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"Hold On to Your Dreams: Arthur Russell and the Downtown Music Scene, 1973-92" is now published. It is available for purchase in the US and the UK (on-line and in stores). Scroll down for updates.


Forthcoming 2 December Q&A at Voci Dall'Aldila, Museum of Music, Bologna 28 February Talk and book reading at the California Institute of the Arts


26 October

This blog has been sidelined by a pre-August crunch and a post-August pile-up. Here, briefly, is an update for the last few months.

On 23 July I gave a talk and read extracts from the biography while sitting on a swan-like throne lit by candle at the truly stunning queer arts venue Basso in Berlin. Over a hundred people showed up for what was an extremely special night. A huge heartfelt thanks go out to Sven von Thuelen and Klaus Gropper from De:Bug and Usuf Etiman from Basso for organising the event, as well as Finn Johannsen and Danny Wang for playing at the tremendous post-talk party... On 16 September I travelled with the composer Jo Thomas to Modern Art Oxford give a talk about the book as well as read extracts with the backing of Jo's compositions and Arthur reworkings. Oxford doesn't appear to have caught Arthur in the same way as Berlin, which makes the efforts of organiser Paul Luckraft all the more admirable. Jo and I were very well looked after, and it was a real pleasure to talk to the hardcore followers who came along... And on 25 September I gave a keynote at Coventry University's Experimental Music Symposium that discussed the importance of Arthur along with Arthur's composer friends. I was expecting to be given a hard time by the composers in the audience for having the temerity to prod at the boundaries that separate compositional music from other strands, which was very much an Arthur project, but the response was very warm and inquisitive. Many thanks to Julian Hellaby for organising such a compelling day.

In other developments, I'm delighted to be able to announce that... Editions Allia will be translating Hold On to Your Dreams into French... I wrote an "Epiphanies" article for the Wire on the subject of "Go Bang!"... Brande W. Joseph and David Grubbs are holding an attendance-mandatory conference titled "Theoretical Music: No Wave, New Music, and the New York Art Scene, 1978-1983" at the ISSUE Project Room, Brooklyn, 3-5 November. The blurb generously references the biography; Peter Gordon, Thurston Moore, Ned Sublette and many others will be speaking... The blogspot Denise, DJs, and Detroit published a lovely review of the book... Audika Records have released "Ballad of the Lights" by the Flying Hearts, featuring Allen Ginsberg... Strut Records will release Arthur's Landing self-titled debut album on 17 January 2011. Advance versions can be heard on SoundCloud, with a tour to follow. "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 on the advance press release. "Our casual approach is seemingly left field but quite sincere. As troubadours on this sonic pilgrimage we celebrate and strive to share our unique and intimate knowledge of the material…and we're more than happy to do so!"


29 June

Hold On to Your Dreams is now available in Japanese. I can't read a word of it, but as with Love Saves the Day, the publisher has given the book an entirely new feel. While I still think Duke's original production wonderful, the Japanese edition is fun and funky with its fresh cover, emphasis on different photos, and introduction of bright colours. If only they'd insisted on flying me over for the launch.

I also want to give a special mention to Natsumi Yamane, who was part of the team that translated Love Saves the Day, and who completed the translation of Hold On to Your Dreams alone. Working with Natsumi reminded me of a seminar I took while I was studying at Columbia University during which a student argued that a translated edition could improve on the original text by introducing new turns of phrase, nuances and insights that didn't exist in the original. At first I was shocked by this idea, but I came around to it quite quickly, and I have a feeling that Natsumi's translation might have added to the original in all sorts of interesting ways thanks to the subtlety of her questions about the original. Indeed Natsumi's reading was so sharp she actually helped me identify some errors in the original (errors that are being corrected as the book goes to reprint). I was super-impressed.

Otherwise, I've been quite busy travelling with the book. On 22 May I travelled to Faensa to speak at the Festival Arte Contemporanei courtesy of Alberto Randi, who organised the trip, and Maurizio Clemente, who arranged for a couple of Italian journalists to lead a Q&A. It was great to spend time with both of them. Some ten days later I caught a train up to Glasgow to attend a book event organised by Lindsey Hanlon of the Modern Institute. Lindsey had arranged for Conor of Donlon Books to transport his bookshop to the MI, and as part of the interactive exhibition Conor recreated the Arthur Russell memorabilia installation he had put together for the book reading at Donlon Books in London; interest in that led to Lindsey's invite. A crowd of some 100-150 people showed up at the GFT for a screening of Wild Combination, after which I spoke about the book, read a few extracts, and then took part in a Q&A. The event continued with DJ Twitch of Optimo -- Keith Mcivoer -- playing a fierce Arthur Russell set at a nearby bar, which was just tremendous, becuase Keith had sent me an email right after the book was published to say how much Arthur (and the book) meant to him. Somehow or other Keith and I managed to have a good chin-wag, during which he told me that he owned a vast number of records, but absolutely wasn't a collector--except when it came to Arthur's music. Barely digesting a Chinese meal, and almost high thanks to the lashings of MSG, I hopped onto the Caledonian Sleeper in order to deliver a keynote about Arthur at the Queer at King's conference at King's College London the next morning. There I got to meet one of my heroes, Richard Dyer, author of the hugely influential 1979 article "In Defence of Disco," as well as Gustavos Sadler, who wrote a very generous review of the book in Social Text. Thanks to Ryan Powell for inviting me to speak and hosting such an engaging event.


17 May

I'm fresh back from Stockholm, where I spoke at the Slow Blow Academy's inaugural lecture/discussion, which has been set up to run parallel to Slow Blow's long-running and highly-regarded club night. Henrik and Stefan, who run Slow Blow, met Colleen and me at the hotel, which is owned by Abba's Benny Andersson; Colleen was invited to DJ at the Slow Blow night later on that evening, as well as put questions to me for the Academy part of the event, which was due to begin at 4:30-p.m. I was already prepared for the possibility that five, maybe ten people would show up, and the unexpectedly glorious weather made those estimates seem potentially high. Thinking that it must have been the first time they'd put on this kind of event, I warned Henrik and Stefan as much, but when we turned up at the cafe/restaurant/club venue there was a -queue- of people waiting to get in. In the end something like 60 people squeezed into the cafe area, and a good half of the audience must have come up to me at the end of the two-hour session or later at the club event to thank me and to say that as far as they were concerned, they'd have been happy if the event had lasted for six hours rather than two. I've really never come across anything like that before, and don't expect to again. I was lost for words.


11 May

Apologies for not updating this page for a while. My life has been caught up with papers, lectures, volcanic ash, elections, and the usual day-to-day hurly-burly of teaching, writing and looking after my kids.

