muse

Basquiat was a lover of tunes. Since he was a kid, he soaked in jazz, especially bebop, with that free and raw energy that stuck to his way of approaching art. His canvases resonated with that rhythmic chaos, a dance between painting and music.

He crossed paths with Rammellzee, a rapper and graffiti artist. together, they formed the hip-hop group “Gray” It added a musical layer to his artistic expression, a mix of graffiti, rap, and contemporary art.

The dingy clubs of the punk and new wave scene, like CBGB, sucked him into their whirlwind. Where rebellious energy and creativity spat flames, he was there, another drifter in the musical night.

Blondie even let Basquiat tackle the cover of their album “Eat to the Beat.” A fusion of art and music, a damn visual symphony.

Hip-hop lyrics and urban culture were his anthems. He slapped street words and phrases onto his canvases, making the music of the streets resonate in his art.

Music shaped Basquiat, like a dark melody played in a grungy bar. His canvas was a score, each brushstroke a note in this damn urban symphony.

gray : ” drum mode “

Gray, a band born from New York’s underground art scene in the late 1970s, embodies the essence of the avant-garde by blending art, music, and sonic experimentation. Founded by Jean-Michel Basquiat and Michael Holman, before Basquiat became an icon of contemporary art, Gray is distinguished by its innovative approach and its commitment to blurring the boundaries between artistic disciplines. This mysterious and influential group reflects an era when young creators in New York explored new territories, breaking established conventions and shaping a culture that continues to resonate today.

Gray emerged during a period of creative ferment in New York, where the boundaries between visual arts, music, and performance were increasingly porous. Jean-Michel Basquiat, then a young emerging artist known for his graffiti under the pseudonym SAMO, and Michael Holman, a musician and filmmaker, met amidst the vibrancy of Lower Manhattan. Fascinated by the idea of creating music that diverged from conventional rock or jazz structures, they formed Gray in 1979, drawing inspiration from the book Gray’s Anatomy that Basquiat often read and which influenced his visual work.

From the outset, Gray positioned itself as an experimental group, rejecting predefined labels and genres. The band consisted of Basquiat, Holman, Vincent Gallo, Shannon Dawson, and Nick Taylor, each bringing their own artistic sensibility and diverse influences. Their music is an eclectic mix of industrial sounds, hypnotic rhythms, and dissonant sonic textures, reflecting a raw, uncompromising urban worldview.

Gray was not a band seeking commercial success or traditional recognition. Instead, they performed primarily in clubs and art galleries, spaces where experimentation was encouraged and where the lines between audience and artists were often blurred. Gray’s performances were more than just concerts; they were immersive experiences where music intertwined with visuals, lighting, and the raw energy of the artists.

Their musical approach was deeply influenced by the city’s noise, mechanical sounds, and repetitive rhythms. Gray utilized unconventional instruments and production techniques that blurred the lines between music and pure noise. This innovative approach drew the attention of the New York art scene, where Gray became a symbol of the unbridled creativity that characterized the era.

Jean-Michel Basquiat, although increasingly recognized for his work as a visual artist, continued to invest in Gray, using music as another medium to explore themes that obsessed him: identity, urban culture, death, and memory. Gray thus became an extension of his pictorial work, a space where he could experiment freely with sounds just as he manipulated colors and words on his canvases.

By the early 1980s, as Basquiat’s artistic career took off, Gray began to dissolve. Basquiat focused increasingly on painting, becoming one of the most prominent artists of his generation. Nevertheless, the spirit of Gray persisted, and its members continued to explore artistic projects in other fields.

Gray’s influence extends far beyond its active existence. The band became an urban legend, a symbol of the fusion between art and music, and a precursor to many movements that followed. Interest in Gray was revived in the 2000s, as Basquiat’s works continued to fascinate and the era’s archives were rediscovered by new generations of artists and musicians.

In the early 2000s, Michael Holman, along with other members of the band, decided to reactivate Gray. They began releasing new music and performing again, exploring the sonic archives of their early years while adding new layers to their work. The band became a bridge between the 1980s New York avant-garde and the new forms of artistic expression in the 21st century.

Gray is reassessed by critics and art historians who recognize its pioneering role in merging music and visual art. The band represents an interdisciplinary approach that is now commonplace but was revolutionary at the time. Reissues of their original recordings, as well as new productions, allow a broader audience to discover Gray’s lasting impact on contemporary artistic culture.

Through its few years of active existence and subsequent revivals, Gray is much more than just a music group. They represent a crucial period in New York’s cultural history, where the boundaries between artistic disciplines were constantly pushed and redefined. Gray embodies experimentation, boldness, and the avant-garde spirit, with Jean-Michel Basquiat at its core, using music as another medium to express his creative genius. The legacy of Gray endures, not only in the sonic archives they left behind but also in the influence they continue to exert on the artists and musicians who follow in their footsteps.