Arthur Russell
Charles Arthur Russell Jr. (1952 – April 4, 1992) was an American cellist, composer, singer, and disco artist. While he found the most success in dance music, Russell's career bridged New York's downtown, rock, and dance music scenes; his collaborators ranged from Philip Glass to David Byrne to Nicky Siano. Relatively unknown during his life, a series of reissues and compilations have raised his profile in the 2000s.
Charles Arthur Russell Jr. (1952 – April 4, 1992) was an American cellist, composer, singer, and disco artist. While he found the most success in dance music, Russell's career bridged New York's downtown, rock, and dance music scenes; his collaborators ranged from Philip Glass to David Byrne to Nicky Siano. Relatively unknown during his life, a series of reissues and compilations have raised his profile in the 2000s.
Member of: Dinosaur L
Kiss Me Again
Arthur Russell first visited The Gallery in 1976 with his then boyfriend Louis, who introduced him to Nicky Siano. Arthur became a regular at the space and one night as Siano was playing “Turn the Beat Around”, which had just been released, Arthur waved at him from outside the booth and asked to come in. Nicky opened the door and Arthur suggested they make a record like this together. This ended up being a huge step for Siano as it marked the first ever production by a DJ making a record from sc…
Wild Combination - A Zine Inspired By The Music Of Arthur Russell
A 24-page A4 2 colour riso zine inspired by the words and music of Arthur Russell. Combining Arthur's lyrics with full page illustrations and comics, this was 1st printed nearly 10 years ago and is back in print again!
In The Light Of The Miracle
Finally! The very first commercial release of two legendary remixes of Arthur Russell's "In The Light Of The Miracle". Both are widely regarded as transcendent masterpieces and very much befitting of the title “holy grails”. These long-beloved mixes are the types you'd wish would last for eternity. With almost 30 minutes of music here, we very nearly get our desires granted. At last, these jaw-dropping mixes are widely available to every Arthur fan in the world. This is musical perfection. The d…
Travels Over Feeling: Arthur Russell, a Life (Book)
The music of Arthur Russell defies classification. From his pioneering compositions as part of New York's vibrant avant-garde scene (alongside artists including Philip Glass, David Byrne, Laurie Anderson, John Cage, and Allen Ginsberg) to his genre-expanding disco productions, from his new wave and art pop to his posthumously released folk songs, Russell crafted timeless and foundationally influential work until his premature death in 1992 from AIDS-related illnesses.
Now, in a landmark publicat…
Picture of Bunny Rabbit
LP version. "In 1986 Arthur Russell was diagnosed with HIV, that same year he released his career-defining masterpiece World of Echo, the first and only solo album issued during his lifetime. Arthur had found his voice and a fresh direction with a set of new, transformative material, unlike anything he or anyone else had previously released. His illness ensured that the artistic growth and sense of exploration encapsulated in World of Echo would be tragically curtailed. Within six short years Ar…
Instrumentals
Remastered double LP with 12 page booklet including liner notes by Tim Lawrence, Ernie Brooks and Arthur Russell. All material previously released on the Audika CD compilation First Thought Best Thought (2006). Before disco, and before the transcendent echoes, Arthur Russell wanted to be a composer. His journey began in 1972, leaving home in Oskaloosa, Iowa. Heading west to Northern California, Arthur studied Indian classical composition at the Ali Akbar Khan College of Music followed by western…
Another Thought
Another Thought was the first collection of Arthur Russell’s music to be released after his death in 1992. Released on CD by Point Music in 1993 it marked the beginning of nearly 30 years of work to let the world hear the enormous archive of unreleased recordings Arthur left behind. Be With revisits this first compilation for a new gatefold double vinyl version and a triple-fold digipak CD re-issue.