The Elita festival in Milan went swimmingly (as in "Let's Go Swimmingly"). Roberta Cutolo co-ordinated a really great Arthur event that included a screening of Wild Combination, readings from the book with Jo Thomas accompanying on her laptop, a conversation about Arthur between myself and Fabio de Luca of Rolling Stone in Italy, and an Arthur Russell tribute set by Ashley Beedle. Dino Lupelli of Elita made us all feel very welcome, and it was an pleasure to return to the festival, so thanks to him and to Roberta for being such excellent hosts. Alex Capodanno took photos at the event and also shot and edited an extremely neat video of the evening. I left wanting to speed on with the next book, just so that I can hold out to renew friendships.

The following morning I got out on what must have been one of the last flights to leave Milan. Roberta had called to warn of the volcano ash that was disrupting air travel, and I had to decide hastily whether to return to London in the hope that I'd manage to catch my connecting flight to Seattle, where I was due to give an Arthur paper, or return with Enrica to stay with the kids in Rome. I opted for the flight, hoping that the cloud would have passed by the time I arrived, and swayed by the knowledge that I'd lose the cost of my Seattle flight if it left without me. In the end I didn't get out of London, and was pretty gutted for the best part of the following week. But my decision to try for the flight led to a happy coincidence because the driver of the car that took me to the airport was a youngish kid who worked in a Milanese club. We started chatting about what we were into, and at one point I started talking about the Loft, and mentioned Love Saves the Day. "You're not Tim Lawrence," the driver exclaimed. "My parents bought me a copy of your book as present when I graduated last summer!"

In other developments... Heiko at Groove has published an extract from the book in issue 124 of the magazine... The new Optimo-Faber journal Loops has published a piece I originally penned for the Berlin-based magazine Placed. The piece was written as a background intro to a long interview with David Mancuso, which I thought was much more important of the two, but the Placed issue didn't hit its advertising target and never came out. Loops said they would publish both parts, but ended up dropping the interview, so something must have happened. Anyhow, it's a great issue, and the interview can still be read on this site... As all of this was unfolding, Ashley Sykes conducted an interview with me and published it on the Take Flight Club blogspot... Tom Berry did the same thing and posted the result on the monobrow blog... I received news that the book is going to be reprinted, which is thrilling, because when I started researching Arthur in mid-2003 there was little belief that anyone would be interested in reading a biography about him... Paul Luckraft has invited me to speak about Arthur and the book at Modern Art Oxford; the event will take place on 16 September... And Conor from Donlon Books returned from staging a book exhibit at the Modern Institute in Glasgow (which included a modified version of the Arthur display case he put together for the Donlon Books reading). Right after, Lindsey Hanlon from the MI got in touch to invite me to participate in an Arthur event that will probably take place on 3 June. More when there's more.


12 April

This coming Wednesday, 14 April, I'll be reading and speaking at the Elita Electronic Music Festival in Milan. For the reading I'll be joined by the composer Jo Thomas in a repeat of the performance we staged at the ICA. After that, I'll be interviewed about the book by Fabio de Luca of Rolling Stone. Matt Wolf's gorgeous and touching documentary Wild Combination will be screened as a warm-up, and the de Luca interview will be followed by an Ashley Beedle "homage to Arthur Russell" set. The event will take place at Teatro Franco Parenti, via Pier Lombardo, 14, Milan, and entrance is free.

Conference area:

17:00: Wild Combination
18:15: Reading-audio performance by Tim Lawrence and Jo Thomas
18:45: Fabio de Luca (Rolling Stone) interviews Tim Lawrence, with Lele Sacchi

Bistrot:

19:00: Bruno Bolla
21:00: Ashley Beedle

The following morning I'll be travelling back to Seattle via London in order to attend this year's EMP Pop Music conference. The only thing I can't wait for is the double-flight followed by the jeg lag. But at least I'll be exhausted with my old friend Stefan Prescott, who used to run Dance Tracks with Joe Claussell before the shop was wound down and Stefan took up a position with Amazon in Seattle. The following morning, when I'll have absolutely no idea where I am, I'll be chairing a session on digital music that starts at 10:45-a.m., or 02:45-a.m. Greenwich Mean Time. Later on that night I'll be heading out with Ken Wissoker, my editor at Duke, which I'm looking forward to hugely; it's been two long years since we last managed to get together, and while email and phone have been fine, I've missed Ken's company. Once we've caught up, Ken and I will head to Oh! Industry, which is being hosted by our friend and colleague Alexandra Vazquez plus other sweethearts of the music criteratti. On Saturday I'm looking forward to all sorts of panels, but might need to finish writing my paper, which I'm due to give at the graveyard hour of 9:00-a.m. on the Sunday morning. I'll be talking about Arthur Russell and the digital music economy via an extended meditation of "This Is How We Walk on the Moon."

In other developments, this month's Mojo carries an Arthur Russell oral history feature written by Kris Needs, whose heart must be circuited straight to his keyboard. Kris interviewed the likes of Ernie Brooks, Steven Hall and other Arthur collaborators for the piece, plus myself. I'm looking forward to tracking down a copy when I return to London.

Also this month, Alan Waters published a generous review of Hold On to Your Dreams in Signal to Noise, a journal dedicated to improvised and experimental music. In his extended piece, Waters writes:


I'm always grateful when such kind words are published.


14 March

Hold On... has been named as the book of the month for April by Mojo magazine. "As this respectful, admirably-researched biography reveals, the determined but ethereal Russell [...] had an innate higher calling and the spark of genius, gliding through life making music of uncommon sensitivity, purity and scope," comments reviewer Ian Harrison, who goes on to reference "Lawrence's forensic and imaginative delving." Harrison also writes:


The review isn't available on-line, so if you want to read it in full, you'll need to buy the magazine. Also look out for a big oral history about Arthur by Kris Needs, hopefully in the May issue.

Elsewhere, Tim Howard gives the book a generous eight-out-of-ten review in the Enthusiast, which includes the following:



4 March

If you're in New York tonight, Electric Minds are putting on a party for their Go Bang: A Tribute to Arthur Russell album at Santos that will feature a live set from Arthur's Landing and DJing by Danny Krivit, Dolan Bergin, Yam Who? and others. It should be a great night.

Because I can't be there, I'm going to stay in and listen to the set Colleen Murphy played at the ICA book launch/Arthur's Landing event a couple of weeks ago. Better known to some as DJ Cosmo, Colleen played a wide-ranging that evoked the spirit of Arthur's approach to musicianship and the world. "From Olatunji to Satie, Jonathan Richman to Joe Gibbs, Richard Hell to Joni Mitchell and Silver Apples to of course, Arthur Russell, this is what I would have played for Arthur had I known him and invited him to dinner," she wrote in an email yesterday. I didn't have a chance to catch Colleen's selections live, so am looking forward to catch up with her set here.


