This issue is a stance. A rejection of seemingly endless commercialisation and what feels like the inescapable power of late-stage capitalism. ‘Do more. Sell more. Be more’ is the echo of our commoditised universe: an incessant and refined algorithm to monetise our attention and steal away our connection with ourselves as human beings. As we’ve hit peak homogenisation, where everything comes with a label, is shaped by convention, or needs to be clearly defined, sanitised and digested, we are driven – maybe by boredom and definitely out of necessity – to pioneer a resistance.
These pages act as a kind of NO WAVE manifesto that goes something like this:
Remember why we do it in the first place.
Believe that ideas are lived and shared forever.
Create for the sake of making something.
DIY as the only way.
Seek community and self-reliance in equal measure. Think like Lynch. “New mysteries. New day. Fresh doughnuts.”
Revel in a nihilistic world view.
Champion self-made culture above all else.
Work with people across mediums for interdisciplinary collaboration whenever possible.
Resist uniformity.
In the spirit of Brian Eno, Alan Vega and Lydia Lunch. Fear nothing. Not even AI.
Stop making everything ‘–core’.
Never show up for what the fee can buy, but for the work itself.
Cook without a recipe.
If you haven’t listened to James Chance’s saxophone, reorganise your priorities.
Please keep making zines.
And only sell when it’s your very last option.
No matter how stuck we feel, or how deep within the system we are, it’s helpful to remember that, once upon a time, there was such a thing as the divine right of Kings. Anything can change if enough people believe.
No Wave, always.
Experience the No Wave issue in its entirety this May, available on newsstands from Thursday 15 May 2025, and through our online shop. Find a stockist near you.
