scene in the 1970s and 1980s''). Musical performances and three recorded conversations with No Wave artists were included as part of the exhibition.<ref>[https://www.centrepompidou.fr/en/collection/film-and-new-media/who-you-staring-at] ''Who You Staring At?: Visual culture of the no wave scene in the 1970s and 1980s'' February 1 – June 19, 2023, Film, Video, Sound and Digital Collections</ref>

== Regional scenes ==

=== Kansai no wave ===
'''Kansai no wave''' was a regionalized extension of New York city no wave, and consisted of early Japanese [[Punk rock|punk]] and [[noise music]] artists centered around [[Osaka]], [[Kobe]], [[Kyoto]] and other parts of the [[Kansai region]] in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Artists included [[Aunt Sally (band)|Aunt Sally]], [[Kō Machida|Inu]], Ultra Bide members Hide and [[Jojo Hiroshige]], and [[SS (band)|SS]].<ref name=":2" /> The movement later influenced the development of the [[Japanoise]] scene.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=The Birth of Noise in Japan |url=https://daily.redbullmusicacademy.com/2014/10/birth-of-noise-in-japan-feature |access-date=2025-09-18 |website=daily.redbullmusicacademy.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Player |first=Mark |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Japanese_Cinema_and_Punk/XsRPEQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22kansai+no+wave%22&pg=PA1969&printsec=frontcover |title=Japanese Cinema and Punk: Intermedial Exchanges |date=2025-05-15 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-350-37857-5 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Murphy |first=Mahon |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/S_O_B_s_Don_t_Be_Swindle/atEtEQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22kansai+no+wave%22&pg=PA27&printsec=frontcover |title=S.O.B.’s Don’t Be Swindle |last2=Zwigenberg |first2=Ran |date=2025-01-09 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |isbn=979-8-7651-0898-7 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Wire/fiRMAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%22kansai+no+wave%22&dq=%22kansai+no+wave%22&printsec=frontcover |title=The Wire |date=2005 |publisher=C. Parker |language=en}}</ref>

=== Chicago no wave ===
'''Chicago no wave''' was a regionalized extension of New York city no wave, based in Chicago during the 1990s and 2000s, spearheaded by groups such as [[U.S. Maple]], [[the Flying Luttenbachers]], [[The Scissor Girls|Scissor Girls]] and [[Brise-Glace]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Light |first=G. E. |date=2006 |title='90's Noise |url=http://www.furious.com/perfect/90snoise2.html |work=[[Perfect Sound Forever (magazine)|Perfect Sound Forever]]}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite news |last=Masters |first=Marc |date=2006 |title=Lake of Dracula: Skeletal Remains Album Review |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/9511-skeletal-remains/ |work=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Nelson |first1=J. R. |last2=Galil |first2=Leor |date=2019 |title=Chicago no wave celebrates itself |url=https://chicagoreader.com/music/chicago-no-wave-celebrates-itself/ |work=[[Chicago Reader]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Patten |first=Burke |date=2014 |title=Chicago No Wave Audio Documentary |url=https://weaselwalter.bandcamp.com/album/chicago-no-wave-audio-documentary |website=[[Bandcamp]]}}</ref>

==Music compilations==
* ''[[No New York]]'' (1978) [[Antilles Records|Antilles]], (2006) Lilith, B000B63ISE
* ''[[Just Another Asshole]]'' #5 (1981) compilation LP (CD reissue 1995 on Atavistic # ALP39CD), producers: [[Barbara Ess]] and [[Glenn Branca]]
* ''Noise Fest Tape'' (1982) TSoWC, White Columns
* ''Speed Trials'' (1984) Homestead Records HMS-011
* ''All Guitars'' (1985) [[Tellus Audio Cassette Magazine]] #10, [[Harvestworks]]
* ''N.Y. No Wave'' (2003) [[ZE Records|ZE]] France B00009OKOP
* ''[[New York Noise (album)|New York Noise]]'' (2003) [[Soul Jazz Records]] B00009OYSE
* ''New York Noise, Vol. 2'' (2006) Soul Jazz B000CHYHOG
* ''New York Noise, Vol. 3'' (2006) Soul Jazz B000HEZ5CC

