Jonathan Kane (November 4, 1956, New York)
Founding member of the influential No-Wave and experimental rock band Swans in the early 1980s, along with Michael Gira.
Before Swans, he played in the post-punk band Circus Mort, which also featured Michael Gira (future Swans frontman).
Kane began to stand out in the late 1970s and early 1980s, when New York was a melting pot of punk, no wave, and sonic experimentation.
He collaborated with figures such as Gary Lucas (in his band Gods and Monsters) and Moe Tucker (of the Velvet Underground).
His drumming style—which he says was influenced by Howlin’ Wolf and a desire to play half-time (half-time)—helped forge the slow, heavy, and incredibly dense sound of the band's first album, Filth (1983).
Minimalist musician, pioneer of no-wave
His career is notable for his collaboration with renowned minimalist composers... he takes the concussive intensity of Swans and the repetition of minimalism (à la Neu! or La Monte Young) and applies it to an American blues context.
The work results in a hypnotic and propulsive sound, with repetitive guitar riffs and long durations, where Kane's drumming is the relentless heart.
He was the drummer for La Monte Young's rock band, the Forever Bad Blues Band; the collaboration shows how Kane manages to blend his passion for the blues with the rhythmic and harmonic structures of minimalism.
With Rhys Chatham, he collaborated on monumental pieces such as Guitar Trio, which influenced generations of experimental musicians.
Kane was the only drummer in Rhys Chatham's famous 100-guitar electric guitar orchestra, demonstrating his ability to maintain a propulsive and rigorous rhythm in a context of sonic mass.
He currently leads his own band, Jonathan Kane's February
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