It might be difficult to conceive of a city without music, and for NYC, if you take out the music, then the whole world suddenly gets quieter by decibels. The musical contributions from here have been rather enormous in the history of things in general, and what we listen to in the world today is usually intimately connected to the city in some significant way. New York certainly has a share of artists, and it’s been that way for a few generations. In the history of civilizations generally, there is always a Rome that people flock to, and this has been Rome for so many for so very long.

These days, it’s enough to book a hotel and come check out the scene first hand, to know that the energy here is as high as it ever was. With each subsequent generation, there are more innovations and experiments that come along, suggesting that the future is bright, even if the art is a bit gloomy. Gloomy might be a good way to describe some of DNA ‘s music, but there are probably a hundred others. It’s a little ironic that there are multiple ways of talking about a band whose music is minimalist, but that irony would not be lost on its lead singer, Arto Lindsay .

He was obviously having an interesting time of it in the late 70s, when the band was entering into the underground’s consciousness. The spirit of experiment was very high in those days, and it seems to be gaining ground again. Catching up with his career lately can offer a bit of optimism for those who think there’s nothing new under the sun. This radical artist, who grew up with Brazil’s Tropicalia in his neighborhood, moved to NY to create new sounds that people still talk about, and has worked with such like-minded visionaries as Hiener Muller and Vito Acconci. Plus, he’s still making his own new experiments, and seems to be finding plenty of material to work with.