Local Legend: Martin Bisi Says Gowanus Made Him A Mutant

GOWANUS, BROOKLYN — A music producer who helped launch Whitney Houston's career and win Herbie Hancock a Grammy says one of his primary influences has been the toxic waters of the Gowanus Canal, which may or may not have turned him into a mutant.

Martin Bisi is a Brooklyn pioneer who brought avant garde hip hop and indie rock production into Gowanus in the 1980s and has been creating music there ever since.

Much of the work he did with Bill Laswell and the BC Studio was inspired by the strangely melodic acoustics of his Gowanus basement, where Brian Eno, Sonic Youth and the Violent Femmes have all recorded music.

"Martin would you kind of let you go haywire in the basement, destroy whatever you wanted to," says The Dresden Dolls drummer Brian Viglione in the 2014 documentary about BC Studio. "I love the way drums sound down there."

Bisi spoke about how the neighborhood beyond his basement walls has influenced his work as part of Patch's Local Legends series, where people who make New York City great discuss the neighborhoods they call home.

Last week we spoke with Broadway Star Liz Larsen about the Upper West Side and next week we'll talk to Attorney General Letitia James about her memories of Clinton Hill.

Here's what Bisi has to say about Gowanus:

Describe Gowanus in three words:

On the edge.

How does Gowanus influence your work?

Well, from 40 years a block downwind from the murky canal depths, and a certified brownfield in practically my backyard, and this industrial cocktail mixing with something, let’s say, a little more organic, during high water, flowing through the buried primordial streams under my feet. At this point I’m a mutant, and it shows in the work. Everything is off, or glowing in the dark, or sonically smelly.

What food does Gowanus do best? Where do you find it?

I suggest mom-and-pop, all the way, like Kanan for Indian, or Two Toms, an old-time Italian restaurant that's fit for a Scorsese script, and on the edge of the historic Sopranos-style enclave of Gowanus. If you must occasionally go "nicer," I suggest Runner & Stone, or Fletcher's Brooklyn Barbecue.

What is your best quintessential Gowanus story?

On a slushy late-winter afternoon, my friend on 17th Street and Third Avenue asked if I could help her move her large bass speaker to my recording studio for future use. This was a minor monster, too big for a cab, not worth renting a van for, so we have a little dolly.

It was a slice of hell navigating the melt water on the corners of Third Avenue, but we finally made it to Third Street, and I snap and post a photo of our load to celebrate – and then a couple people follow with their own photos of us along the way. So I guess we inspired! Like I said, Gowanus gets the job done!

What makes Gowanus New York's best neighborhood ?

It's a great place for creative work. Relatively quiet. Visually, a great mix of our industrial past and old Italian-American Brooklyn. Many people trying to get something going, but somehow less distracting than other areas in North Brooklyn and Manhattan.

Describe your perfect day in Gowanus.

Well, perfect will be a Sunday. It can be very quiet, with very surprising birdsong. I’ll jog up and down the short dead end streets leading to the canal, on both sides. And look for anything new, like street art, or unfortunately anything that might be on its way out.

Have an upcoming project in New York City?
BC35 Volume Two is out now. It's a record in two volumes that marks the 35 years of BC Studio in Gowanus. And I'm preparing to release my solo album, Solstice, in November.

Read More From NYC's Local Legends:

• Broadway Star Liz Larsen Says The UWS Is Family
• Gastor Almonte Says Great Comedy Starts In East NY

This interview was lightly edited for style.