Arthur Russell is to be the subject of a new tribute album starring some of his collaborators.
A hugely influential musician, on his death in 1992 Arthur Russell has been all but forgotten. The producer’s material was long out of print, with vast reels of unreleased demos lying unlabelled in his New York flat.
Yet over the subsequent two decades the avant disco pioneer has risen in stature. Arthur Russell has been granted a fame and prestige that was denied to him, with his music enjoying a curious second life.
Now a group of collaborators who worked with Arthur Russell have gathered to record a new tribute album. ‘Arthur’s Landing’ features new renditions of some notable material from throughout the producer’s career.
Late era solo classic ‘This Is How We Walk On The Moon’ has become Arthur Russell’s signature track, appearing on adverts around the world. Given a fresh re-working, the track joins a new version of the seminal disco era cut ‘All Over My Face’ which is re-titled ‘Love Dancing’.
Full details of who exactly is on the record have yet to be revealed, but in his lifetime Arthur Russell worked with many New York acts including The Flying Hearts, The Sailboats and more. Part of Dinosaur L and Loose Joints, there is certainly a tremendous pool of talent to draw on.
“We’ve been playing our friend Arthur’s music for thirty years but never get tired of it because we find his legacy to be an open source of dazzling inspiration,” says Steven Hall, the group’s frontman and a close friend of Arthur Russell.
“As troubadours on this sonic pilgrimage we celebrate and strive to share our unique and intimate knowledge of the material.”
‘Arthur’s Landing’ is due to be released in January. Tracklisting:
1. Your Motion Says
2. Miracle
3. Go for the Night
4. Singing Tractors 64
5. You Can’t Go Back
6. Love Dancing
7. Singing Tractors
8. It’s a Boy
9. I’ll Be Fencing
10. This is How We Walk on the Moon: The Way Things Happen
11. I Want to Change My Life
12. Singing Tractors 323
