Buy

Buy was recorded by James Chance and the Contortions, the band Chance fronted as singer and saxophonist in the downtown New York no wave scene. The original lineup associated with the no wave period included members who also overlapped with other key figures in the late-1970s New York underground.

Buy was released in 1979 on Ze Records, the label co-founded by Michel Esteban and Michael Zilkha that became central to New York's no wave and post-punk scenes. Ze Records also released music by artists like Was (Not Was) and Lizzy Mercier Descloux during the same period.

The Contortions first gained wider attention through their appearance on Brian Eno's 1978 No New York compilation, which documented four no wave bands. Buy, released the following year on Ze Records, was the band's full-length debut and expanded on the abrasive, genre-blending sound introduced on that compilation.

Buy is widely considered a defining record of the New York no wave movement, fusing the raw dissonance of punk with elements of James Brown-style funk and free jazz. Chance's abrasive, honking saxophone and confrontational vocals over angular, danceable rhythms created a sound that was both hostile and groove-oriented.