28 February

My colleague and friend Maggie Humm has just forwarded a review of the book by Martin James in Times Higher Education, which was published on Thursday 25 February. The review opens:


It concludes:


For the bit in-between, visit the full review on the website of THE. Thanks Martin, thanks Maggie.


24 February

After a hectic few days playing catch-up while pressing on with the third book and heading into university, I now have a little time to reflect on the UK launch of Hold On to Your Dreams, which took place at the ICA on Saturday. I must confess I wasn’t entirely looking forward to the event, in part because I didn’t believe it could match the night at Donlon Books, which was so spirited, and in part because I had doubts about how more or less every element of the evening would work out. In the end, I could have been happier.

Aside from a fairly extraordinary series of logistical complications that seemed to threaten the viability of the event almost every other day, my main focus in the run-up to the event was on my reading and collaboration with the composer Jo Thomas, who composes music that reverberates with philosophy, but whose ability to work with me, and in the context of a book reading performance, was entirely unknown. We ended up meeting up for five two-to-three hour planning and rehearsal sessions, and right up to Friday before the show we were confronted with major elements to resolve. Exhausted from all of the movement around the book since it was published in New York last October as well as my determination to keep things moving along with the next book, spend time with my kids, and restart teaching after a year away from university, I wondered if I was going to keep it all together. But Jo was responsive, positive, and full of ideas throughout, and after we finalised the material on the Saturday morning, I felt happy that the music was stunning in its own right, and also added drama and nuance to the book extracts I’d selected.

I ended up arriving at the ICA around 6:00-p.m. and felt relaxed until the photographer who’d been hired to shoot the Arthur’s Landing performance expressed his surprise that I was going to try to read for thirty-odd minutes, music or no music, in the middle of an event on a Saturday night. “Good luck!” he wished me, barely concealing his incredulity, the little shit. As friends and members of my family arrived, I was repeatedly asked, “Are you nervous?” Having felt quite calm up to that point, I took their concern to heart, and fell into anxiety. Then, before I had a chance to relax into the performance of Fink, the support act, the stage manager grabbed my arm and ushered me back-stage. It was then that it dawned on me that I was about to appear on stage for the first time since I’d appeared in a nativity play at my primary school, and that this appearance was happening at the ICA, in front of 300 people, many of them knowingly acerbic critic-types, and I was going to try to entertain them by reading from a book about a cellist from Oskaloosa, Iowa. Good luck indeed.

Jo and I took to the stage without falling over, after which I stumbled through a few thank yous -- to Fink for stepping in at the last minute; to Quinton for putting so much into the event; to Jo for the collaboration; and also “to the guy who isn’t here but is here -- Arthur Russell.” A few moments later, Jo started to play her first composition, which opened with evocative, detailed, complex frequency patterns, under which she played Arthur’s recording of “Lucky Cloud”. Two minutes later, as I started to read, I realised that although I was aware that I was standing in front of a large crowd, the room had quietened to an attentive silence, while the darkened floor area meant I could do little more than discern silhouettes. In turn, I was enable to relax into an intimate, relay-exchange with the book, Jo to my left, her music all around, my body, which found time to breathe and relax, and my voice, which added to my sense of tranquility as I realised that its amplified form meant it was both mine and not mine.

The first reading dwelled on Arthur’s 24 > 24 album, which he recorded with Dinosaur L, and I felt heartened when my close friend Jonny Zucker laughed out loud at a joke that appeared in the passage; at that moment memories came flooding back of our time together at Manchester University back in the second half of the 1980s. As the reading continued, I began to hear the music more clearly, and took to introducing gentle pauses between paragraphs and even sentences in order to allow the pulsating bass and treble frequencies interact with the complexity and intensity of the Dinosaur L recording, which I attempted to capture in words. Jo proceeded to play her remix of “Go Bang!”, which included unpredictable edits, rumbling groans and, towards the end, a scintillating crescendo that compelled me to dance. My second selection described the recording of Arthur’s solo World of Echo album, which was offset by Jo’s delicate, cyclical composition, and which led into Jo’s uncompromising version of Arthur’s World of Echo recording of “Let’s Go Swimming”, where the voice and cello acquired mutant possibilities. The third reading described Arthur’s ongoing attempt to perform music while he was sick with AIDS, which I virtually chanted over Jo’s electrifying, tense, electric treble-track; by that point I was completely in the moment of the book, Arthur’s music and life, and its reincarnation at the ICA, as well as utterly convinced of the force of the material. Jo proceeded to wind her piece down, after which I read three extracts from the epilogue that contemplated the latent potential of Arthur’s unreleased tapes as well as the reason why he is resonating so forcefully some twenty years after his death. Barely able to deliver the final sentence, I clasped the book while Jo played her beautifully strange groan-funk reworking of “Kiss Me Again” and then segued into her mix of Arthur’s “This Is How We Walk on the Moon” -- all ethereal, echoing voices swirling peacefully into the atmosphere. The applause was intense, even shocking. Jo and I hugged. I found it difficult to hold it all together.

Switching my attention immediately to Arthur’s Landing’s ensuing performance was tricky, so after accepting the lovely wishes of my friends and family I popped out to the bar area to see how things were working out for Colleen, better known as Cosmo, who was playing an “Arthur Russell dinner party” set. After that I headed back to the theatre to confront my second fear of the night, which was the possible anticlimax of Arthur’s Landing, who had left me somewhat unconvinced after I’d seen them play at Public Assembly back in October, following the New York launch of the book at the Housing Works bookstore. Things didn’t see to go well for the group that October night. Performing in a dance setting, they attempted to hit an instant peak, but Arthur’s music doesn’t work that way -- not even his dance music -- and the performance was further undermined by the the venue’s awful sound system, a strangely over-crowded stage, some slightly embarrassing attempts at erotic dance moves, and a barely-concealed bad temper. I knew there and then that my experience of the event was clouded by the venue’s concrete floor, which accentuated my tiredness, and my dislike of the demographic non-mix of the crowd, which was entirely white and apparently middle-class. I was also acutely aware that I had just arrived from the blissfully reverberant and warm acoustic environment of the Housing Works event, and understood that I was resentful that that spirit had been interrupted so abruptly. Finally, I realised that I was extremely tired, having spend the day at the Arthur conference at NYU after a disrupted journey the previous day. But I still wondered: had my critical faculties deserted me entirely, or was the performance less than great?

