Glenn Branca (February 6, 1948 – May 13, 2018) was an American composer and guitarist known for his electric-guitar orchestras, large-scale symphonies and pioneering role in no-wave and noise-rock.

Led ensembles of electric guitars, influenced subsequent noise-rock and alternative acts (members of his groups included Lee Ranaldo), and composed numbered symphonies and large works for guitar orchestras. The Ascension (1981) and Lesson No. 1 (1980) are frequently cited as seminal recordings.

DeBaser reviews celebrate Glenn Branca as a pivotal figure in no-wave and noise-rock. The Ascension is repeatedly hailed as a masterpiece; Lesson No. 1 is noted as an essential early statement. Reviewers highlight Branca's orchestral use of electric guitars and his blend of minimalism and punk energy.

For:Listeners of experimental music, fans of no-wave/noise-rock, contemporary classical and guitar-ensemble enthusiasts.

 "What is this record? What is it?" "Don't you know it?" "Never heard of it..." "Well, it's hard to explain, you should listen to it...." "Please, try!" "Mmm, I'd say I can describe it as a vomiting of hypnotic guitars filtered through a lens about to faint..." "Oh! Sounds amazing... But is it a big mess of noise, then?" "No, it's mathematically regular, like an ancient symphony..."

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 Branca is a genius, his work is probably the first example that would come to mind if I had to describe art, because it is so unique, so innovative, so striking, so violent and peaceful, so visceral and at the same time programmatic, so dissonant yet so harmonious, so balanced yet so radical, so inhuman, and ultimately so human.

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 A fruit of unique beauty in a world of clichés and television reruns. A standalone sky, perpetually variable, polluted and revered by the very deformities that constitute it. The fifth element. A Masterpiece.

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