The music of Arthur Russell defies classification. Across a twenty-year career he created a body of work which ranged from his pioneering compositions as part of the New York avant-garde alongside artists including Philip Glass and Allen Ginsberg, to his genre-expanding disco and art pop productions, to his posthumously released folk songs. Travels Over Feeling is the result of extensive research by author Richard King, curating the ephemera and documentation found in both Arthur's and other private archives, and consists of hand-written scores, lyrics, photos, letters and drawings.

Throughout, King has conducted wide-ranging original interviews with Arthur's collaborators, contemporaries, family and friends. The resulting book reveals a true picture of one of the most distinctive artists of the last fifty years.

Brazilian singer and composer Arthur Melo turns to the ‘70s & ‘80s, to the musical greats like Caetano Veloso and Milton Nascimento, channelling his love of director Brian de Palma and old detective films, and positioning himself amongst a new generation of contemporary musicians.

Arthur Melo, a young Brazilian composer, guitarist and singer returns to releasing music, with his second single after a 3 year break, with a new album Mirantes Emocionais, set for release on British label Wonderfulsound. Backed by his band O Ministério da Consciência it’s a work that pays homage to Arthur’s heroes of Brazilian music from the ‘70s and ‘80s yet goes much beyond throwback. Like his previous post-tropicalia, psychedelic and percussive material, it honours Brazil’s divergent musical history but always looking forward, treading new paths and placing Arthur in a venerable category of explorative, young Brazilian artists alongside the likes of Sessa & Ana Frango Elétrico.

TRACK LISTING

1. Me Lastimaste
2. Na Avenida Com Benito
3. Dama Da Noite
4. Zói Fundo
5. De Toda Sorte
6. Maré
7. Álvaro Almeida
8. Princípios Organizadores
9. Do Colostro Ao Osso
10. Saídas
11.
12. Aprendendo A Mentir

This autumn, Erased Tapes are set to release ‘Give It to the Sky: Arthur Russell’s Tower of Meaning Expanded’ by composer and producer Peter Broderick and French 12-piece group Ensemble 0; a complete re-recording of Russell’s epic minimalist orchestral composition originally released in 1983. Released 6th October, ‘Give It to the Sky’ also includes unreleased tracks by Russell which have been restored and re-recorded, resulting in an 80-minute reanimation that threads several lost songs into a meticulous and gorgeous rendering.

Ensemble 0 weave in and out of Broderick’s additions. ‘Corky’, a poignant cowboy ballad that Russell never finished, appears, disappears, and reappears three times, the droning exhalations of ‘Tower of Meaning’ making it feel sweeter and sadder. Arriving just after the triumphant halfway mark, the title track is a sublime meditation on mere existence, about staring at some simple rural scene and marcelling at the miracle of being anywhere at all. It is an apt encapsulation of how this entire project feels – a glorious way to hear something that might have seemed familiar as if for the very first time.

Russell was never much for definitive versions, of course. He was constantly rethinking the possibilities of a piece, of wondering what else it could do. ‘Give it to the Sky’ is a powerful affirmation of those principles, using Tower of Meaning’s framework to build outward and upward, to shape something that functions within Russell’s wondrous, paradoxical world. And ‘Give it to the Sky’ is also not intended to be some definitive last word. Broderick and Ensemble 0 speak already of the ways it may shift on stage, of where else it might lead.

TRACK LISTING

A1.Tower Of Meaning I
A2. Tower Of Meaning II
A3. Tower Of Meaning III
A4. Tower Of Meaning IV
A5. Corky I / White Jet Set Smoke Trail I
A6. Consideration
B1. Tower Of Meaning V
B2. Tower Of Meaning VI
B3. Tower Of Meaning VII
B4. Tower Of Meaning VIII
B5. Tower Of Meaning IX / Corky II
C1. Tower Of Meaning X
C2. Give It To The Sky
D1. Tower Of Meaning XI
D2. Tower Of Meaning XII
D3. Corky III
D4. White Jet Smoke Trail II

Rough Trade Records in partnership with Audika Records are excited to announce ‘Picture of Bunny Rabbit’ a new album of previously unreleased World Of Echo era material by Arthur Russell recorded in 1985/86.

