nightflight

Big thanks to everyone who made it down on Friday – great night, one of my favourite Nightflights to date. Mix recordings and photos shortly.

Looking ahead a little bit, Nightflight will be showing Wild Combination, the Arthur Russell biopic, in 4 Dame Lane on Thursday 23rd October as part of DEAF. Russell was an Iowa born contemporary of  Talking Heads (David Byrne apparently asked him to join the band), Nicky Siano, Larry Levan and Francois K in the mid 70s to early 90s New York dance and alternative scenes. An accomplished cellist, he was also heavily involved with the avant garde, working with the likes of LaMonte Young, Alan Ginsberg and Phillip Glass.

Given his background, it’s perhaps not so surprising that Russell’s music never quite fit in any particular box, to me the only real constant across his body of work is a childlike glee at the possibilities of sound, whether through just voice and cello, working new-fangled drum machines and effects units, composing minimal orchestral pieces or creating wonky disco hits for the likes of the Paradise Garage, The Gallery and The Loft.

And given that his work never quite fit in any particular box, it’s perhaps not so surprising that no-one really knew what to do with his stuff before his death from AIDS-related illness in 1992. His perfectionism and outlook couldn’t have helped – in a shameless lift from wikipedia:

Ernie Brooks said that Russell “never arrived at a completed version of anything,” while Peter Gordon stated, “his quest wasn’t really to do a finished product but more to do with exploring his different ways of working musically.” He left behind more than 1,000 tapes when he died, 40 of them different mixes of one song.

Every marketing man’s nightmare, in other words. The listening public woke up to his work after Soul Jazz released the World of Arthur Russell compilation in 2004, and it’s still an excellent starting point. Audika have also released a few compilations culled from the archives, including the brilliant Another Thought and Calling Out of Context, as well as a collection of his instrumental Pieces, First Thought Best Thought. Since then, he’s been remixed by DFA, had his songs butchered by folkies, been namechecked all over the shop, and with a further compilation set for release next month as well as a biography by Tim Lawrence, there’s no sign of  the interest waning.

The movie is lovingly researched and provides an insight into the life and methods of a stone cold genius (to me anyway) as well as a view of the melting pot of New York in the Disco/Post-Punk era and beyond – more info.

And for some people putting it much better than I can, check:

New York Times Article

Liminalities Article by Tim Laurence

Here’s a quick mix of some relatively floor friendly moments:

>Arthur Russell Minimix<

Arthur Russell – In The Light of The Miracle
Dinosaur – Kiss Me Again (J.D. Twitch Edit)
Loose Joints – Is It All Over My Face (Larry Levan Mix)
Arthur Russell – My Tiger, My Timing
Arthur Russell – Get Around To It
Loose Joints – Tell You (Today)
Dinosaur – Go Bang (Francois K Mix)

And one of my favourite records:

>Arthur Russell – A Little Lost<

Really looking forward to this one – Nightflight djs will be serving up out sounds from way in either side of the movie, should be a nice way to ease into the Bank Holiday weekend.