The Arthur’s Landings show at the ICA couldn’t have been more different. This time around the band eased their way into the concert with a number of mellow, middle-of-the-road, yet exquisitely beautiful songs such as “Oh Fernando Why?” -- precisely the kind of music I would almost refuse to listen to before I started to research the Arthur biography and discovered how quirkiness and elegance can infuse every sound. In-between these songs the band relaxed into a series of Arthur anecdotes and playful discussions that left Enrica and me in stitches. Throughout the set, Ernie Brooks was joyfully relaxed and happy; Steven Hall found a way to face the audience and smile; Peter Zummo donned a bandana and sunglasses while performing a demanding sequence of trombone solos; Joyce Bowden moved into an ethereal Arthur-space of sincerity, engagement and expression; and Mustafa Ahmed and Bill Ruyle led the band through a range of percussive intensities. All the way through, the powerful musicality remained at the fore, with Peter, Bill and Mustafa’s instrumental exchanges especially powerful, and towards the end of the set, the group played “Is It All Over My Face?”, which initially sounded like a somewhat mundane rock version of Arthur’s far-out dance number, but climaxed with an breathtaking cathartic performance by Joyce, who had no right to remain standing when she finished her delivery. I can’t remember if the band played another song before moving into an encore that featured “This Is How We Walk on the Moon”, but the rendition of that song was just as special as “Is It...”, and revealed the band’s potential to move in a series of strangely beautiful tangential movements that could be the ultimate tribute to Arthur Russell -- the composer, instrumentalist and songwriter who continues to inspire close friendship and musical expressivity.

(Thanks to Nick Lansman for the photos.)


22 February

I want to write a full post about the ICA event that took place on Saturday, but haven't had a chance, so for now will cut-and-paste a review from Kris Needs for Record Collector.


I finally got to meet Kris at the ICA, and gave him a long overdue hug. Dear reader, please look out for Kris' forthcoming oral history of Arthur, which will be published in the next issue of Mojo (and which will include a few quotes from me, as well as many more from the likes of Ernie Brooks and Steven Hall).

Because I'm not quite ready to gather my own thoughts about Saturday, I'll quote another person, who sent me a warm email earlier today that include the following:


I can't accept that what I did was astounding, but having heard Jo play a selection of compositions, I knew that the "reverberations" would work perfectly as soon as I heard that, and I'm glad if that turned out to be the case.

Many thanks also to Arthur's Landing, who put on such a wonderfully warm and musical show, and also to Quinton from Strut for putting so much into the event, plus Jamie Eastman at the ICA for asking me to organise the event in the first place.

More to follow when I get a chance to breathe...


16 February

Thanks to Charlie Vázquez (book blog appreciation week and Latinos in social media best NY blogger award nominee) for the following wordpress review:
 


12 February

Plans for the ICA book launch are coming along swimmingly (as in "Let's Go Swimming"-ly). I met up with Jo Thomas for the third time earlier this week to go over the readings and think through the music  Jo is composing to run underneath and between the extracts. Last week we worked out what seems to be the just-right combination of musical information that will work while I read; believe me when I say it's a finely calibrated calculation! We met up again on Wednesday and consolidated those readings and pieces, after which we cracked up when Jo played her reworking of... In fact I'm not going to tell -- I don't want to spoil the surprise.

Looking back, I think idea to invite Jo to work on music for the reading came about because I was looking for someone to work with after Peter Gordon's keyboard accompaniment at the UK launch so pleasurable and reassuring, and I then bumped into Jo during the ICA's Calling Out of Context season, which was named after the Arthur songs that was went on to be used to title Audika's first posthumous Arthur album. Even though we're colleagues, Jo and I had never really spent  time together before, but at the ICA we found ourselves agreeing on what we liked and what we were less keen. I remember being surprised at just how developed this understanding turned out to be, and I think that stayed with me. I love these coincidences; these moments when apparently random but in fact not-random-at-all meetings lead to understandings and collaborations.

During our rehearsals I came to realise that there's also a perhaps linked emotional and affective consciousness between Jo's compositions and Arthur's music. It's not that I can say I can pick out Arthur recordings that the sounds that Jo has been working on; the closest match comes with Arthur's "Sketch for the Face of Helen", which featured strangely beautiful tugboat cries that appear above a shifting tableau of synthesiser lines and effects. Rather, I came to understand that they articulated shared sensibility in their love of detail, their value of delicate beauty, their openness to the tangential, and their willingess to explore moods that aren't straightforwardly happy, yet avoid anger and pessimism. I hadn't worked this out before I asked Jo to appear with me, but after the night at the ICA I must have realised that something like this was there.

The only frustration during rehearsals has been the need to listen to Jo's shockingly gorgeous compositions on her home system, and at a low volume so the neighbours wouldn't start to complain. I want the music to envelop me in its being, and so am excited that I'll be able to hear it on the ICA system on the 20th. Just as exciting is the thought that Arthur's Landing, recently signed to Strut, will make their UK debut in the same setting. It's going to be a big night for these musicians, and they deserve the chance to be heard more widely; their commitment to Arthur and his music has been unswerving across many, many years, and for the longest time nobody took their utterance of faith seriously. Please salute them by reserving your ticket on the ICA website.

In other Arthur/book developments, Colleen "Cosmo" Murphy's extended Arthur programme and interview with me can now be listened to and (I believe) downloaded from Soundcloud. I've had quite a few people tell me they really enjoyed listening to the show when it was broadcast first time around, so please tune in and let me know what you think. Also, a couple of nights ago I was interviewed by Dennis Weisch from the German music website www.between-the-beats.de. Dennis had read "Loves Save the Day" and "Hold On..." and said he was keen to do an extensive interview. I wanted to oblige, but was in the middle of a heavy cold, so asked if he minded if we wrapped up the conversation after half-an-hour. In the end we started at 10:30pm and ended at something like 1:00am, so so much for doing the sensible thing. Dennis ended up being engaging, fun and bright, damn it all. Anyhow, I'm looking forward to seeing the result, and will keep you posted.

Finally, a belated word of thanks to Simon Reynolds, author of the high-regarded "Rip It Up" and "Energy Flash." Simon posted a plug for the ICA launch on his blissout blogspot a week or so ago, and in the process described "Hold On..." as "excellent. That's very kind of you, Simon.


4 February

The wave of interest in Arthur Russell continues unabated. A journalist from the Guardian came to the "Hold On to Your Dreams" reading/concert at Donlon Books and then penned an editorial about Arthur, which appeared in Monday's newspaper. Thanks to Bernard Keenan (who reviewed the book for Quietus) for bringing his Guardian friend to the reading. Without him this unexpected and somewhat extraordinary turn of events wouldn't have happened.

Looking forward, "Hold On to Your Dreams" will receive its UK launch at the ICA on 20 February. Composer Jo Thomas will play original compositions (inspired by Arthur's music) while I read from the book, and a special guest act (who wishes to remain anonymous) will follow. After that, Arthur's Landing, the band made up of musicians who worked with Arthur and wanted to continue to play their friend's music after he died, will make their UK debut. Many thanks to Quinton Scott at Strut, who signed Arthur's Landing, and who has put so much work into the event. Here's his rather lovely flyer (the front of which draws on Jennifer Hill's gorgeous cover design):



































































The ICA blurb for the event runs: "Tonight Tim Lawrence reads from his book Hold Onto Your Dreams, a biography of composer, musician and singer Arthur Russell, accompanied by composer Jo Thomas. After the reading we have the UK debut set from Arthur's Landing, a band comprised of friends and fans of Arthur Russell, plus very special support. Tonight builds on the remarkable recognition finally afforded to Russell over the past five years, with the release of several albums and a documentary recently screened at the ICA, plus our sold-out season of eclectic and experimental music, Calling Out of Context, named after one of Russell's songs. After the main event Yam Who? will be DJing in the bar until late."