‘Picture of Bunny Rabbit’ features nine previously unreleased performances from this era compiled from completed masters culled from two unique test pressings, including one, dated 9/15/85 by Arthur, provided by his mother and sister. A further four tracks were discovered in his tape archive. The track listing includes an exceptional and dramatic solo recording of “In The Light of a Miracle” and the enigmatic title instrumental “Picture of Bunny Rabbit”, written especially for a friends pet rabbit. The bulk of the material was recorded with engineer Eric Liljestrand at Battery Sound Studios, New York, which was located directly opposite the World Trade Center and at Arthur’s apartment studio in the East Village.

In 1986 Arthur Russell was diagnosed with HIV, that same year he released his career-defining masterpiece ‘World of Echo’, the first and only solo album issued during his lifetime. Arthur had found his voice and a fresh direction with a set of new, transformative material, unlike anything he or anyone else had previously released. His illness ensured that the artistic growth and sense of exploration encapsulated in ‘World of Echo’ would be tragically curtailed. Within six short years Arthur was gone.

Arthur’s final years were filled with a renewed commitment to creativity and unceasing live and recording work. He regularly performed the ‘World of Echo’ material and incorporated several of its compositions in collaborations with choreographers active in New York’s innovative dance community. Arthur worked closely with Diane Madden, Allison Salzinger, Stephanie Woodard and John Bernd, usually playing his cello and effects boxes off stage as the choreographers’ pieces were performed. In 1993 Arthur posthumously received a prestigious Bessie Composer Award for his work in the dance world.

This release is the latest in a series in partnership with Audika Records, the exclusive label and home for the Arthur Russell archive and estate, who since 2004 have compiled and published the exceptionally varied, long sought-after music of Arthur Russell, and who in the process have helped the beloved, late artist find the broader audience he always believed he would reach. A new generation of listeners and critics has come to appreciate Russell as a visionary and an influence upon a broad range of today’s most compelling musical artists.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Some premium unearthed material here from the late, great Arthur Russell. Having come from the World Of Echo sessions, you know that there's some superb material here, including nine previously unreleased performances including some salvaged from tape provided by his mother and sister.

TRACK LISTING

Side A:
Fuzzbuster 10
Not Checking Up
Telling No One
Fuzzbuster 06
The Boy With A Smile
Side B:
Fuzzbuster 09
Very Reason
Picture Of Bunny Rabbit
In The Light Of A Miracle

‘Love Is Overtaking Me’, originally released in 2008 comprises 21 demos and home recordings of unreleased pop, folk and country songs from Arthur’s vast catalogue. While much critical and popular affection for Russell’s music has come about well after his untimely death from AIDS in 1992, many fellow artists believed in his genius and were drawn to collaborate with him during his lifetime. The legendary producer John Hammond (Billie Holiday, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen) recorded Russell on several occasions; a number of these recordings can be heard on ‘Love Is Overtaking Me’. Alongside songs recorded with various incarnations of The Flying Hearts, a group formed by Russell with Ernie Brooks whose shifting line up included, by turns, Jerry Harrison, Rhys Chatham, Jon Gibson, Peter Gordon and Peter Zummo as well as Larry Saltzman and David Van Tieghem. Several other Russell projects are represented on Love Is Overtaking Me, including The Sailboats, Turbo Sporty and Bright & Early.

Compiled from over eight hours of material, ‘Love Is Overtaking Me’ reaches back further to Russell’s first compositions from the early `70s and spans forward to his very last recordings, made at home in 1991. Chris Taylor of Grizzly Bear contributed mixing, restoration and editing to the album, whose tracks were selected by Audika’s Steve Knutson, Ernie Brooks and Russell’s companion, Tom Lee. Several songs feature prominently in Matt Wolf’s film ‘Wild Combination: A Portrait of Arthur Russell’.

