Amoeba Music

Rhys Chatham defines loud, raw, New York minimalism. That sound has its source in the work of Tony Conrad and John Cale in the early 1960s. However, the original 1977 premiere of Rhys Chatham’s “Guitar Trio” is the point at which that river of sound jumped its banks and began to make its way to the mainstream. At the time, the piece had an immediate impact: It placed Chatham at the forefront of the burgeoning No Wave scene, which blossomed in the fetid, fertile streets of the Lower East Side during the late 1970s. Its influence spread further, as protégés and members of Chatham’s ensembles — including Glenn Branca and members of Sonic Youth — folded the sound into their own. It continues to seep outward.

City Of Origin:

New York, New York, United States

Genre:

Experimental, Minimalism

Birthdate:

09/19/1952