Ok . MORE Arthur Russell (But This Is Great)

So first thoughts (best thoughts?):

Obviously not the place anyone would *start* with Arthur's music. But for those deeply in love with 'World of Echo,' is's mostly a warm fuzzy blanket of loveliness, with some sonic wrinkles and combinations not heard from him before. Then there's one track (really a series of several fragments) that suggests yet another Arthur-invented genre unto itself he could've explored at length (and who knows, maybe did) that sounds entirely new, and not much like anything I've heard before--very glitchy, droney, kinetic but somewhat darker and more menacing than anything else he made.

Of course, I would--but I love it.

Cool beans, loose jointz---and thanks! Looking fwd even more now.

me too! and I was already looking forward to it rather a lot

ilx alum Philip Sherburne conducts a very good interview with Steve Knutson:
https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/arthur-russell-picture-of-bunny-rabbit-interview/

this is incredible

it sure is

the interview or the release?

this is one of the best interviews i've ever read tbh. love Knuston so much

haven't heard the release yet even though WoE and bunny rabbits are my 2 favorite things.

will be really bummed if this turns out to be the last big audika project

i can walk to the NYPL performing arts library from my apartment in about 40 mins, been meaning to spend a day in the archive for years but haven't got around to it. always wanted to hear the 45 minute Being It that Tom Lee has talked about his obsession with.

god this is beautiful

how are these all so good??

The version of In The Light of a Miracle, his voice and the vocal melody, so totally beautiful

you'd think at this point they'd be scraping through the dregs, i'm just amazed

there are a LOT of tapes. i pre-ordered this but my copy appears to have gone awol. :(

With this now out there, I'm feeling the urge to compile an album-length "follow-up" album to 'World of Echo,' using cello & voice tracks from this, 'Another Thought,' 'Sketches for World of Echo,' the WoE 2004 bonus tracks, and elsewhere... Not that I don't love them in their original compilation contexts--'Another Thought' especially, as the first Arthur Russell work I encountered in 2001. But seems like it belongs together...

in NYC for a little bit. i don't suppose anyone could get me into the archive on Monday? i don't think i can get a library card. hmm doh

played the new record on repeat on a redeye.. dreamy

i don't think you need a library card. you just need to register for a special collections account:

https://specialcollections.nypl.org/aeon/aeon.dll?Action=10&Form=31&Value=https://archives.nypl.org/mus/23272.xml

if it turns out you do need a library card, i could probably swing by.

I'll see how far i can get shortly! Cheers

of course. you *do* need to book an appointment in advance, so i would do that asap if you're hoping to view it monday. lmk if you need help!

made an account and hit them up 2 different ways. not real clear on the library card point but I put a request in. we'll see. thanks

you'd think at this point they'd be scraping through the dregs, i'm just amazed

― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, June 23, 2023

it really is amazing, search upthread for the Resident Advisor podcast that has even MORE insanely great material that has still not been released, esp. Loose Joints stuff (may be a rights issue idk)

xp i looked into it and you do need a library card. sorry about that. however, you don't need to be a NY or US resident to apply for one.

https://legacycatalog.nypl.org/selfreg/patonsite

it says international applicants should fill out this form for pre-approval^

i think if you do that and bring an ID with you on the day it will probably be fine, but what time are you looking to get in? i could request an appointment as a failsafe.

Special Notes on Non-Resident (Visitor) Borrowers
Visitors from out-of-state or abroad are welcome to use the Library’s resources on-site. Non-residents may be issued a visitor's library card on-site,with a three month expiration date.
In order to qualify for a three month visitor account applicants must present photo id and proof of address (i.e. passport and utility bill) for their locality.

Went ahead and made an "imaginary follow-up to 'World of Echo' comp (with bonus tracks, as if I were going to burn it to CD-R and make bespoke packaging, as I would've back in 2003...)

Track list:

'Return to World of Echo' (1983-1987)

01. Another Thought (1985) ~
02. Boy With a Smile (1986) +
03. Just a Blip (1986) ~
04. Not Checking Up (1986) +
05. See Through Love (1986) ~
06. Telling No One (1986) +
07. Lucky Cloud (1984) ~
08. They and Their Friends (1983) #

09. Fuzzbuster #06 (1986) +
10. A Sudden Chill (1986) ~
11. Home Away From Home (1986) ~
12. Losing My Taste for the Night Life (1987) ~
13. Hollow Tree (1985) ~
14. In the Light of a Miracle (1986) +
15. Our Last Night Together (1986) *

Bonus:
16. Fuzzbuster #09 (1986) +
17. I Can't Hide (1984) >
18. Very Reason (1986) +
19. Picture of Bunny Rabbit (1986) +
20. Sunlit Water (1984) >

Drawn from:

* 'World of Echo' Bonus Track
~ 'Another Thought'
+ 'Picture of Bunny Rabbit'
# 'Corn'
> 'Sketches for World of Echo - June 25, 1984 Live at EIF'

"Sunlit Water" is so great

awesome thank you soundslike

thank you Deflatormouse. I'll see if they can sort me on short notice based on that, or whatever. I'm ostensibly participating in my wife's family reunion 😬 timetable pretty scattered

hey maffew, it looks like that dept is closed on Sundays so i guess it's too late for me to reserve the materials for tomorrow. feel free to reach out if my coming down there would help somehow or if you want to try for another day. i'm probably the person posting here regularly who lives closest to the site and isn't at work during library hours most weekdays. my dn at hotmail.