The ICA is quite a compact venue, Saturdays are often busy, and tickets are selling quickly, so please book early to avoid disappointment if you'd like to come along. It promises to be a fun evening!

In other developments.... Yesterday the Journal of Popular Music published an extract from the book that describes the record of Arthur's album World of Echo. Later on in the evening I also met up with Jo Thomas for the second time to continue working on our reading-with-music performance for the launch event. From 10:00-p.m. to half-past-midnight we tried out a range of combinations, but although they were exciting, something wasn't quite clicking and I kept on tripping up with the readings. I put it down to tiredness and we both had busy days ahead, so we agreed to wrap it up, but decided to try out one idea for the penultimate extract before calling it a night. The blend worked perfectly together, and from there we managed to work out the rest of the music in ten minutes flat. Jo's music is stunning; I can't wait to hear it on the ICA's system.

Finally, I should guiltily mention that a week or so ago, Colleen "Cosmo" Murphy, my friend and partner from Lucky Cloud Sound System, interviewed me on her weekly show on Ministry of Sound radio. As Colleen worked the turntables, CD players, microphones, book extracts and interview notes with smooth octopus-synchronicity, it became clear she had done this before, and indeed radio was where Colleen started out before she started to DJ in dance venues. Colleen included a few surprise selections, including a dub mix of "Wax the Van" that I hadn't heard before and which I really liked, and the show seemed to go swimmingly (let's go swimmingly!). My only regret is that I only managed to send out a last-minute email with details of the airing, and didn't get around to putting up a blog. Colleen tells me that the show will be played again on www.samurai.fm/cosmo and www.deepfrequency.com, so there'll be further opportunities to listen. I'll make sure I post a blog in advance of that happening.


26 January

Finally a chance to catch up, and where else to begin but at Donlon Books? The run-up to the event turned to be less than ideal. Enrica was at an all-day conference, so I took the kids to music school, which runs in an underground bunker (called the Guildhall) every Saturday from 10:00-a.m. to 2:30-p.m. The morning was going just about OK when Ilaria, my youngest daughter, managed to whip off my glasses and tread on them in a single, possibly rehearsed swoop-and-stamp. The left-hand arm of the frame twisted horribly, leaving the glasses resting at something like a 45-degree angle on the bridge of my nose. Soon after that, I began to feel dizzy, so as soon as the class was over we went on a protracted hunt for an optician who'd attempt a repair, because I don't have a back-up set, and was beginning to wonder if I'd be able to read. In the end we found someone who was willing to give it a go, but only if I understood that it was extremely likely that the glasses would snap, and that the lens on the damaged side would then fall out, and that it would also be my responsibility. I thought to myself: What about Ilaria?


I knew I had a good supply of sellotape at home, so I gave the optician the go-ahead, even though I realised it was in his interest to break them and then try to sell me a new pair. Some forty minutes later, he returned with my specs not only straightened out but as shiny and clean as the day I bought them some five years ago. My happiness was tempered, however, by the flood Ilaria had created with the water cooler at the back of the store while I sat waiting for the repair, bleary-eyed, and after I was done tending to her latest calamity, I decided to head to a nearby store to buy Ilaria some trainers and Carlotta (my oldest) a pair of leather Converse, because they were due a treat. By the time we got home, I had five minutes to get changed into my new Arthur Russell T-shirt, pictured above, which was gifted to me by Maurizio Clemente, the Italian publisher of Hold On to Your Dreams. (The T is not for sale; Stussy printed a batch as part of the promotional package for the book in Italy, and the first purchasers of the Italian translation get a T for free.) In the end I arrived at Donlon books at 6:25-p.m., five minutes ahead of opening, and without having had a chance to read through the extracts I was planning to read. No matter. At least I was going to be able to read. Plus the girls were at home, so I also felt safe.

I had already become a signed-up fan of Donlon Books when I visited the store for the first time back in December and spotted an original copy of Albert Goldman's Disco on one of the shelves. That was enough to convince me that this was an art book store that wasn't too far up its own art. And so it turned out. Conor had put together a gorgeous display of the Arthur memorabilia he picked up the night before -- a slice of the cabinet is captured in the photo to the left -- and the place was soon packed with a very nice mix of bookstore regulars, new and old friends, Arthur fans and folk from Lucky Cloud Sound System, plus the Killer Whale line-up and their extended family.

Battling with the microphone, and supported by the keyboard player from Killer Whale, I read two extracts from the book -- one that describes Arthur's entry into disco and the recording of "Kiss Me Again", and another that reflects on his relationship with Allen Ginsberg, Kevin Killian, Ernie Brooks, Steven Hall and others. The readings seemed to go well enough, and the atmosphere at the end was very upbeat, so I was touched, if not a little embarrassed. A short while later Killer Whale took to the carpet -- there being no stage -- and performed a set that included "Kiss Me Again", "Go Bang!", "Is It All Over My Face?" and "In the Light of the Miracle". They were completely up-for-it and in-the-zone. I couldn't have been happier that they were there to bring Arthur's music into the setting.

Several conversations later, the night wound down, and I biked to the northern end of Kingsland Road to meet Enrica and some friends in a Turkish cafe. The food was amazing and we ate as much as we could manage before gasping at the bill, which came to £10/head. After that, Enrica and I headed back home to check that the babysitter had survived.

(Thanks to Conor for hosting the reading, Rob Poll for the reading photo and Enrica Balestra for the rest of the photos.)


22 January 2010

Conor, who runs Donlon Books, and who I like a lot, came over earlier this evening to pick up some material for a cabinet display of Arthur objects, which he is putting together in time for tomorrow's book reading at his store. I dug out some vinyl, of course, and also put together a really quite lovely collection of Arthur's flyers, posters, record company correspondence, personnel  letters and photos. I think it should look really nice.

Conor is a little concerned that the shop is going to be rammed, so he suggested that the ultra-committed and their friends/loved ones make sure they arrive early rather than late. The event starts at 6:30pm and I'll probably read around 7:30pm, with Andy Willyam from Yam Who? accompanying me on keyboard. A little later Killer Whale, the Arthur Russell tribute band that appeared on the recent Electric Minds tribute album, will play a live set. I really loved the group's version of "Go Bang", which featured new takes from Peter Gordon, one of Arthur's collaborator-friends, who also played on the original session, so I'm really looking forward to that.

