Arthur Russell

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Arthur Russell (1951 - April 4, 1992) was a prodigious talent. Classically trained on cello while growing up in Oskaloosa, Iowa, Arthur studied with Ali Akbar Khan in San Francisco in the early 1970’s.

During this period he also collaborated with Allen Ginsberg, accompanying him on cello while Ginsberg read or sang. Russell also spent time in a Buddhist commune in California; he left when they decided to collectivise his cello.

By the mid-1970’s Russell relocated to New York City, where he studied at The Manhattan School of Music. He formed a band from 1975-1979, The Flying Hearts, recorded by John Hammond and featuring David Byrne, Rhys Chatham, Jon Gibson, Peter Gordon, Jerry Harrison, Garret List, Frank Pagano, Andy Paley, Leni Pickett, and Peter Zummo.

In the late 1970s Russell became enamoured with the disco scene in New York. While disco today gets a bad rep, at the time it represented a liberation force, particularly for the gay scene, just a few years after the Stonewall riots. (For more see “Turn the Beat Around: The Secret History of Disco” by Peter Shapiro).

‘Kiss Me Again’ was Russell’s first dance track. Released under the name Dinosaur L by Sire records, it was to be the first of many innovative dancefloor tracks released under different names and with different collaborators, such as ‘Is It All Over My Face’ by Loose Joints, released in 1980. In 1982, Arthur Russell and William Socolov founded Sleeping Bag records and their first release was his 24-24 Music.

Tagged as:

avant-garde, experimental, disco, no wave, electronic
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The world of Arthur russell
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Top Tracks

1	Close My Eyes	199
2	I Couldn't Say It to Your Face	183
3	A Little Lost	180
4	This Is How We Walk on the Moon full track	178
5	Goodbye Old Paint	149
5	Nobody Wants a Lonely Heart	149
7	Tone Bone Kone	148
8	Hiding Your Present From You full track	147
9	Maybe She	146
10	Oh Fernanda Why	145
11	Time Away	141
12	That's Us/Wild Combination	140
13	Your Motion Says	133
13	Lucky Cloud	133
15	Habit of You	132

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greasyhair wrote:
yesterday morning

he has to be my favorite artist...his music is so magical and dreamlike

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Milkanoups wrote:
last week

'platform of the ocean' gives me the chills. i can't believe it's not up on the top 15. but he's got so many excellent songs, so i doesn't really surprise me.

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phphphphph wrote:
last month

A new track : pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/11606-come-to-life

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Magic-joel wrote:
last month

Does anyone know the song (or if its even been released) that Arthur plays in the clip about 13 minutes into the "Wild Combination" film?

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johnnymarr08 wrote:
last month

arthur russell is da best

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truculenttyler wrote:
October 2009

rest in peace

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Magic-joel wrote:
October 2009

Should be getting the film about him soon, can't wait to watch it, quite genuinely obsessed with this man and his music.

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rogerfariass wrote:
October 2009

genius [123098987] +1

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haraco wrote:
October 2009

beautiful echo::

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tongsessplode wrote:
October 2009

this man tears my heart apart

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zmin wrote:
October 2009

just see wild combination (wont tell you where to see it though)

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obscureparadigm wrote:
September 2009

book coming out about him soon.

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FranticFish123 wrote:
September 2009

World of Echo is one of the greatest albums of all time. [2]

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phphphphph wrote:
September 2009

Soon the first biography : http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hold-Your-Dreams-Downtown-1973-1992/dp/0822344858/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1251968382&sr=1-1

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TheGumThief wrote:
September 2009

semi-awesome, I think "love is overtaking me" is a good 'gateway' for the rest of his work (and an excellent album in and of itself, of course). It was for me, anyway. I couldn't get into "world of echo" at first, for instance, and after I completely fell for "love is overtaking me" I started to like (well, more like "obsessively love") the other albums too, automatically.

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_keen_ wrote:
September 2009

Why 'get around to it' is not in top 15 ? It is an amazing tune.

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TheYardstick wrote:
August 2009

World of Echo is one of the greatest albums of all time.

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bobbydinero wrote:
August 2009

While you never reached mega-pop success like you had wanted to, the love that you have given us through your music will forever endure. RIP

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lascivit wrote:
August 2009

genius [123098987]

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semi-awesome wrote:
August 2009

What's his best album to start with?

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