Love Is Overtaking Me - Album
Love Is Overtaking Me (Album) by Arthur Russell
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Artist Biography For Arthur Russell
Arthur Russell May 21 1951 - April 4 1992 Was A Prodigious Talent. Classically Trained On Cello While Growing Up In Oskaloosa USA 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 Collectivize 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 Enamored With The Disco Scene In New York. 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 Sirerecords 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. This Featured 'Go Bang' Which Was Re-Mixed As A 12" Single By Francois Kevorkian. Arthur Russell Continued To Release Dance Singles Such As 'Tell You Today' 4th And Broadway 1983 An Upbeat Dance Groove Featuring The Vocals Of Joyce Bowden . 'Wax The Van' Jump Street 1985 With Vocals By Lola Blank Wife Of Notorious BobTreehouse Aka Bob Schoolbell Sleeping Bag 1986 And 'Let's Go Swimming' Upside / Rough Trade 1986 . At The Same Time He Produced More Meditative Works On The Albums 'Tower Of Meaning' Chatham Square 1983 And 'World Of Echo' Rough Trade 1986 Which Presented Many Of His Pop And Dance Compositions In Solo Cellist Form. Arthur Russell Died Of AIDS On April 4 1992 At The Age Of 40. The Obituary In The Village Voice Wrote "his Songs Were So Personal That It Seems As Though He Simply Vanished Into His Music." In 2004 A Renewed Interest In Arthur Russell Saw The Release Of "The World Of Arthur Russell" On Soul Jazz Records Which Compiled His Best-Known Dance Hits Alongside More Introspective Love Songs Such As "Little Lost" And "Keeping Up". In The Same Year Audika Records Reissued "World Of Echo" And Produced "Calling Out Of Context" 12 Unreleased Songs From 1985-90. The Songs Were Taken From An Album "Corn" Recorded In 1985 But Never Released. They Showcase A Set Of Visionary Pop Songs Years Ahead Of Their Time Minimalist And Expansive Evidence That Russell's Best Work Was Perhaps Never Realized Before His Death. In 2006 Audika Released "First Thought Best Thought" Compiling Russell's Out Of Print Orchestral And Instrumental Works With Previously Unreleased Material.
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Biography - Arthur Russell
Arthur Russell May 21 1951 - April 4 1992 Was A Prodigious Talent. Classically Trained On Cello While Growing Up In Oskaloosa USA 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 Collectivize 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 Enamored With The Disco Scene In New York. 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 Sirerecords 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. This Featured 'Go Bang' Which Was Re-Mixed As A 12" Single By Francois Kevorkian. Arthur Russell Continued To Release Dance Singles Such As 'Tell You Today' 4th And Broadway 1983 An Upbeat Dance Groove Featuring The Vocals Of Joyce Bowden . 'Wax The Van' Jump Street 1985 With Vocals By Lola Blank Wife Of Notorious BobTreehouse Aka Bob Schoolbell Sleeping Bag 1986 And 'Let's Go Swimming' Upside / Rough Trade 1986 . At The Same Time He Produced More Meditative Works On The Albums 'Tower Of Meaning' Chatham Square 1983 And 'World Of Echo' Rough Trade 1986 Which Presented Many Of His Pop And Dance Compositions In Solo Cellist Form. Arthur Russell Died Of AIDS On April 4 1992 At The Age Of 40. The Obituary In The Village Voice Wrote "his Songs Were So Personal That It Seems As Though He Simply Vanished Into His Music." In 2004 A Renewed Interest In Arthur Russell Saw The Release Of "The World Of Arthur Russell" On Soul Jazz Records Which Compiled His Best-Known Dance Hits Alongside More Introspective Love Songs Such As "Little Lost" And "Keeping Up". In The Same Year Audika Records Reissued "World Of Echo" And Produced "Calling Out Of Context" 12 Unreleased Songs From 1985-90. The Songs Were Taken From An Album "Corn" Recorded In 1985 But Never Released. They Showcase A Set Of Visionary Pop Songs Years Ahead Of Their Time Minimalist And Expansive Evidence That Russell's Best Work Was Perhaps Never Realized Before His Death. In 2006 Audika Released "First Thought Best Thought" Compiling Russell's Out Of Print Orchestral And Instrumental Works With Previously Unreleased Material.