Conor put together a very nice email-poster for the event, but unfortunately it's not transferable, so all I can do is paste below the text, which is completely unformatted, I'm afraid. Sorry about that, thanks to Conor for all his good work, and I hope to see you there, nice and early!
 



21 January 2010

I took a copy of the book to the British Library for the first time today because I needed to start to think about the extracts I'm going to read at Donlon Books this coming Saturday and the ICA on 20 February (where I'm going to be accompanied by the composer Jo Thomas). As I was leaving the main humanities reading room, one of the security guards looked at the book, stroked the multicoloured title with his fingers, smiled at Arthur Russell's face, and without knowing the author, said, "Hold on to your dreams! I like that title. I want to read this book." I told him the book is a biography of a musician. "What kind of music?" he asked. "Classical music?" I said, "Classical music and just about everything else," and asked him if he liked music. "I love music," he replied. I said I'd bring him in a copy tomorrow.


19 January 2010

I was messing about on the net earlier today and noticed someone called Gideon has posted the first review of the book on Amazon. It's both kind and to the point, so I'll quote it in full:



11 January 2010

Stuart Aitken, author of many bright and engaged features about music, including a piece about Arthur just translated into Japanese, has published a review of the book in Flux:



6 January 2010

Pre-Christmas, just as I was heading to Italy, I was listening to the radio and heard the following question: What does Santa call his little helpers? Answer: Subordinate clauses.

Later that day, in an unrelated development, theQuietus ran an extract from the book that describes the recording of Arthur's celebrated World of Echo album. Introducing the extract, Bernard Keenan also ran a kind review, which includes the following thoughts:


Earlier today, Laura Sell, who was surely born to be a marketing manager and now fulfills that role at Duke, forwarded info that Richard Labonte has posted a review with Out Front Colarado, a magazine and website for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community of Colorado and the Rocky Mountain Region. Labonte writes:


I feel humbled the generosity of these responses, and the equally kind emails I'm receiving from readers.


16 December 2009

The Village Voice includes Hold On to Your Dreams in its list of "The Best Books of 2009". Carol Cooper writes:


Also, Gustavus Stadler gives the book its first academic review in the Cultural Studies journal Social Text -- thanks to Ashley Dawson, an old friend from Columbia University, for the heads up. The experience of clicking on the Social Text link took me back to the time when I published Love Saves the Day. The intention was for the book to be intellectually grounded and analytically rigorous as well as accessible to an engaged non-academic readership -- not an obvious goal, and one that seemed likely to provoke a hostile reaction from the university sector. But the journal reviewers and peer review panels ended up being receptive, and Gustavus' piece suggests the same might be true for the Arthur biography.

Gustavus considers the biography alongside David Suisman's Selling Sounds, and his thoughtful review can be read in full here. The book as being "elegantly composed" and "deftly researched", he says, before adding that Russell is given a "deservedly serious, thoughtful treatment". Of the sections that deal with Arthur's early dance twelve-inches, he notes the book does "a wonderful job of portraying this highly playful, queer sort of weirdness with which Russell infused his work, a quality very different from modernist machismo."

He adds:

And Gustavus concludes:


14 December 2009

The book sold well at Lucky Cloud Sound System's winter party with David Mancuso at the Light in London. It served as yet another reminder that dancers did more than most to keep Arthur's legacy alive during the fallow years that ran between the release of Another Thought in 1994 and the double release of Calling Out of Context and The World of Arthur Russell in 2004.


12 December 2009

An extract from book (the introduction) is published on the artsdesk.com today. A Joe Muggs Q&A with myself accompanies the piece. Many thanks for setting this up, Joe...


11 December 2009

The book is reviewed by Joe Muggs in Word magazine:



10 December 2009

More warm words, this time from Patell and Waterman’s History of New York...


9 December 2009

It's confirmed that the book will be launched in the UK at the ICA on 20 February. I'll be reading from the book, with musical backing, after which Arthur's Landing, recently signed to Strut, will play a live set. DJs will follow.

Before the ICA event, I'll be reading from the book at the Cambridge Heath Road branch of the much-respected, much-loved Donlon Books on 23 January. Killer Whale, who recorded a track for the recent Electric Minds compilation, will play a live acoustic set.

I'm looking forward to both events hugely. But what will I wear?


8 December 2009

Oxford American -- which "may be the liveliest literary magazine in America", according to the New York Times, just in case you were wondering -- has given the book a generous review, and picked out a nice quote at the end of the piece...



7 December 2009

Hold On to Your Dreams is now available in Italian. Daniela Cascela, who interviewed me for a feature she wrote about Arthur for the art magazine Blow Up, has written an introduction to the Italian edition that is posted on the Arthur Russell page of this site. There's a pretty good chance I'll be introducing the book at the Elita festival in Milan in the spring. More on that and other Italian translation developments if and when they happen.


6 December 2009

Keith Mcivoer -- DJ Twitch of Optimo -- has written a rather lovely email about Arthur and the book. I heard Keith DJ at the Liquid Liquid post-concert party held at the Barbican last October, Optimo having taken their name from the eponymous Liquid Liquid twelve-inch. I remember being surprised to hear Arthur's somewhat contentious but ultimately wonderful "Tiger Stripes" played in the main hall shortly before Liquid Liquid took to the stage; the record worked in perfectly. I checked with Keith if it would be OK to post his email and he said it would be fine. I'm going to leave it in its original, email-ese form, because I wouldn't want to start messing with it.


Very kind of you, Keith. For more on Optimo, click here.


5 December 2009

It's just been brought to my attention that Mariette Ana Papic has posted an interesting essay about her pursuit of Arthur and Arthur's Landing titled "Following History and A Man Named Arthur". She doesn't shy away from the sheer difficulty of trying to engage with Arthur and his legacy some seventeen years after he died, and I like that. The description of the book launch event in New York is particularly touching; it really captures the specialness the evening (something that's been entirely beyond me). The essay can be viewed here.


4 December 2009

Keynote Multimedia, the Italian publisher of Love Saves the Day, have translated Hold On to Your Dreams into Italian. It's great to be working with Maurizio Clemente and his team again. Tonight they are staging an Arthur Russell party at Teatro Piccolo Eliseo, Via Nazionale, 18, Rome. Beginning at 23:30, the event will feature Giovanni Ranieri and Marco Peruzzo (the Italian translators), Maurizio, (the Italian editor ), and a performance of Arthur's songs on the cello. From midnight to 04:30 Paolo di Nola, DJ Hendrix and Turbo Jazz will present DJ sets.