Extensive ‘Love Is Overtaking Me’ liner notes by Tom Lee provide an intimate perspective on Russell’s diverse catalogue, which spanned an extraordinary diversity of styles and won the love of artistic communities that would seem utterly disparate, from Philip Glass, John Cage and Allen Ginsberg to rock bands like The Talking Heads and The Modern Lovers; the pre-Studio 54 disco-party scene of Nicky Siano’s Gallery and David Mancuso’s Loft; and DJ-producers like Francois Kevorkian and Larry Levan, among others.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
Close My Eyes
Goodbye Old Paint
Maybe She
Oh Fernanda Why
Time Away
Nobody Wants A Lonely Heart

Side B
I Couldn't Say It To Your Face
This Time Dad You're Wrong
What It's Like
Eli
Hey! How Does Everybody Know

Side C
I Forget And I Can't Tell (Ballad Of The Lights Pt. 1)
Habit Of You
Janine
Big Moon
Your Motion Says
The Letter

Side D
Don't Forget About Me
Love Is Overtaking Me
Planted A Thought
Love Comes Back

Corn, originally released in 2015, features nine tracks Russell recorded in 1982 and 1983. In collaboration with Russell’s partner Tom Lee, Audika’s Steve Knutson compiled Corn from Arthur’s original, completed 1/4” tape masters. Russell himself compiled this material on three separate test pressings—labelled El Dinosaur, Indian Ocean, and Untitled, respectively— in 1985.

Russell fans know something of the Corn sound from Audika’s debut release, ‘Calling Out of Context’ (2004), which included four songs from these sessions: ‘The Deer In The Forest Part 1,’ ‘The Platform on the Ocean,’ ‘Calling Out Of Context,’ and ‘I Like You!’

This new collection includes rhythmic alternate versions of ‘Lucky Cloud,’ ‘Keeping Up,’ ‘See My Brother, He’s Jumping Out (Let’s Go Swimming #2),’ ‘This Is How We Walk on the Moon,’ and ‘Hiding Your Present From You,’ along with ‘Corn,’ ‘Corn (Continued),’ ‘They and Their Friends,’ and the closing instrumental ‘Ocean Movie,’ one of the most beautiful and curious Russell tracks ever to see the light of day.

TRACK LISTING

Lucky Cloud
Corn
Keeping Up
See My Brother, He's Jumping Out (Let's Go Swimming #2)
This Is How We Walk On The Moon
Corn (Continued)
Hiding Your Present From You
They And Their Friends
Ocean Movie

Arthur Ponder, a life long Macon, Georgia resident, started his singing career in the 60s replacing Otis Redding in Johnny Jenkins & The Pinetoppersafter Otis went solo. Although he gigged extensively, he did not actually make it onto a record until around 1970. Presented here, we have mostly his 80s Modern Soul output Solo and with local group Side Show, some with was released on 45 others remain unreleased till now. Special thanks to Angelo Angione who went above and beyond to help with this project and Arthur Ponder - The Prince of Georgia Soul.

TRACK LISTING

1. Lonely Girl (feat. Side Show)
2. Sexy Lady
3. If You Want My Love
4. My Love
5. Let's Get Together For The Wrong We Have Done
6. Whatcha Gonna Do About It
7. You Are The One For Me (feat. Side Show)
8. Oh Baby Why You Want To Make Me Cry
9. You Talk Too Much
10. It's You Girl

The now classic album that started the renaissance, available via Rough Trade on double vinyl with four page insert.

Calling Out Of Context features 12 previously unreleased tracks of Buddhist Bubblegum Disco Electro Pop including the anthemic "That's Us/Wild Combination", "The Platform On The Ocean", “Make 1, 2” and "Arm Around You", all recorded during Arthur's prime years 1985-90. Collaborators include Mustafa Ahmed, Walter Gibbons, Steven Hall, Jennifer Warnes, and Peter Zummo.

30 years have passed since Arthur Russell left us, in relative obscurity, from AIDS complications in 1992. Yet his work—as composer, songwriter and dance music innovator—is better known now than ever before. Since Audika Records and Arthur’s partner Tom Lee began excavating and curating Arthur’s vast archive beginning in 2003, critics worldwide have hailed Russell as a visionary. Countless younger artists cite him as an influence. There has been an internationally acclaimed documentary film (Matt Wolf’s Wild Combination) and biography (Tim Lawrence’s Hold onto Your Dreams), a critical study (Matt Marble’s Buddhist Bubblegum) along with various tribute albums, concerts and events. In 2016 Arthur Russell’s archive was acquired by The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center as part of their American Music Collection.

If Arthur Russell isn’t quite the pop star he imagined he would be, he is at least widely considered one of the most significant figures in late 20th century American music.

The majority of the material selected for “Calling Out Of Context” comes from two sources. The first was a completed album which dates from 1985, entitled “Corn” of which three very different test pressings remain (complied and reissued in 2015). The second source was material earmarked for Rough Trade recorded between 1986 -1990.