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Published: 07 Jul 2013, 15:25
In The Four Years Since Audika Began Releasing The Much-Loved But Less Easy To Find Music Of Composer And Producer Arthur Russell His Popularity Has Soared. Particularly Striking A Chord With A Younger Generation Of Musicians Many Have Enthusiastically Championed His Progressive And Influential Sound. In 2007 Jens Lekman Arranged The Brief But Tenderly Constructed EP Four Songs By Arthur Russell Which Featured Imaginative Covers By Joel Gibb Vera November And Taken By Trees. Meanwhile Artists Including Chris Taylor Of Grizzly Bear Who Digitally Restored And Edited Love Is Overtaking Me St. Vincent And DFA's James Murphy Have Effused About Their Admiration For His Distinctively Free-Flowing Compelling Arrangements. As Matt Wolf's Perceptive Beautifully Shot Film Wild Combination A Portrait Of Arthur Russell Reveals Arthur Russell Quite Literally Had Hundreds Of Tape Reels Documenting The Material He Recorded From His First Compositions In The Early 1970s To The Very Last Made In 1991 A Year Before He Died Of AIDS In New York City. Love Is Overtaking Me A Compilation Of More As-Yet-Unavailable Material Created During Those Two Decades Proves To Be A Valuable Insight Into Russell's Extensive Body Of Work. Most Of The 21 Tracks On This Album Have A More Traditional Singer/songwriter Structure Than The Avant-Garde Cello Compositions And Kinetic Jazz-Influenced Disco For Which He Has Also Come To Be Known. Tracks Such As "Close My Eyes" "Oh Fernanda Why" And The Traditional Cowboy Song "Goodbye Old Paint" Are Strong Examples Of His Connection To Folk Music And Are Largely Developed On Acoustic Guitar. A Common Thread Always Runs Throughout Russell's Work And Is Well Represented Here His Moving Gentle Voice-- And A Knack For Storytelling That Could Rival Bob Dylan. On This Album These Lovely Lyrical Details Are Especially Prevalent On Songs Like "Habit Of You" And "Big Moon" Where Russell's Sensitivity And Sense Of Humor Gracefully Anchor The Music. Many Other Great Artists At A Similar Level Of Russell's Prolificacy Have More Than Enough Skeletons In Their Musical Closet Plenty Of Which Would Only Appeal To The Most Die-Hard Of Fans. The Tracks Currently Being Dusted Off In His Archive However Have So Far Been Dependably Strong Despite Being Mostly Unfinished Tracks Of Incredible Musical Variety. Russell Himself Was Rarely Satisfied With His Results Preferring To Move On To The Next Song Rather Than Dotting The I's And Crossing The T's. His Creativity It Seems Was Pretty Much Constant. He Would Work Every Day Without Fail And The Songs On Love Is Overtaking Me Are A Deftly Selected Microcosm Of This Brilliant Musical World. The Compilation Features All Elements Of Russell's Margin Blurring From The Warm Pop Of "Planted A Thought" And The Modern Lovers-Influenced Delivery Of "Time Away" To The Stark Cello Driven Song "Eli" Where The Vocals And Strings Seemed To Be In A Tonal Battle Although This Brings An Urgency To The Lyrics About A Lonesome Mistreated Dog And Allows Them To Resonate In The Best Possible Way. At The Time Of His Death Russell's Music Had Reached Only A Limited Audience Outside Of His Devoted Often High Profile Connections He Collaborated With Philip Glass David Byrne And Allen Ginsberg Among Others . Yet His Distinctive Music Has The Rare Resilience To Keep Growing Connecting To More And More People Because Of Its Extraordinarily Contemporary Even Timeless Quality. While He Was Alive Russell And His Relatively Small Group Of Listeners Were Convinced That His Music Should Reach More Ears That It Should Be Able To Stretch Across The Same Boundaries That His Compositions Navigated So Elegantly. Now Through The Care Of Audika And The Genuine Love Of Fellow Musicians And Fans That Have Recognized His Prodigious Talent Russell Is Finally Getting The Acknowledgment His Honest Powerful And Most Remarkable Music Deserves.