Avant-Garde Composer and Guitarist Glenn Branca Dies at 69

Glenn Branca was a hugely influential experimental composer and guitarist. He died in his sleep after suffering from throat cancer at the age of 69.

Tributes have poured in for Glenn Branca. His experimental, guitar-heavy compositions were a major influence on bands like Sonic Youth and The Mars Volta.

Branca was central to the no wave movement – which was born out of a reaction to the clichés of rock – and was typified by extreme dissonance and noise.

He also introduced Lee Ranaldo to Thurston Moore and went on release the first two Sonic Youth albums on his Neutral Records label.

Cedric Bixler Zavala of At the Drive In and The Mars Volta paid tribute by posting Branca’s piece Structure on his twitter feed. In this piece you can clearly hear the influence Branca’s work had on Zavala’s projects.

Find out more about Glenn Branca here.

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