Both “Make 1,2” and “Hop On Down” (originally titled “Hop On Down To Petland”) are two songs that Arthur wrote specifically with the plan of releasing as singles. Sadly, Arthur was faced with an unsympathetic market which viewed his material as uncommercial or too eccentric. In the case of the abandoned Rough Trade recordings, Arthur had become ill due to complications from HIV. He simply could not let go of his material. Nonetheless, he worked and reworked songs into an infinite labyrinth of possibilities, working incessantly with confidence and optimism until the last years of his life.

As a cellist, songwriter, composer, and disco visionary Arthur Russell consistently blurred the lines of our expectations of what pop music could be. Contrary by nature, Arthur’s spontaneous reaction to and altered perception of his environment produced music that remains challenging and contemporary. Arthur’s open hearted attitude to music was far ahead of its time, and now that time is ours.

TRACK LISTING

The Deer In The Forest Part 1
The Platform On The Ocean
You And Me Both
Calling Out Of Context
Arm Around You
That's Us/Wild Combination
Make 1,2
Hop On Down
Get Around You
 I Like You!
You Can Make Me Feel Bad
Calling All Kids

Remastered double LP with 12 page booklet including liner notes by Tim Lawrence, Ernie Brooks and Arthur Russell.

Before Disco, and before the transcendent echoes, Arthur studied to be a composer.

His journey began in 1972, running away from his home in Oskaloosa, Iowa.

Heading west to Northern California, Arthur studied Indian classical composition at the Ali Akbar Khan College of Music followed by western orchestral music at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, before ending two years later in New York at the Manhattan School of Music.

Traversing the popular and the serious, Arthur composed “Instrumentals” in 1974, inspired by the photography of his Buddhist teacher, Yuko Nonomura, as Arthur described, “I was awakened, or re-awakened to the bright-sound and magical qualities of the bubblegum and easy-listening currents in American popular music”.

Initially intended to be performed in one 48 hour cycle, “Instrumentals” was in fact only performed a handful of times as a work in progress.

The legendary performances captured live in New York at The Kitchen (1975 and 1978) and Franklin St. Arts Center (1977) feature the cream of that eras downtown new music scene including Ernie Brooks, Rhys Chatham, Julius Eastman, Jon Gibson, Peter Gordon, Garrett List, Andy Paley, Bill Ruyle, Dave Van Tieghem, and Peter Zummo.

Pitchfork lauded “Instrumentals” Vol. 1 as a masterpiece and one of Arthur’s “greatest achievements”. Americana touching on Copeland, Ives, and maybe even Brian Wilson. “Instrumentals” Vol. 2 is a moving, deeply pastoral work performed by the CETA Orchestra and conducted by Julius Eastman. Also included are two of Arthur’s most elusive compositions, Reach One, and Sketch For “Face Of Helen”. Recorded live in 1975 at Phill Niblock’s Experimental Intermedia Foundation, Reach One is a minimal, hypnotic ambient soundscape written and performed for two Fender Rhodes pianos. Sketch For “Face Of Helen” was inspired by Arthur’s work with friend and composer Arnold Dreyblatt, recorded with an electronic tone generator, keyboard and ambient recordings of a rumbling tugboat from the Hudson River.

TRACK LISTING

"Instrumentals" Volume 1
"Instrumentals" Volume 1
"Instrumentals" Volume 1
"Instrumentals" Volume 1
"Instrumentals" Volume 1
"Instrumentals" Volume 1
"Instrumentals" Volume 1
"Instrumentals" Volume 1
"Instrumentals" Volume 1
"Instrumentals" Volume 1
"Instrumentals" Volume 2
"Instrumentals" Volume 2
"Instrumentals" Volume 2
"Instrumentals" Volume 2
"Instrumentals" Volume 2
Sketch For The Face Of Helen
Reach One

Originally released on LP in 1986, “World Of Echo” is a deeply intimate and meditative work of awe-inspiring grace and remains a timeless work of sublime beauty. Arthur’s aim was to achieve what he calls 'the most vivid rhythmic reality', with just cello, voice, and echoes. Arthur achieved all of this and more on one of the most amazing albums you will ever hear.