This is the only place where you can hear some of Arthur’s most recognisable music, like the titl…
Iowa Dream
Double LP version. "Over the past decade, the visionary musician Arthur Russell has entered something close to the mainstream. Sampled and referenced by contemporary musicians, his papers now open to visitors at the Performing Arts Library at Lincoln Center in New York, and his name synonymous with a certain strain of tenderness, Russell is as widely known as he's ever been. Thanks to Russell's partner Tom Lee and to Steve Knutson of Audika Records, who have forged several records from Russell's…
World of Echo
2019 Repress. Remastered reissue of the late, great Arthur Russell's peerless, definitive opus 'World of Echo'. Buy on sight!** The seminal 'World Of Echo' was originally released on vinyl in 1986 on Upside Records and has been an essential but hard to find collectors item ever since. Audika now finally gift the world this new vinyl pressing - freshly remastered from the recording sessions, including beatless versions of disco classics like Lola's 'Wax the Van', 'Treehouse' and 'Let's go swimmin…
The World of Arthur Russell
Re-press of this all-time classic... Soul Jazz Records are re-releasing their seminal retrospective on Arthur Russell. Since the initial groundbreaking release of ‘The World of Arthur Russell’ Russell has become the subject of intense media interest. With the recent release of a film about his life (‘A Portrait of Arthur Russell’), as well as a new album of unreleased recordings, (‘Love Is Overtaking Me’), Arthur Russell’s stature as a great artist has grown to is current height. (“One of the gr…
24-24 Music
Dinosaur L is an alias donned by Arthur Russell, a man whose contribution to dance music from the late seventies and through the eighties was formidable but only quietly acknowledged. His innovative and left field dance records were way ahead of what people were used to hearing at the time. He was a cellist who studied classical and Indian music. As well as his great strides in dance music he was also involved in the New York downtown avant-garde music scene and produced some albums in a …
Love is Overtaking Me
"Compiled from over eight hours of material, Love Is Overtaking Me reaches back further to Russell's first compositions from the early `70s, the most rare and, at the same time, arguably the most accessible part comprising 21 demos and home recordings of unreleased pop, folk and country songs selected by Audika's Steve Knutson, Ernie Brooks and Russell's companion, Tom Lee. A number of the songs feature prominently in the film Wild Combination: A Portrait of Arthur Russell."
"Four years ago, Aud…
Tower Of Meaning
*in restock* "Arthur's epic minimalist orchestral composition conducted by the late Julius Eastman. Stunningly beautiful, mercurial, and moving. The transcendental, ephemeral soundscape originally intended for theatrical performance. First released in 1983 on Chatham Square. The Audika release replicates the original artwork with remastered audio." 'Almost medievally pure music in which tone combinations of two or three notes tuned to modal/raga scales are played by various instrumental groups.…
Calling Out Of Context
"The compilation that started the renaissance. In 2002 Audika Records entered into an exclusive licensing agreement with the estate of Arthur Russell to compile and issue previously unreleased and out of print material from Arthur's vast archive. This first album Calling Out of Context, features 12 previously unreleased tracks of Buddhist Bubblegum Alt Disco Pop recorded during Arthur's prime years 1985-90."
"Four years ago, Audika Records began releasing the exceptionally varied, long sought-af…
Corn
It has been seven years since Audika last issued an album of Arthur Russell material. The wait ends this summer with Corn, nine tracks Russell recorded in 1982 and 1983. In collaboration with Russell’s partner Tom Lee, Audika’s Steve Knutson compiled Corn from Arthur’s original, completed 1/4” tape masters. Russell himself compiled this material on three separate test pressings—labeled El Dinosaur, Indian Ocean, and Untitled, respectively — in 1985. Russell fans know something of the Corn sound …
24-24 Music
Though classically trained Arthur Russell's major contributions to the music world is in the dance genre. Despite the fact that his pioneering work in the late '70s and on through the '80s was only quietly acknowledged at the time, his long term impact is best described as formidable. Russell's innovative; left field dance records flew way ahead of what people were used to hearing at the time, due in part, to his involvement in New York's downtown avant-garde music scene. He scored severa…
First Thought Best
Before Disco, and before the transcendent echoes, Arthur Russell wanted to be a composer. His journey began in 1972, leaving Iowa to study Indian classical composition with Ali Akbar Khan in Northern California and ending two years later in New York at the Manhattan School of Music. In that brief period Arthur met and worked with several musicians and poets that would guide his work throughout the remainder of the decade: Allen Ginsburg, Christian Wolff, Jackson MacLow, Rhys Chatham, Ph…
The Sleeping Bag Sessions
You already know about Arthur Russell from disco classics like "Is It All Over My Face" and "Go Bang" (maybe you even watched the recent documentary), but do you know about all the early/mid-80's work he did on his own Sleeping Bag label? This awesome compilation collects the gems you might've slept-on or never came across. Whether its early hip-hop boogie (Sounds Of JHS 126 Brooklyn's "Chill Pill(1)"), left field electro beats (Bonzo Goes To Washington's "5 Minutes(2)"), or underground disco ba…
Springfield
Seven track mid-length CD, all tracks previously unreleased. Includes a new DFA remix. Before Homer (Simpson) there was Arthur Russell and his vision of a utilitarian and common social oasis. There appears to be in every state of the union a Springfield -- be it county, city or street. Arthur imagined that his music could be universally accepted in each and every one of them. Springfield is one of the last compositions Arthur Russell wrote in his all too short lifetime. Arthur recorded over four…