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Music genre

No wave

No wave is a music genre that emerged in United States in the 1970s. It is usually classed as a form of post-punk and experimental rock. Explore key artists and related styles.

About No wave

No wave is a music genre that emerged in United States in the 1970s. It is usually classed as a form of post-punk and experimental rock.

Well-known performers associated with it include Jim Jarmusch, Sonic Youth, Thurston Moore, Swans and Glenn Branca.

From Wikipedia

No wave was an avant-garde music and visual art scene that emerged in the late 1970s in Downtown New York City. The term was coined as a rejection of commercial new wave music. No wave musicians took rock instrumentation and experimented with noise, dissonance, and atonality, as well as non-rock genres like free jazz, funk, and disco. The scene often reflected an abrasive, confrontational, and nihilistic worldview, originally pioneered by New York artists Suicide and Jack Ruby.

In 1978, Brian Eno produced the compilation album No New York, which became an important document of the scene. 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. Regional scenes influenced by New York city no wave emerged, including Japan's Kansai no wave movement along with the Chicago no wave scene.

Genre family tree

Parent genres (↑) and subgenres (↓) of No wave.

Key artists

  • Jim Jarmusch
  • Sonic Youth
  • Thurston Moore
  • Swans
  • Glenn Branca

Related genres

Questions people ask

Real questions from the Stack Exchange community – follow a link to read the discussion.

Frequently asked questions

What is No wave?

No wave is a music genre that emerged in United States in the 1970s. It is usually classed as a form of post-punk and experimental rock.

Where and when did No wave originate?

No wave originated in United States in the 1970s.

Who are famous No wave artists?

Jim Jarmusch, Sonic Youth, Thurston Moore, Swans and Glenn Branca.

Sources & credits