Often listed in the various 'most important albums you'll ever hear' type of fair; its innovative and maverick approach to the whole production process (even famously recording the album on a full moon) would go on to inspire countless future generations of creatives; especially across lo-fi and DIY scenes. His mix of classical training, frankly punk attitude and love of experimentation forged a sound that was unequivocally his own; a rare and epochal force of nature that will never be copied again.

If you don't own a copy of this album, I urge you to reconsider! It's a must-have for any serious music lover. Copies always fly out too, so take advantage now as when its out of press it always commands big bucks.

TRACK LISTING

Tone Bone Kone 0:57
Soon-To-Be Innocent Fun / Let's See 9:19
Answers Me 2:04
Being It 5:23
Place I Know / Kid Like You 3:20
She's The Star / I Take This Time 4:46
Tree House 2:09
See-Through 2:08
Hiding Your Present From You 4:06
Wax The Van 2:05
All-Boy All-Girl 3:34
Lucky Cloud 2:46
Tower Of Meaning / Rabbit's Ear / Home Away From Home 4:20
Let's Go Swimming

At once kaleidoscopic and intimate, "Iowa Dream" bears some of Russell’s most personal work, including several recently discovered folk songs he wrote during his time in Northern California in the early 1970s. For Russell, Iowa was never very far away. “I see, I see it all,” sings Russell on the title track: red houses, fields, the town mayor (his father) streaming by as he dream-bicycles through his hometown. Russell’s childhood home and family echo, too, through “Just Regular People,” “I Wish I Had a Brother,” “Wonder Boy,” “The Dogs Outside are Barking,” “Sharper Eyes,” and “I Felt.” Meanwhile, songs like “I Kissed the Girl From Outer Space,” “I Still Love You,” “List of Boys,” and “Barefoot in New York” fizz with pop and dance grooves, gesturing at Russell’s devotion to New York’s avant-garde and disco scenes. Finally, the long-awaited “You Did it Yourself,” until now heard only in a brief heart-stopping black-and-white clip in Matt Wolf’s documentary Wild Combination, awards us a new take with a driving funk rhythm and Russell’s extraordinary voice soaring at the height of its powers. On "Iowa Dream", you can hear a country kid meeting the rest of the world - and with this record, the world continues to meet a totally singular artist.

TRACK LISTING

Side 1
1. Wonder Boy
2. I Never Get Lonesome
3. Everybody Everybody
4. You Did It Yourself
5. Come To Life
6. Iowa Dream
7. Words Of Love
8. I Still Love You
9. You Are My Love
10. Barefoot In New York
11. Just Regular People
12. I Wish I Had A Brother
13. I Felt
14. The Dogs Outside Are Barking
15. Sharper Eyes
16. Follow You
17. List Of Boys
18. I Kissed The Girl From Outer Space
19. In Love With You For The Last Time

One of the most successful and celebrated remixers of the 1980’s, The Shep Pettibone Master Mixes Vol One, Part One & Part Two features 46 classic tracks, compiled and sequenced by Wayne Dickson (BBR/Groove Line Records). This 4 CD collection come with a 32 page book that includes a foreword written by series curator and Dance music legend Arthur Baker, plus an essay written by Billboard Magazine dance columnist Bill Coleman which features quotes from the likes of John Taylor (Duran Duran), Andy Bell, Gloria Estefan and Cyndi Lauper. The set also includes track by track annotations from the likes of DJ’s Danny Krivit, Lenny Fontana and Colin Curtis, along with artists such as Randy Muller and Richie Weeks (The Jammers/Weeks and Co).

Featuring a list of some of the biggest and most diverse artists of the 1980's including Whitney Houston, George Michael, Duran Duran, Miami Sound Machine, Cyndi Lauper, Pet Shop Boys, Depeche Mode, Erasure and Elton John.