And from Prefix mag:



3 December 2009

Todd Burns has posted an extract from the book on RA -- Resident Advisor -- an on-line electronic music magazine. The extract covers the making of "Is It All Over My Face?" and can be viewed here. Todd had to pull together and edit down several sections from the book -- he did a great job and I'm thankful. With Todd stuck in a visa office trying to extend his stay in Berlin, I got to hear the piece had gone live when an ex-student told me he'd read it on the RA website. It was a nice way to find out.


2 December 2009

Jess Harvell, author of an early and insightful feature about Arthur, has written a thoughtful and engaged review of the book for the Baltimore City Paper. And to think that I watched the final episode of Series Five of the Wire last night, just as the review was about to be published. Harvell's piece is worth reading in full, which you can do here.


It's really rather wonderful when someone gets Arthur and appreciates the intent of the book...


1 December 2009

A number of Arthur collaborators will be performing at the Darmstadt "Classics of the Avant Garde" annual festival, 3-5 December. The festival will present composers who were involved in the Kitchen's New Music New York festival in 1979 -- something I write about in the book. The event will be held at the ISSUE Project Room, 232 3rd Street (at 3rd ave), Brooklyn. Nick Hallett, who sang with such poise and emotion at the book launch in New York, is helping co-ordinate the event. For more information, click here. I wish I could be there.


27 November 2009

Tonight I'll be introducing Matt Wolf's beautiful documentary film Wild Combination and maybe even reading an extract or two from the book at the launch of the Electric Minds Go Bang: A Tribute to Arthur Russell launch party at the Garage. The book will be on sale for a cut-price tenner. For more information click here.


23 November 2009

Kris Needs gives the book five stars in his review of the book for Record Collector:



18 November 2009

I'm heading back to the ICA tonight to listen to Alex Waterman perform in the Calling Out of Context season. Alex played mesmerizing cello (with Nick Hallett on vocals) at the Housing Works performance/book launch event in New York and right after we started to exchange emails right after, with me reporting on my attempts to get Alex and Nick an album deal to record Arthur songs, and Alex sending through enthusiastic reports of his non-linear reading of Hold On to Your Dreams. Then one day a couple of weeks ago I received an email that included the words "An amazing find" in the subject line. "Arthur and I had the same cello teacher!" Alex declared (I'm reproducing his words with his permission). "My main cello teacher was a man by the name of Andor Toth. He was the principal cellist out in San Francisco before teaching at Oberlin Conservatory. He was like a second dad to me. He passed on in late 2002 and I first heard Arthur around that time. [...] Now, after some years have passed, I read this in your book last night and I almost fell out of bed. I couldn't believe it. [...] It's really incredibly moving for me to know this." Alex handed me a set of Bartok String Quartet recordings that feature Andy Toth's playing at the Rhys Chatham event. "It's the most incredible cello playing," Alex promised me. And he was right.


16 November 2009

Electric Minds launches the Arthur Russell tribute album, Go Bang, at Pure Groove Records tonight. An extract from the book appears in the liner notes, and although the designer managed to make a hash of the paragraphs, it's nice to be working together. I must admit I wondered how the association would work out, because when I've heard others perform or remix Arthur's songs the results have often sounded "less". That's been disappointing, and I wondered if the dance mixes on the Electric Minds collection would be as mundane and disposable as Todd Terry's sampling of "Go Bang!" on "Bang Go". The Electric Minds mixes are less catchy but more serious than that effort, with Yam Who?'s reworking of "Go Bang" the outstanding mix. The thought of listening to that track filled me with dread: it didn't seem possible to add anything to the original album version and François Kevorkian's superlative 1982. But Yam Who? have introduced additional layers of instrumental madness that are entirely in keeping with the crazed funk spirit of these first two versions. It all made sense when I found out that the remixers had employed Peter Gordon -- a close friend of Arthur's, the leader of the Love of Life Orchestra, and a performer on the original version of "Go Bang" -- to record additional instrumental tracks.


15 November 2009

Tonight I'm heading to the ICA to hear Rhys Chatham perform in the ICA's Calling Out of Context festival. Rhys was a downtown composer-musician peer of Arthur's, and is probably the person who invited Arthur to become music director at the Kitchen during the 1974-75 season. Although Arthur's music won't be performed during Calling Out of Context, the title reveals the way his practice has helped influence and frame the festival. The programme notes include the following exchange between organisers Jamie Eastman and Richard Birkett:

JE: Can you explain where the title Calling Out of Context comes from and why it seemed appropriate?

RB: Well, the title appealed as it avoids a single interpretation yet in several ways conjures up the territory the project addresses. It comes directly from a song title by the late American musician Arthur Russell. Russell seems like an important talisman for the project; he sums up an approach to music that was quite unique to a period of time and a location, but has also echoed outwards in terms of how we receive contemporary music today; how we think about different areas of the filed; and how they relate to one another and to the rest of culture. // The scene in New York that Russell became part of in the 70s was pluralistic, with different genres operating around each other while also defining themselves in opposition to a classical, uptown tradition. So you have minimalist composers sharing performance and social space with punk, and then the no-wave scene, and Russell straddling these worlds while also becoming a pioneering figure in disco. All these scenes came about through the open exploration of music rather than the development of rigid affinities.

Alex Waterman, who played and sang so beautifully at the Housing Works event where Hold On to Your Dreams was launched, will play on Wednesday 18 November. I'll be going and strongly recommend.


3 November 2009

News in that the distributor is going to make the book available for £10 at Lucky Cloud Sound System's winter party with David Mancuso at the Light on 13 December, 5pm to midnight. Interviewed for the book, David still plays the twelve inch and album versions of "Go Bang!" as well as "Pop Your Funk" and "Clean On Your Bean", so if you have good feet-hand-eye co-ordination you'll be able to read the biography while dancing to Arthur's music. These LCSS parties with David invariably sell out, so if you want to come it's best to book in advance.


2 November 2009

Nice plugs for the book at the Lambada Literary Foundation (which supports LGBT writing and publishing) and Cosmic Disco.


30 October 2009

Bookforum.com publishes John Rockwell's review of the book, which will appear in the December-January issue of the international literary magazine. Rockwell became an esteemed music critic at the New York Times in 1972, the year before Arthur arrived in New York, and moved on to other writing in 1992, the year Arthur died. During that period Rockwell covered the downtown music scene, and occasionally Arthur's performances, with energy and incisiveness.

Rockwell didn't always care a great deal for Arthur's music, as he makes clear in his review, but overall his review is generous. He notes the book "represents the broadest and most insightful study of the whole [downtown] musical scene so far" and in his concluding paragraph adds: "Lawrence shines a bright light onto a subject who fails to reflect much back. But the light picks out telling background details. By exploring downtown-Manhattan culture so restlessly and thoroughly, even if he didn't impress himself forcefully on it, Russell has inspired a book that helps us understand a thrilling twenty-five years of American cultural history."

Elsewhere, RA announces it is holding an Arthur Russell competition. Prizes include the Electric Minds compilation and the book. For more information click here.


