''No New York'' is a
compilation album
A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...
released in 1978 by record label
Antilles
The Antilles (; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Antiy; es, Antillas; french: Antilles; nl, Antillen; ht, Antiy; pap, Antias; Jamaican Patois: ''Antiliiz'') is an archipelago bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the south and west, the Gulf of Mex ...
under the curation of producer
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...
. Although it only contained songs by four different artists, some consider it to be a definitive single album documenting New York City's late-1970s
no wave movement.
Background and production
Early in 1978,
New York's
Artists Space hosted an underground
punk rock music festival with several local bands. The final two days of the show featured
DNA and the
Contortions on Friday, followed by
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...
and
Teenage Jesus and the Jerks
Teenage Jesus and the Jerks were an influential American no wave band, based in New York City, who formed part of the city's no wave movement.
Background
Lydia Lunch met saxophonist James Chance at CBGB and moved into his two-room apartment. ...
on Saturday. English musician and
producer Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...
, who had originally come to New York to produce the second
Talking Heads
Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.[Talkin ...](_blank)
album ''
More Songs About Buildings and Food'', was in the audience. Impressed by what he saw and heard, and advised by
Diego Cortez
James Allan Curtis (September 30, 1946 – June 21, 2021), known professionally as Diego Cortez, was an American filmmaker and art curator closely associated with the no wave period in New York City. Cortez was the co-founder of the Mudd Club, ...
to do so, Eno was convinced that this movement should be documented and proposed the idea of a compilation album with himself as a producer.
When Eno recorded ''No New York'', some of the sessions were done without much of the stylized production he was known for on other artists' albums.
James Chance
James Chance, also known as James White (born James Siegfried, April 20, 1953), is an American saxophonist, keyboard player, and singer.
A key figure in no wave, Chance has been playing a combination of improvisational jazz-like music and pun ...
stated that the Contortions tracks were "done totally live in the studio, no separation between the instruments, no overdubs, just like a document." In 1979 Eno stated in his now famous lecture, "The Studio as Compositional Tool", that, "On 'Helen Thormdale' from the ''No New York'' album, I put an echo on the guitar part's click, and used that to trigger the compression on the whole track, so it sounds like helicopter blades."
Release
''No New York'' was released in 1978 by
Antilles Records
Antilles Records was a record label founded as a division of Island Records. It began as a jazz label, recording Joanne Brackeen, Biréli Lagrène, and Phil Woods, though its catalogue did expand to include eclectic musicians like Brian Eno and R ...
.
The original pressing of the LP contained a lyric sheet that was intentionally printed on the inside of the record sleeve, which forced the owner to have to tear apart the sleeve to read the lyrics.
The album was first reissued on CD by
Island Records
Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...
in Japan. It was reissued in 2005 by Lilith Records on
vinyl
Vinyl may refer to:
Chemistry
* Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer
* Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation
* Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry
* Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl m ...
and
digipak
Optical disc packaging is the packaging that accompanies CDs, DVDs, and other formats of optical discs. Most packaging is rigid or semi-rigid and designed to protect the media from scratches and other types of exposure damage.
Jewel case
A ...
form on CD.
Reception
Critic Richard C. Walls, writing for ''
Creem
''Creem'' (often stylized in all caps) is a monthly American music magazine, based in Detroit, whose main print run lasted from 1969 to 1989. It was first published in March 1969 by Barry Kramer and founding editor Tony Reay. Influential criti ...
'', described ''No New York'' as the most "ferociously avant-garde and aggressively ugly music since
Albert Ayler
Albert Ayler (; July 13, 1936 – November 25, 1970) was an American avant-garde jazz saxophonist, singer and composer.
After early experience playing R&B and bebop, Ayler began recording music during the free jazz era of the 1960s. Howev ...
puked all over my brain back in – what? – 64" and stated "If you're intrepid enough to want to hear this stuff (a friend, 3/4 into the first side, complained that the music was painful – she wasn't referring to any abstract reaction, she was grimacing), be advised that Antilles is a division of Island Records, which ain't exactly
Transamerica Corp. You'll probably have to make a little effort to procure it, because there's no way it's going to come to you."
