Glenn Branca (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, October 6, 1948 - May 13, 2018) was… Read Full Bio ↴Glenn Branca (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, October 6, 1948 - May 13, 2018) was an American avant-garde composer and guitarist known for his use of volume, alternative guitar tunings, repetition, droning, and the harmonic series. Branca received a 2009 Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grants to Artists Award.
Branca studied theater at Emerson College in Boston in the early 1970s. While there, he began experimenting with sound as the founder of an experimental theater group called Bastard Theater. He moved to New York in 1976. His first encounter with the NYC music scene was with the N.Dodo Band whom he observed many times at their rehearsal space- Phil Demise's Gegenschein Vaudeville Placenter. This is where he first met Jeffrey Lohn who was playing electric violin with the N. Dodo Band. He then formed two bands in the late 1970s, first Theoretical Girls (in 1977 with composer/guitarist Jeffrey Lohn) and later The Static. He also performed in Rhys Chatham & His Guitar Trio All-Stars in 1977, an experience that was very important in the development of his compositional voice (Branca 1979).
In the early 1980s, he composed several medium-length compositions for electric guitar ensembles, including The Ascension (1981) and Indeterminate Activity of Resultant Masses (1981). He soon thereafter began composing symphonies for orchestras of electric guitars and percussion, which blended droning industrial cacophony and microtonality with quasi-mysticism and advanced mathematics. Starting with Symphony No. 3 (Gloria) (1983), he began to systematically compose for the harmonic series, which he considered to be the structure underlying not only all music but most human endeavors. In this project, Branca was initially influenced by the writings of Dane Rudhyar, Hermann von Helmholtz, and Harry Partch. He also built several electrically amplified instruments of his own invention, expanding his ensemble beyond the guitar. Early members of his group included Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth, Page Hamilton of Helmet, and several members of Swans. Later on, on the early nineties David Baratier attempted to document Branca's teaching style in "They walked in line."
Beginning with Symphony No. 7, Branca began composing for traditional orchestra (although he never abandoned the electric guitar). Branca also plays duets for excessively amplified guitars with his wife, and conducted his 13th symphony for 100 electric guitars at the base of the World Trade Center in New York City in 2001.
His album The Ascension: The Sequel was released on February 27th, 2010- featuring a 4 guitar, bass, and drum lineup similar to the original Ascension, and conducted by Branca himself.
Branca's music has finally begun to receive academic attention. Some scholars, most prominently Kyle Gann, consider him (and Chatham) to be a member of the totalist school of post-minimalism.
In October 2014, Branca premiered Ascension Three, touring it with Glenn Branca Ensemble in Europe. In February 2015, Branca's second 100 electric guitars piece, "Symphony No. 16 (Orgasm)", was premiered at Cité de la Musique in Paris. The Light (for David) for four guitars, bass and drums, premiered in October 2016 at the Roulette in Brooklyn.
Glenn Branca died on May 13, 2018.
Branca studied theater at Emerson College in Boston in the early 1970s. While there, he began experimenting with sound as the founder of an experimental theater group called Bastard Theater. He moved to New York in 1976. His first encounter with the NYC music scene was with the N.Dodo Band whom he observed many times at their rehearsal space- Phil Demise's Gegenschein Vaudeville Placenter. This is where he first met Jeffrey Lohn who was playing electric violin with the N. Dodo Band. He then formed two bands in the late 1970s, first Theoretical Girls (in 1977 with composer/guitarist Jeffrey Lohn) and later The Static. He also performed in Rhys Chatham & His Guitar Trio All-Stars in 1977, an experience that was very important in the development of his compositional voice (Branca 1979).
In the early 1980s, he composed several medium-length compositions for electric guitar ensembles, including The Ascension (1981) and Indeterminate Activity of Resultant Masses (1981). He soon thereafter began composing symphonies for orchestras of electric guitars and percussion, which blended droning industrial cacophony and microtonality with quasi-mysticism and advanced mathematics. Starting with Symphony No. 3 (Gloria) (1983), he began to systematically compose for the harmonic series, which he considered to be the structure underlying not only all music but most human endeavors. In this project, Branca was initially influenced by the writings of Dane Rudhyar, Hermann von Helmholtz, and Harry Partch. He also built several electrically amplified instruments of his own invention, expanding his ensemble beyond the guitar. Early members of his group included Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth, Page Hamilton of Helmet, and several members of Swans. Later on, on the early nineties David Baratier attempted to document Branca's teaching style in "They walked in line."
Beginning with Symphony No. 7, Branca began composing for traditional orchestra (although he never abandoned the electric guitar). Branca also plays duets for excessively amplified guitars with his wife, and conducted his 13th symphony for 100 electric guitars at the base of the World Trade Center in New York City in 2001.
His album The Ascension: The Sequel was released on February 27th, 2010- featuring a 4 guitar, bass, and drum lineup similar to the original Ascension, and conducted by Branca himself.
Branca's music has finally begun to receive academic attention. Some scholars, most prominently Kyle Gann, consider him (and Chatham) to be a member of the totalist school of post-minimalism.
In October 2014, Branca premiered Ascension Three, touring it with Glenn Branca Ensemble in Europe. In February 2015, Branca's second 100 electric guitars piece, "Symphony No. 16 (Orgasm)", was premiered at Cité de la Musique in Paris. The Light (for David) for four guitars, bass and drums, premiered in October 2016 at the Roulette in Brooklyn.
Glenn Branca died on May 13, 2018.
The Ascension
Glenn Branca Lyrics
We have lyrics for 'The Ascension' by these artists:
Absence of Truth Carry us all into burning leaps of time To sear the…
B.Craack I dream of a world where we all sleep Wake up…
Bloodbath Behold, the moon is hiding in the clouds The night is…
Come to Dolly Too many memories that won't come back to me So take this…
Cross Small minds make deadly action Rejecting love is Gaining tr…
Manowar Powers of the Universe Did sire a Son He was baptised By Fi…
Manowar [waptorrent.ru] Powers of the Universe Did sire a Son He was baptised By Fi…
Pas Neos This doesn't feel right. We understand You have a bigger pic…
Phil Wickham This is the start of something amazing A moment when heaven…
Rave the Reqviem I am swimming in a sea of disgrace Drowning in a…
sufjan stevens When I am dead and the light leaves my breast Nothing…
Sylvatica An old viking feared his demise Cause only those who in…
tyler mann I felt the light field Oh how did it feel Well not…
The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos
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Nitro524
God the more I listen to this album the more I realize what’s going on. It’s modern classical under the guise of noise rock. It’s amazing.
Demaisher
@Sean K. i mean yeah the guy was part of its creation as well as no wave
Brandon Ampudia
post minimalism
Bygmester Finnegan
Check out Art Zoyd
Sean K.
It also slots into a genre called Totalism, an Avante-Garde subgenre of Modern Classical.
jade
i don't think people mention enough how danceable this is
Bowser
i didn’t know horrific dissonance could sound so stunning. so glad i discovered this album
Cayle Brekka
@mjmatteo oh cool. was it thurston who said that?
mjmatteo
@Cayle Brekka yes. I just read that too.
Cayle Brekka
@mjmatteo I just heard something by Thurston Moore I think about how that killed the genre cause it left out so many bands and that caused some kind of split in the scene. Not saying it isn't a great compilation!