Wild Combination, Arthur Russell

Seeing Sounds #11

17 Mar 2011

It's not often Seeing Sounds is focused on one artist in particular, but in the case of Arthur Russell they make an exception.

Arthur Russell was an American cellist, composer, singer, and disco artist. He made underground classics with Loose Joints like 'Is it all over my face' - a song you'll hear in many DJ sets up to today. But on the other hand Arthur Russell also put his stamp on the New York downtown art scene, collaborating with Philipp Glass and being music director of avant-garde art space The Kitchen.

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Filmposter Wild Combination. - Arthur Russell. Found on Trouw

Recently there's been new interest in Arthur Russell's legacy, with a just released tribute album by his former band (Athur's Landing), and the documentary Wild Combination - about his live and unique way of exploring different music scenes.

During Seeing Sounds music journalist Job de Wit selects some favourite Arthur Russel music, and introduces the film with a focus on different music scenes Russell was part of.

Programme:

20.00 Music
20.30 Introduction by Job de Wit
21.00 Film: Wild Combination
22.15 Music & talks
23.00 End

"Arthur Russell demonstrated that minimalism could be found outside of compositional music, as well as his belief that pop music could be arty, energetic and fun at the same time."
- Tim Lawrence, biographer

"It’s impossible to hear his strange, soulful music without wanting to hear more, immediately, preferably on high-end headphones somewhere glamorously desolate: the rim of a volcano, a moldy loft in Bushwick, Brooklyn; sand dunes in December."
- New York Times