James Chance: Australia 2016

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James Chance on Noisey: Still Incorrigible After All These Years

James Chance by Dawid Laskowski

James Chance and the Contortions are performing at Trans Pecos this Sunday (9/20) during the day (along with Ex Models and Dreamcrusher) as part of Trans Pecos’ September Sunday afternoon concert series.

James sat down recently with Noisey contributor, Zachary Lipez, for a chat. Read it here.

James Chance Featured on Dangerous Minds

We're happy to report that Dangerous Minds ran a feature on James and the BUY album today! You can read the article here, and order BUY direct from Futurismo here. 

"Truly great jazz is rhythmic enough to lure you in but chaotic enough to make sure you don’t get bored…or too comfortable. Truly great funk is rhythmic enough to keep your body moving and your senses tighter than a trucker on a yellow-jacket binge. Cross these mighty twin forms together and you land somewhere near the county of James Chance. Even then, like any artist worth their salt, simple categorization is not only uneasy but also ill advised. And that’s when things get truly
exciting..." Continued...

James Chance et Les Contortions at Stereo Bar, Glasgow, March 12, 2015

James Chance, Stereo Cafe Bar, Glasgow, 3.12.15, by Jayjay Robertson

Joe Whyte was at the James Chance show in Glasgow last night at the Stereo Cafe Bar for Louder Than War, and loved what he saw & heard.

He’s tonight accompanied by a French three-piece band and quite probably the last time Glasgow witnessed a band as drum-skin tight would have been Mike Watt’s gig at Broadcast last year. This latest Gallic incarnation of Les Contortions are as lean and as precise as a band are ever likely to be; swerving from be-bop jazz to popping funk to Van Vliet-style discord in the blink of an eye or a wave of Chance’s fist, they carve into the material with an assuredness that’s jaw-dropping.

I’m left wondering if this sort of thing is the purest form of that old devil called punk rock. Guys like James Chance are the true outsiders, the risk-takers, the experimenters. It’s light years away from angry menwith guitars, but sometimes it’s the people who play music entirely for themselves that are the true renegades. And James Chance is certainly that.

Read the entire review at Louder Than War.

Contortions' BUY vinyl reissue from Futurismo now available for pre-order!

As announced back in November, the vinyl reissue of James Chance & the Contortions' BUY from Futurismo is now available for pre-order. It ships in March and it looks gorgeous!

Fully remastered and featuring two bonus tracks recorded at a brief reformation, this LP comes on heavy 180g limited edition coloured vinyl with Free Download. The record is encased in a mirror and neon gatefold sleeve containing a new large 12pg booklet featuring rare photography by the late great Anya Phillips and newly written text by the legendary James Chance himself. Get hip, get contorted. Don’t think just BUY.

Tracklisting > 

01. Designed To Kill 

02. My Infatuation 

03. I Don’t
Want To Be Happy 

04. Anestetic 

05. Contort Yourself 

06. Throw Me Away 

07. Roving Eye 

08. Twice Removed 

09. Bedroom Athlete 

10. Terminal City  (bonus cut)

11. Incorrigible (bonus cut)

Pre-Order BUY Now!

James Chance & The Contortions BUY to see deluxe vinyl reissue in early 2015 on Futurismo

Word just in from the UK: The Futurismo label will be reissuing the Contortions BUY album in a deluxe 180 gram vinyl edition in early 2015!

What they say: Come contort yourself…the New York No Wave classic from the CONTORTIONS
is back! It’s just over 35 years since James Chance first assaulted turntables with the juddering jazz punk fusion that permeate the tracks immortalised on BUY. Continued here.

Futurismo Music 

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impLOG's Holland Tunnel Dive EP to be reissued

A couple of tracks that pop up on post punk comps from time to time, "Holland Tunnel Dive" and "On B'way" by Don Christensen's post-Contortions project are definitely worthy of owning on vinyl. And now you won't have to shell out $30-$40 for an original pressing if you don't care about that sort of thing. The Dark Entries label out of San Francisco is reissuing the 12" EP on Sept. 17. Here's what they have to say:

impLOG was the solo project of Don Christensen after leaving New York No Wave group The Contortions in 1979. He began making music using found sounds, a Univox drum machine, guitar stomp boxes, Casio keyboards and percussion instruments. Eventually Don gave a demo tape to Charles Ball at Lust/Unlust Records, who loved it, and released the “Holland Tunnel Dive” b/w “On B’way” 12” in 1980. “Holland Tunnel Dive” is a monotone lament, with a narrator reciting a list of all that is missing in his life along to a sparse, mechanical beat. A variable speed Milwaukee drill creeps its way into the song, eventually reaching cacophonous levels. After four minutes of industrial motorik, an upbeat saxophone riff breaks out unexpectedly, unsettling the listener even further. On the B-side is a deranged version of the Lieber and Stoller show tune “On Broadway”, featuring lead guitar by Jody Harris of the Contortions. The record perfectly captures the dark and seedy vibe of downtown New York in the early 80′s.