==Documentary films==
* [[Scott Crary]], ''[[Kill Your Idols (film)|Kill Your Idols]]''
* Céline Danhier, ''Blank City''
* [[Coleen Fitzgibbon]] and [[Alan W. Moore]], ''X Magazine Benefit''
* [[Ericka Beckman]], ''135 Grand Street, New York, 1979''

==See also==
{{Portal|1980s}}
*[[Tier 3 (nightclub)|Tier 3]], short-lived no wave [[Tribeca]] nightclub
*[[Pyramid Club (New York City)|Pyramid Club]], no wave-related [[East Village, Manhattan]] nightclub
*[[Mudd Club]], no wave [[Tribeca]] nightclub

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Sources==
* {{cite book|last=Masters|first=Marc|date=2007|title=No Wave|location=London|publisher=Black Dog Publishing|isbn=978-1-906155-02-5 }}
* {{cite book|last=Nickleson|first=Patrick|title=The Names of Minimalism: Authorship, Art Music, and Historiography in Dispute|publisher=University of Michigan Press|year=2023|isbn=9780472903009}}
* {{cite book|last=Pearlman|first=Alison|title=Unpackaging Art of the 1980s|location=Chicago|publisher=University of Chicago Press|year=2003}}
* {{cite book |last=Reynolds |first= Simon |chapter=Contort Yourself: No Wave New York |title=Rip It Up and Start Again: Post-punk 1978–84 |location=London |publisher= Faber and Faber, Ltd. |year= 2005 |pages=139–157}}

==Further reading==
* [[Joachim-Ernst Berendt|Berendt, Joachim-E.]] ''The Jazz Book: From Ragtime to Fusion and Beyond'', revised by {{ill|Günther Huesmann|de}}, translated by H. and B. Bredigkeit with [[Dan Morgenstern]]. Brooklyn: Lawrence Hill Books, 1992. "The Styles of Jazz: From the Eighties to the Nineties," p.&nbsp;57–59. {{ISBN|1-55652-098-0}}
* Moore, Alan W. "Artists' Collectives: Focus on New York, 1975–2000". In ''Collectivism After Modernism: The Art of Social Imagination after 1945'', edited by Blake Stimson & Gregory Sholette, 203. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2007.
* Moore, Alan W., and Marc Miller (eds.). ''ABC No Rio Dinero: The Story of a Lower East Side Art Gallery''. New York: Collaborative Projects, 1985
* Taylor, Marvin J. (ed.). ''The Downtown Book: The New York Art Scene, 1974–1984'', foreword by Lynn Gumpert. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2006. {{ISBN|0-691-12286-5}}

==External links==
*[http://nowave.pair.com/no_wave/ New York No Wave Photo Archive] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070606004929/http://nowave.pair.com/no_wave/ |date=6 June 2007 }}
*[https://www.myspace.com/llikyouridols Official MySpace page] for ''Kill Your Idols'', a documentary about the Cinema of Transgression & the No Wave scene
*[https://archive.org/details/punkcast1382 Video of Thurston Moore] talking about his book "No Wave: Post-Punk. Underground. New York. 1976–1980"

{{punk}}
{{New wave and post-punk}}
{{Avant-garde}}
{{Industrial music-footer}}
{{Experimental music genres}}
{{Sonic Youth}}

[[Category:No wave| ]]
[[Category:Artscene]]
[[Category:Industrial music]]
[[Category:Music scenes]]
[[Category:Performance art in New York City]]
[[Category:Music of New York City]]
[[Category:Rock music genres]]
[[Category: Punk rock scenes]]