25 October 2009

Thom Donovan reviews the book in Fanzine:

15 October 2009

Ken Hollings reviews the book in the Wire, which, over the years, must have dedicated more lines to Arthur than any other. I'm nervous because the Wire is (i) weighty and (ii) has every reason to be territorial about Arthur, but the review turns out to be positive. Ken Hollings describes the book as a "sensitive and thorough biography" and adds, "as the author of the excellent Love Saves the Day, Lawrence is particularly adept at exploring Russell's links with the  New York club scene." The review continues: "The connection he [Lawrence] establishes between the haunting songs for cello and voice Russell recorded in 1986's World Of Echo, and the empty dancefloors of Lower Manhattan as AIDS starts to take its toll, is particularly affecting." The review concludes with the words: "with Hold On to Your Dreams, the outline of an outstanding and prescient artist can now be more clearly made out." The review will appear in the November edition of the Wire.

Laura Sell at Duke also forwards me John McLeod's review in Flagpole. John writes:




On the same day the Library Journal runs a review. Joshua Finnell concludes "Lawrence's writing style mirrors Russell's musical approach, fusing divergent disciplines and catering to different audiences in a single work. Serious scholars and academics will be pleased with the depth of research, and fans will enjoy the illustrations and anecdotes of Russell's life."


14 October 2009

I catch the early morning flight back to London. I start to read the book on the plane and at one point a passenger stops me and says: "Do you mind if I ask you what that book is like?" I reply: "You should probably ask someone else. I'm the author."


13 October 2009

I travel to Princeton University to speak about the book and Arthur. Ricardo Montez -- researcher in the intersection of queer and Latina/o studies, as well as the work of Keith Haring, organises the event. We spend some time getting to know each other over lunch before making an ungainly dash to Ricardo's American Studies class, where all of the students are sitting, pens poised to take note, well-trained and obedient. Matt Wolf, the director of the gorgeous Arthur documentary film "Wild Combination", joins us at the Arthur session. Matt and I set up an informal Arthur support group while we were working on our separate but interlocking projects, and I was happy to partake in a Q&A with him when "Wild Combination" was premiered in London. Matt's in good form, as always, and so is Alexandra Vazquez, a dear friend, who is also based at Princeton at the moment. We all head out for supper after the session closes. Princeton is beautiful, but I'd rather live in New York -- or London.


12 October 2009

John Connell interviews me for ABC National Radio, Australia. We try to search out a quiet spot in the Long Island City building where I'm staying, courtesy of my old friend from Columbia University, Elliott Trice. The scene is almost comical; it's almost impossible to escape some kind of hum or rumble or whir. In the end we settle on the floor of the basement corridor and talk Arthur. I can't help but think of Arthur's unconventional approach to background sound -- how he would leave windows open in order to introduce the "music of the street" into his recordings; how he record over old tapes to create unusual layers of sound; how he would suggest to engineers that they place microphones in adjacent rooms in order to generate a more compelling sound field...


11 October 2009

I head to David Mancuso's Loft party in New York -- the last before Februrary's celebratory fortieth anniversary party. David was friends with Arthur, and in an interview for the book described him as "Dylan and Coltrane rolled into one". That remains the most concise and lucid description of Arthur's I've heard. I leave David a copy of the book and dance.


10 October 2009

"Hold On..." is launched at the Housing Works bookstore in SoHo, New York, at a 7-9:00pm evening event. Peter Gordon, a close friend and collaborator of Arthur's, curates. Mira Billotte, Joyce Bowden, Peter Gordon, Steven Hall, Nick Hallett, Beau Henry, Rachel Henry, Rick Lassiter, Alex Waterman and Peter Zummo perform versions of Arthur's songs and instrumental pieces, while I read a couple of passages from the book while accompanied by Peter G on keyboards. In an evening of highlights, Nick and Alex's rendition of "Losing My Taste for the Nightlife", "Another Thought" and "Rabbit's Ear" is ecstatic and tender and leaves many of us in tears. This might be the first time I heard someone else play Arthur's music and make it as interesting and touching as Arthur himself. The commitment of all of the musicians to the music and the memory of Arthur is visceral, and comes alive in a room that -- all wood and books and high ceilings -- is mesmerisingly ambient. Rachel Fershleiser of the Housing Works hosts the evening and makes us feel at home. I couldn't have wished for more.

Earlier in the day, something like a hundred people gathered at the Tisch Peformance Studies building of New York University at Waverly Place to participate in the "Kiss Me Again: The Life and Legacy of Arthur Russell" conference. Working alongside Sukhdev Sandhu and Peter Gordon, I helped co-ordinate the conference and opened the proceedings with a keynote address that's available elsewhere on this site... The rest of the day was organised around four panels, two of which featured invited speakers (Alan Abrams, Mustafa Ahmed, Bob Blank, Joyce Bowden, Ernie Brooks, Peter Gordon, Steven Hall, Steve Knutson, Elodie Lauten, Tom Lee, Gary Lucas, Larry Saltzman and Peter Zummo), and two of which featured researchers, critics and musicians who responded to a call for papers (Joyce Bowden again, Ernie Brooks again, Ryan Dohoney, Elodie Lauten again, Daniel Portland, James Thomas, Peter Zummo again)... The esteemed music critic (and friend) Simon Reynolds took a day out of writing to attend and chair one of the panels. Matt Wolf gave permission for us to screen his wonderful Arthur documentary Wild Combination and also took time to answer questions. And the day was charmed by the presence of Arthur's parents (Chuck and Emily) and sisters (Kate and Julie)... Thoroughly baked by the warm weather and lack of air conditioning in the room, a number of us wondered if the last panel would have any legs. But the just-in-time arrival of a buzzing Alan Abrams along with the equally fresh (and slightly more prompt) Larry Saltzman injected so much energy into the session it required a significant effort to bring it to a close and allow Sukhdev to close the conference with words of beauty and insight.

After that, we made a dash for the Housing Works bookstore... And after that, we grab a quick bite before going to Public Assembly in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where Arthur's Landing -- a group of Arthur collaborators and admirers led by Steven Hall -- rev up a dance party at Public Assembly.


8 October 2009

Michaelangelo Matos reviews the book for Time Out New York and concludes that its "overriding thesis—that Russell’s boundary crossing was as important as the work he made—is sound, paying tribute to a man who was a connector as well as a spark."


8 September 2009

Gamall Awad publishes a big article on Arthur Russell's dance music in the Daily Swarm: "Is It All Over?: Arthur Russell and the Art of Fluidic Dance Music... How Much Of His Music Is Still Locked Up in The Vault?...". Gamall interviewed me for the piece and quotes me quite extensively. The piece can be viewed here.


31 March 2009

Here's the back page blurb, courtesy of Katie Courtland at Duke: