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Glenn Branca passed away in his sleep last night from Throat Cancer.

I feel grateful to have been able to live and work with such an amazing source of ideas and creativity for the past 18 1/2 years. His musical output was a fraction of the ideas he had in a given day. His influence on the music world is incalculable.

Despite his gruff exterior, he was a deeply caring and fiercely loyal man. We lived in our own little world together. I love him so much. I’m absolutely devastated.

He lived a very full life and had no regrets. Thank you to all the fans and all of the musicians whose support made that possible.

As per his wishes, there will not be a formal memorial service.

My upcoming schedule will proceed as planned.

This is what Glenn Branca‘s wife, and frequent collaborator, Reg Bloor, announced on Facebook a few hours ago.

Born in Pennsylvania (1948), Branca moved to N.Y. in mid 70’s, where he formed the no wave band Theoretical Girls (1976) with Jeffrey Lohn as “co-pilot”. It was not until 1978, when the duo released the single ‘U.S. Millie / You Got Me‘ (first and last proper release), a definitive no wave/avant-garde masterpiece of its own kind. Later, came The Static (1979) with Barbara Ess (“Just Another Asshole” fanzine) & Christine Hahn releasing the 7” single ‘Theoretical Record‘. His debut solo release is dated back to 1980, with the ‘Lesson No. 1‘ single: Contemporary, no wave, symphonic rock, experimental and noise magically added in the same ‘recipe’. A ‘recipe’ that only the charismatic, avant-grade guitarist and artist knew so well. Branca’s debut full-length arrived a year later (1980, ‘The Ascension‘) featuring Lee RanaldoNetural Records, Glenn’s very own label, released Sonic Youth‘s two first albums, ‘Sonic Youth‘ (1982) and ‘Confusion Is Sex‘ (1983). His latest release as (Branca), was  ‘Symphony No. 13 (Hallucination City) For 100 Guitars‘, 2 years ago on Atavistic Records.

In 2009, he received a Foundation For Contemporary Arts Grants to Artists Award.

Christos Doukakis