‘What Shep Pettibone had that most other mixers did not, was a true radio sensibility. He inherently knew what would work on the airwaves, but was equally comfortable in a club setting, as a DJ and a fan, so he knew what worked both on the dance floor and on radio. That was a deadly combination. Shep was also very open to all types of music and acts. From UK alternative sounds to NYC street sounds. From campy pop to gospel disco and electro R&B, Shep nailed them all and brought his expert sheen and sense of excitement to each of them. I am incredibly proud to open the Dance Masters series with this collection of some of his best work.’ - ARTHUR BAKER

TRACK LISTING

Disc One
1. George Michael - Hard Day (Shep Pettibone Remix Remastered)
2. Duran Duran - I Don't Want Your Love (Big Mix)
3. Level 42 - Lessons In Love (Shep Pettibone Remix)
4. Whitney Houston - So Emotional (Edited Remix)
5. Belinda Carlisle - Heaven Is A Place On Earth (Heavenly Version)
6. The B 52's - Summer Of Love (Summer Party Mix)
7. Huey Lewis & The News - Hip To Be Square (Dance Mix)
8. Miami Sound Machine - Bad Boy (Shep Pettibone Remix)
9. Cyndi Lauper - Change Of Heart (12" Extended Club Remix)
10. Run Dmc - It's Tricky (Club Mix)
11. Paula Abdul - Knocked Out (Pettibone 12")
12. Narada Divine - Emotions [Shep Pettibone Single Remix)

Disc Two
1. Pet Shop Boys - West End Girls (The Shep Pettibone Mastermix)
2. Alisha - Baby Talk (Extended Dance Mix)
3. The Flirts - You And Me (12” Shep Pettibone Mix)
4. Phyllis Nelson - I Like You (12” Extended Version)
5. New Order - Bizarre Love Triangle (Shep Pettibone 12" Remix)
6. Depeche Mode - Behind The Wheel (Shep Pettibone Mix)
7. Erasure - Chains Of Love (Unfettered Remix) (2009 Remaster)
8. Kim Wilde - You Came (Shep Pettibone U.S. 7" Version)
9. Psychedelic Furs - Shock (The Shep Pettibone Mix)
10. Elton John - I Don't Wanna Go On With You Like That (The Shep Pettibone Mix)
11. The Communards - Never Can Say Goodbye (Single Mix)
12. Gloria Gaynor - I Am What I Am (12” Extended Version)

Disc Three
1. Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam With Full Force - I Wonder If I Take You Home (The Shep Pettibone Remix)
2. Sananda Maitreya - If You Let Me Stay (The Shep Pettibone Mix)
3. Five Star - Are You Man Enough (The Shep Pettibone Remix)
4. Pointer Sisters - Goldmine (12" Version)
5. Lionel Richie - Love Will Conquer All (12" Vocal Version)
6. B B & Q - (I’m A) Dreamer (12” Shep Pettibone Vocal/Long
7. Howard Hewett - Stay (After Midnight Mix)
8. George Benson - Twice The Love (Club Love Remix)
9. Thompson Twins - In The Name Of Love '88 (Railroad Mix)
10. Lisa Stansfield - This Is The Right Time (Shep Pettibone Mix)
11. Pia - Dance Out Of My Head (The Dress Down Mix)

Disc Four
1. Leroy Burgess - Heartbreaker (12" Shep Pettibone Mix)
2. Sinnamon - Thanks To You (12" Shep Pettibone Mix)
3. The Jammers - Be Mine Tonight (12” Shep Pettibone Mix)
4. Instant Funk - (Just Because) You'll Be Mine (12” Shep Pettibone Mix) 2017 Remaster
5. Aurra - Such A Feeling (12” Shep Pettibone Mix)
6. Carol Williams - No One Can Do It (Like You) (12" Special Remix)
7. Steve Shelto - Don't Give Your Love Away (Shep Pettibone Mix: Short Version)
8. Skyy - Show Me The Way (12” Shep Pettibone Mix)
9. Mike And Brenda Sutton - Don't Let Go Of Me (Grip My Hips And Move Me) (12” Shep Pettibone Mix)
10. Weeks And Co. - If You’re Looking For Fun (12” Shep Pettibone Master Dub Mix)
11. The Salsoul Orchestra - Ooh, I Love It (Love Break) (12" Shep Pettibone Mix)
12. First Choice - Let No Man Put Asunder (12" Shep Pettibone Mix)

