A Bite of Arthur Russell πͺ
A Bite of Arthur Russell πͺ
The touching music of one of the most singular artists and innovators of all time
Monday Bites are fun facts about artists you know and donβt, readable in 3 minutes or less. By Grace Lilly.
β’ 3 min read β’
Itβs easy to love Arthur
When he sings, it feels like youβre swimming around in the squishy unguarded part of his brain.
His music has an emotional depth, an introspective earnestness thatβs infused with endearing weirdness and shimmering positivity. The second I press play on any of his songs, that familiar feeling hits me: calm and happy rolled into one.
His love for music, his dedication to experimenting with sound and exploring his craft makes everything he created feel enchanted, vulnerable, and brave.
βHis absolute fearlessness in lending his own unique style to even the most unlikely sound combinations is peerless.βΒΉ
A true innovator, he wasnβt afraid to play. Arthur took risks that led to one of the most unique and impactful bodies of work in music history. His legacy and influence will live forever, ethereal traces of Arthur-ness infused into music all around us.
Somewhere on an Arthur Russell fan forum, someone wrote, βArthur Russell was one of the good onesβ β I couldnβt have said it better myself.
Arthur Russell
The basics
π€ American cellist, composer, producer, and singer
π€ b. 1951 (Oskaloosa, Iowa) - 1992 (New York City, New York)
π€ Pioneering experimental musician
Why you should know him: A musical genius and legend, Arthur was an important influence on a variety of musical developments, shaping the sound of new wave, folk-pop, dance, avant-garde, disco, dub, and experimental music
If you like
β¨ Jonathan Richman
β¨ Rostam
β¨ Jim Croce
β¨ Harry Nilsson
β¨ Grace Jones
β¨ Nick Drake
Known for
π Adventurous production choices, spanning a range of styles
π Often creating music with only his distinctive voice and his cello
π Collaborating with Talking Heads, Allen Ginsberg, Phillip Glass
π Being a perfectionist, often leaving songs unfinished and continually revising them
π Founding the seminal hip-hop/dance label Sleeping Bag
π Leaving behind more than 1,000 tapes when he died, plus hundreds of pages of lyrics & poetry and 6+ posthumous albums so far
Bite-sized facts
πͺ Started composing music as a child, learned piano & cello growing up
πͺ Lived in a Buddhist commune at 18 after moving to San Francisco
πͺ Studied contemporary composition and Indian classical music
πͺ Moved to New York City in the 70s, got involved with the downtown avant-garde community and the emerging disco scene
πͺ Almost joined Talking Heads in 1976 β collaborated on arrangements for their early songs and recorded an acoustic version of βPsycho Killerβ
πͺ Embraced dance music and produced underground club hits under the names Loose Joints, Dinosaur L, and Indian Ocean
πͺ Rose to prominence after his death, was still in relative obscurity and poverty when he died from AIDS-related illnesses in 1992
Songs & dates
β« 1978 Produces the disco single βKiss Me Againβ under the name Dinosaur L with David Byrne on rhythm guitar
β« 1980 Releases βIs It All Over My Faceβ under the name Loose Joints, solidifies his reputation as a dance music producer
β« 1983 Releases the orchestral LP Tower of Meaning, part of a larger instrumental composition intended to accompany the Greek tragedy Medea
β« 1984 Releases a 48-hour-long orchestral album called Instrumentals
β« 1986 Releases βLetβs Go Swimmingβ off his cello and vocal album World of Echo, which is heralded as βa magnum opusβ by critics
β« 1994 A retrospective of unissued music β Another Thought β is released two years after his death
He said
β βI like music with no drums, too, partly, I guess, from listening to drums so much. When you hear something with no drums it seems very exciting. I always thought that music with no drums is successive to music with drums. New music with no drums is like this future where they don't have drums anymore. In outer space you can't take your drums β you take your mind.β
On not joining Talking Heads
β β[I] ended up not joining the band. They were all from art school and were into looking severe and cool. I was never into that. I was from music school and I had long hair at the time.β
We love Arthur
Dev Hynes (Blood Orange)
π βHeβs one of the few people that I continually listen to. Itβs a small list, people who made music that I view as ultimate music, artists that create ultimate pieces of art. The longest I go without listening to him is two days.β
David Byrne
π βHe seemed to have such a wide array of musical interests that at one point he would do something that would seem very avant-garde or whatever word you want to use, and the next minute he would say βWhat I really want to do is sound like ABBA.ββ
Rostam Batmanglij
π βThere's a line in the Arthur Russell documentary where his partner talks about how Arthur is really interested in process. He never felt like anything was finished, and he would even work on things after they'd been released. I definitely relate to that.β
James Blake
π Named his record label after Russell's provisionally titled album β1-800-Dinosaurβ
Arthur Russell Playlist
I gathered my fav Arthur Russell songs, from me to you with love. Like & save on Spotify and listen all week π
Where to start
Rare footage
Three minutes of Arthur performing parts of βI Take This Time,β βCalling All Kids,β βAnswers Me,β and βSoon-To-Be Innocent Funβ from the film Wild Combination: A Portrait of Arthur Russell
γ°οΈ
David Byrne, Phillip Glass, and Allen Ginsberg on Arthur
Sit down with David Byrne of the Talking Heads, Philip Glass, and Allen Ginsberg as they discuss the brilliance of the late musician
γ°οΈ
Arthur Russell x The Muppet Movie
One of my personal favorites, a video by John Michael Boling
Down the rabbit hole
If you wanna dive even deeper:
Wild Combination: A Portrait of Arthur Russell (2008)
Premiering at the 2008 Berlin International Film Festival, this critically acclaimed documentary examines the life and work of Arthur Russell, an influential singer, songwriter, cello player and disco auteur who died tragically in 1992. Watch on Amazon.
Arthur Russell changed Olivia Locherβs life
Photographer Olivia Locher on the overheard song that she now holds most dear β No. 038 - Arthur Russellβs βSoon-to-Be Innocent Fun/Letβs Seeβ changed my life
Show some love
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