All songs have been remastered from the original master tapes for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. The jacket is an exact replica of the original. On the front cover is an illustration of a hydraulic pump against a taxi-cab yellow background. Each copy includes a double sided insert with lyrics, never before seen photos and liner notes by Don Christensen.

It can be pre-ordered here.

Just announced: James Chance with Melt Yourself Down at Village Underground in London, November 5!

Tickets are available Thursday. For more info click here. More dates coming soon!

James Chance & The Contortions "Buy" 35th Anniversary Edition Now Available!

Out this week digitally, the new & improved Buy by the Contortions! It includes 5 bonus tracks, and still sounds ahead of its time 35 years later. Check it out at the following stores:

iTunes

eMusic

Amazon

James Chance touring & recording: Italy & France

James Chance is happy to announce some new European tour dates for late November/early December in Italy and France. He'll be backed by Les Contorsions. The trip will include a recording session in Bordeaux from Dec. 2-5. Keep track of further developments here & here.

Here are the tour dates for Nov 26 thru Dec 7:
  

Nov 26: Turin / Italy - United 

Nov 27: Savona / Italy

Nov 28: Rome / Italy - Init
Nov 29: Bari / Italy - Teatro Communal
Nov 30: Bologna / Italy - Freak Out
Dec 06: Bordeaux / France - Le Comptoir du Jazz 

Dec 07: Tulles / France - Les Lendemains qui Chantent

Shot by: Judy Sipowicz

The Bush Tetras' Pat Place keeps it all in perspective.

Speaking of Save The Robots...

Here is a flyer for a James White (Chance) gig (sometime in the 80's) at said after hours club. Via & James Chance Official.

This weekend: James Chance at Le Poisson Rouge

Photo by Richard Dumas

Nothing says 4th of July weekend quite like a James Chance show! Make sure you salute when he hits the stage at (le) poisson rouge on Saturday, July 6, with Ivan Julian (guitar), Richard Dworkin (drums), Robert Aaron (tenor sax, keyboards), Mac Gollehon (trumpet), and Orrin Bloedour (bass). Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 at the door, and are available here.

X Magazine benefit footage (1978) with Contortions, DNA & Boris Policeband, Party Picks exhibit at Salon 94 Bowery (2013)

James Chance by Jimmy Desana

This is extremely exciting. Very rarely seen footage from the 1978 benefit concert for X Magazine has surfaced featuring The Contortions, Boris Policeband, and DNA. Astounding! Thanks to Frieda's Whip for the tip. The film/video was made by Coleen Fitzgibbon and Alan Moore, and finished in 2009.

The film is part of an exhibition called Party Picks at the Bowery branch of the Salon 94 Gallery, and features the work of artist & photographer, Jimmy Desana. It runs June 21, 2013–August 09, 2013. For more information click here.

Previously unseen photos of James White & The Blacks, Vancouver, May 1982

James Chance fan, Jeff Ellis, has shared some previously unpublished images of James White & The Blacks that he snapped way back in May 1982! See more here.

Tickets still available for July 6 show: James Chance, Sal P, R Stevie Moore & Endless Boogie at Le Poisson Rouge

Tickets available here.

Shot by: Ariel Martini

James & Judy Chance and Les Contortions ontage at Virada Cultural 2013 in Sao Paolo, Brazil, this past weekend. Photos courtesy of Ariel Martini / I Hate Flash. See more here.

James White & The Blacks (1980)

As James makes his way across western Europe, our friends at Bedazzled have shared this nice little collection of four songs by James White & The Blacks, taped live back in May of 1980. Note the gorgeous pink satin jacket James is sporting!

01. I Feel Good 

02. King Heroin 

03. Put Me Back In My Cage 

04. Contort Yourself

Originally posted at James Chance Official

Jean-Michel Basquiat wins dance contest, breaks records!

Read the story behind this great poster only at James Chance Official !

Steven Kramer RIP

Steven Kramer by Marcia Resnick

James Chance remembers Steven Kramer