Chandra Oppenheim was a ‘completely unique’ star of New York’s avant-garde scene before reaching her teens. Three decades on, she’s reviving the career that slipped from her grasp
Unlike many who claim they saw the New York Dolls play Max’s Kansas City in 70s New York, Chandra Oppenheim was actually there – although she was sleeping snugly under a table as her parents watched. She saw Steve Reich live and would attend hog-roast gatherings under the Brooklyn Bridge hosted by the artist Gordon Matta-Clark set to a live soundtrack by Philip Glass (known to the family as Phil). Aged eight, she was delivering performance pieces at the Kitchen, a downtown arts space; by 12, she was the leader of the post-punk band Chandra.
Chandra – the band – were steeped in New York’s prolific post-punk, funk and no wave scenes, but until recently their music was largely forgotten. Even Soul Jazz Records’ comprehensive two-volume New York Noise compilation found no room for it. But a new reissue, along with forthcoming live shows, is bringing Chandra’s story back into focus. “I thought it would be three years before I picked up this music again,” says Oppenheim, now 50. “But it’s been more like three decades.”
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