you'd think at this point they'd be scraping through the dregs, i'm just amazed

right?? it just boggles my mind as to how there's still absolute gold to be found.

some almost post-rocky type vibez in some places

and that version of in the light, unbelievable

yes, it is a phenonemenal version. i could easily go with an hour long version of Fuzzbuster #06

Crazy that it’s been almost 20 years since calling out of context, that disc was like a portal to previously unknown worlds

this is AOTY

last two tracks are astonishing. that's two 'In the Light of a/the Miracle's now that I adore

have to admit i was very skeptical, but i have to agree with everyone in the thread. just awesome!

somewhere i have a 37 minute all the "in the light of the miracles" edited together, idk if this version is on it tho, probably not?

xxxp hell yeah, gonna make every other album released this year look like absolute shite

kate i didn't know there were that many versions

and it's on youtube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zabD-4-0zk

holy moly the first track on that (Solo Voice and Cello live on Music for Modern Ears radio program 1986) is v similar to the version on bunny rabbit, how did i not know about this??

it's taken from this, which has him speaking on it, I'd never heard his speaking voice before!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duJSeHp13sQ

@maffew12, curious to know if you got into the archive and if you (or anyone else has been) thinks it is worth a visit.

ahhhh contain yr brain, yeah that's probably never been on ilx then, that's a channel i've followed for a while, don't know how i found it originally but lots of cool shit there. i used to follow matt marble's channel too, i think i must've got on an arthur russell kick at some point. i'm honestly surprised at how many people, upon finding something cool on youtube, _don't_ look to see what else is on the channel. "hillbilly leprechaun"!

imaginary follow-up

ysi?

xps it's so cool to hear his speaking voice!

PP: no, sorry. Didn't hear back from them til that afternoon. I was too late thinking of it.

fwiw they didn't seem to care about my lack of library card.

where is the reissue dammit

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAroos8vQ3I

thanks---passing it along---(cough cough)---yeah

My most wanted unavailable track

Anthology Editions Announces
Travels Over Feeling: Arthur Russell, A Life By Richard King,
Out April 16, 2024

Featuring Previously-Unseen Handwritten Letters, Scores,
Lyrics, and More Archival Rarities

“The kind of genre-busting artist who defined downtown New York City in the 1970s and ’80s.”
— The New York Times

“More relevant now than ever.” — The Washington Post

“A kind of deity.” — The New Yorker

Today, Anthology Editions announces Travels Over Feeling: Arthur Russell, A Life — a landmark publication celebrating the life and work of the beloved late American musician and composer Arthur Russell — written by critically acclaimed writer Richard King, to be released April 16, 2024. Travels Over Feeling paints a portrait of Arthur Russell unlike anything that has come before, revealing a true picture of one of the most distinctive and influential artists of the last 50 years. Travels Over Feeling will be published in the United Kingdom by Faber on April 18.

The book combines largely unseen visual materials—handwritten scores, lyrics, photos, letters, and drawings—pulled from Russell’s archives at the New York Public Library as well as the personal collections of close confidants with new texts by King and extensive original interviews with Arthur’s collaborators, contemporaries, family, and friends. “Uncovering the riches of Arthur’s archives was as immersive and intimate an experience as listening to his music. I have endeavored to produce a book that provides the reader with a similar sense of discovery and wonder,” says King.

Russell’s eclectic music was often marked by adventurous production choices and his unique voice, defying classification. Pitchfork has said, “his distinctive music has the rare resilience to keep growing, connecting to more and more people because of its extraordinarily contemporary, even timeless, quality.” From his pioneering compositions as part of the Downtown NYC avant-garde scene (alongside the likes of 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 enduring and foundationally influential work until his premature death in 1992 from AIDS-related illnesses.

Faber will host a very special event at The Barbican in London on May 25, 2024 celebrating the life and work of Arthur Russell and the publication of Travels Over Feeling: Arthur Russell, A Life. Speakers Corner Quartet (bassist Peter Bennie, drummer Kwake Bass, flutist Biscuit, and violinist Raven Bush) will join forces with cellist and ambient pop artist Lucinda Chua. The evening will also feature a few special guests, yet to be announced. Tickets will go on sale on November 24 here.

Richard King is the author of Original Rockers (shortlisted for the Gordon Burn Prize and a Rough Trade and Times Book of the Year), How Soon Is Now? (Sunday Times Music Book of the Year), The Lark Ascending (a Rough Trade and Evening Standard Book of the Year, shortlisted for the Penderyn Prize) and, most recently, Brittle with Relics: A History of Wales, 1962–97, all published by Faber & Faber. He is the current Royal Literary Fund Fellow at Cardiff University School of Journalism, Media & Culture. More information is available at richardhywelking.com.

For more information, contact:
Yuri Kwon, Jaycee Rockhold | Pitch Perfect PR – yuri at pitchperfectpr.com, jaycee at pitchperfectpr.com

Haha, what the hell is this?! https://www.amazon.co.uk/Arthur-Russell-Cello-Disco-Biography-ebook/dp/B0CVV2YMZQ

maybe it's ai?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?i=digital-text&rh=p_27%3AAmanda+Geraldine&ref=kwrp_li_aut