No Babies

Originating from Oakland, California, the high-energy no wave collective No Babies merged free jazz and punk elements into its approach. The group traces its origins to Alabama, where Sean Nieves on drums and Ricky Martyr on guitar first played together while still in high school. Drawing influence from Dark Lion, Crass, and Sun Ra, the musicians pursued a strict independent ethos that yielded scattered self-released singles and limited editions before their 2011 debut album appeared on the U.K. label Upset the Rhythm. By then Nieves and Martyr had shifted to the West Coast, enabling No Babies to enlarge its lineup with fresh contributors on saxophone, clarinet, guitars, bass, and vocals. Ongoing releases, among them the split 7" Yo No Soy Como Tu issued jointly by Upset the Rhythm and Arizona's Gilgongo Records, sustained frequent tours that avoided conventional venues and extended as far as Japan. Additional limited projects, including the 2015 cassette Dream World Human Problems, preceded the band's return with its second full-length, Someone to Watch Over Me, issued in early 2018.