Arthur Russell | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Charles Arthur Russell Jr. |
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Born | Oskaloosa, Iowa, U.S. | May 21, 1951
Died | April 4, 1992 New York City, U.S. | (aged 40)
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Years active | 1973–1992 |
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Website | audikarecords |
Charles Arthur Russell Jr. (May 21, 1951 – April 4, 1992)[2][3] was an American cellist, composer, producer, singer, and musician from Iowa, whose work spanned a disparate range of styles. After studying contemporary composition and Indian classical music in California, Russell relocated to New York City in the mid-1970s, where he became involved with both Lower Manhattan's avant-garde community and the city's burgeoning disco scene.[2] His eclectic music was often marked by adventurous production choices and his distinctive voice.[2]
Russell worked as musical director of the New York avant-garde venue the Kitchen in 1974 and 1975, but later embraced dance music, producing or co-producing several underground club hits under names such as Dinosaur L, Loose Joints, and Indian Ocean between 1978 and 1988. He co-founded the independent label Sleeping Bag Records with Will Socolov in 1981, and collaborated with a wide variety of artists, including musicians Peter Gordon, Peter Zummo, and Talking Heads, DJs such as Walter Gibbons, Nicky Siano, and Steve D'Aquisto; and poet Allen Ginsberg.[4][5][6][7]
The only full-length studio albums Russell issued under his name were the orchestral recording Tower of Meaning (1983) and vocal LP World of Echo (1986); he also released the disco LP 24→24 Music (1981) under his Dinosaur L alias. Over the last two decades of his life, he amassed a large collection of unreleased and unfinished recordings, in part due to his perfectionist working tendencies. He died from AIDS-related illnesses in 1992, still in relative obscurity and poverty.[2][8][9]
Russell's profile rose in the 21st century owing to a series of musical releases (including collections of previously unreleased material) and biographical works.[4][10][11] Several posthumous compilations of his music were released, including The World of Arthur Russell (2004) and Calling Out of Context (2004). The documentary Wild Combination: A Portrait of Arthur Russell was released in 2008.
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