Retrospective reviews of the album have been positive. Todd Kristel of the online music database
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
stated that "this seminal album remains the definitive document of New York's no wave movement", but also echoed Walls's statement from 1978, saying, "Some listeners may be fascinated by the music on ''No New York'' while others may find it unbearable".
In December 2007, ''
Blender
A blender (sometimes called a mixer or liquidiser in British English) is a kitchen appliance, kitchen and laboratory appliance used to mix, crush, purée or emulsion, emulsify food and other substances. A stationary blender consists of a blender ...
'' placed the album at number 65 on their list of "The 100 Greatest Indie-Rock Albums Ever".
Track listing
Personnel
; Contortions
*
James Chance
James Chance, also known as James White (born James Siegfried, April 20, 1953), is an American saxophonist, keyboard player, and singer.
A key figure in no wave, Chance has been playing a combination of improvisational jazz-like music and pun ...
–
saxophone
The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...
, vocals
* Don Christensen –
drums
A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...
*
Jody Harris
Jody Harris is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter and composer who was born in Kansas and became a central figure in the seminal no wave scene in New York City in the 1970s.
Career history
Harris was lead guitarist in the Contortions, an ...
–
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
*
Pat Place
Pat Place (born 1953) is an American artist, photographer, and musician noted for her work as a founding member and guitarist of no wave bands James Chance and the Contortions and Bush Tetras.
Art
Place grew up in Chicago. She studied art in col ...
–
slide guitar
Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos tha ...
*
George Scott III
George Scott III (October 16, 1953 - August 5, 1980) was a bass player for several New York City bands during the No Wave era. He was a founding member of 8-Eyed Spy and the Raybeats, and he worked with James Chance and the Contortions, James Wh ...
–
bass
*
Adele Bertei
Adele Maria Bertei (born 1955) is an American singer, songwriter, writer and director.
Early life
Bertei was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1955. She is the oldest of three children born to Katherine (née Murphy) and Umberto Bertei. Her father w ...
–
Acetone
Acetone (2-propanone or dimethyl ketone), is an organic compound with the formula . It is the simplest and smallest ketone (). It is a colorless, highly volatile and flammable liquid with a characteristic pungent odour.
Acetone is miscib ...
organ
; Teenage Jesus and the Jerks
*
Lydia Lunch
Lydia Lunch (born Lydia Anne Koch; June 2, 1959)Martin Charles Strong. ''The Great Indie Discography''. 2003, page 85 is an American singer, poet, writer, actress and self-empowerment speaker. Her career began during the 1970s New York City no ...
– guitar, vocals
*
Gordon Stevenson – bass
* Bradley Field – drums
; Mars
* Sumner Crane – guitar, vocals
*
China Burg – guitar, vocals
* Mark Cunningham – bass, vocals
*
Nancy Arlen – drums
; D.N.A.
*
Arto Lindsay
Arthur Morgan "Arto" Lindsay (born May 28, 1953) is an American guitarist, singer, record producer and experimental composer. He was a member of the pioneering 1970s no wave group DNA, which featured on the 1978 compilation '' No New York''. I ...
– guitar, vocals
*
Robin Crutchfield – organ, vocals
*
Ikue Mori
(born 17 December 1953), also known as Ikue Ile, is a drummer, electronic musician, composer, and graphic designer. Mori was awarded a "Genius grant" from the MacArthur Foundation in 2022.
Biography
Ikue Mori was born and raised in Japan. She ...
– drums
; Additional personnel
*
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...
–
producer, cover design, cover photo
* Kurt Munkasci – engineer
* Vishek Woszcyk – engineer
* Roddy Hui – assistant engineer
* Steven Keister – cover design
Release history
References
Works cited
*
*
*
Further reading
*
External links
*
{{Authority control
1978 compilation albums
Albums produced by Brian Eno
No wave
Antilles Records albums
No wave albums