Seven years after their last 'Americana' compilation for BBE Music, The Mighty Zaf and Mark GV Taylor present two more rare “blue eyed soul” cuts from across the pond: 'So Close To You' by Arthur, and 'Reincarnation' by Future Force. Taken from his first and only solo album, 1981's 'Joy', 'So Close To You' is a sweet, folk-tinged song written by Arthur's guitarist Dean Devener and voiced by Maye Cavallaro. Hailing from New York, a diamond dealer by day and a bassist by night, Arthur joined his first band in '66. He was living in the tiny community of Inverness, just North of San Francisco when he recorded 'So Close To You', which featured mainly local musicians from the West Marin area. Future Force was formed by brothers David and Howard Bowler, who went on to write and produce dance cuts for A&M with the band's keyboardist Eric Li, including the hit song 'Sayin' Sorry Don't Make It Right' by Denise Lopez. Recorded live with only the lead vocals overdubbed, 'Reincarnation' captures the raw, soulful sound for which Future Force shows had gained notoriety, both in New York City and beyond. The song was written by guitarist Jehri Riley and performed by lead singer Jackie Stewart, who was born in Brixton to Jamaican parents, moving to NYC at the age of 13. 'Reincarnation' was originally the B-side of NYC pop / funk band Future Force's only recording, a 7" single released in 1981.

TRACK LISTING

1. So Close To You
2. Reincarnation

The hugely well-respected and historically important Kinks seventh studio album Arthur Or The Decline And Fall Of The British Empire was released on 10th October 1969, and celebrates its 50th anniversary on 2019. 'Rock musical' in style and one of the most effective concept albums in rock history, the album was constructed by Kinks' frontman Ray Davies as the soundtrack to a subsequently cancelled Granada Television play. The album receiving almost unanimous acclaim upon its release.

Rolling Stone 1969 - "Arthur is a masterpiece on every level, Ray Davies' finest hour. The Kinks' supreme achievement and the best British album of 1969". Melody Maker 1969 - "Ray Davies' finest hour ... beautifully British to the core"

Original album tracklist: Victoria, Yes Sir No Sir, Some Mother's Son, Drivin', Brainwashed, Australia, Shangri-La, Mr. Churchill Says, She's Bought A Hat Like Princess Marina, Young And Innocent Days, Nothing To Say, Arthur

LA-based experimental music and art collective Arthur King are releasing the next installment of their ongoing album release series, Arthur King Presents.The new experimental record finds Lytle exploring new territory, created entirely from one analog synthesizer and one nylon-string acoustic guitar. He describes the process as “oddly refreshing,” saying “turns out it was a pretty fulfilling exercise just concentrating on going deep and trying to achieve certain feelings based on the song titles and subject matter I was chasing.”

TRACK LISTING

1. Hitch Your Wagon To A Falling Star
2. Dry Gulched On Rodeo Drive
3. Change Of Address / 433 Eros
4. 15 Items Or Lesson You
5. Iris Leader Evening Footage
6. Geese Over Sunlight Ace
7. Headed To The No Light District
8. Don’t Wanna Be There For All That Stuff

This new edition of Soul Jazz Records’ ‘The World Of Arthur Russell’, the seminal collection of Arthur Russell’s essential music, is released on heavy deluxe triple vinyl and deluxe tip-on Japanese style CD edition.
This album brings together some of Russell’s best-loved and most accessible works including his wide-ranging music, both solo and in groups, including Dinosaur L (the essential ‘Go Bang’), Loose Joints (the equally classic ‘Is It All Over My Face’) as well as rarities such as the 7” only ‘Pop Your Funk’, Indian Ocean’s ‘Schoolbell / Treehouse’, Lola’s ‘Wax The Van’ and more.

Arthur Russell’s music effortlessly crossed musical boundaries making it timeless. His dance music credentials are faultless and this collection features mixes from Larry Levan, Françcois Kevorkian and Walter Gibbons. Similarly, his songwriting, musicality and performance skills are equally cherished, as composer Philip Glass wrote, “this was a guy who could sit down with a cello and sing with it in a way that no one on earth has ever done before or will do again.”

When Soul Jazz Records’ ‘The World Of Arthur Russell’ first came out in 2003, Russell’s music had slipped into near obscurity. Nearly 15 years later there are over a dozen releases of his music, reissues of his original albums and more. ‘The World Of Arthur Russell’ is the classic first collection of his work available once more.

TRACK LISTING

Dinosaur L - Go Bang (Francois Kevorkian Mix)
Lola - Wax The Van
Loose Joints - Is It All Over My Face (Larry Levan Mix)
Arthur Russell - Keeping Up
Arthur Russell - In The Light Of The Miracle
Arthur Russell - A Little Lost
Loose Joints - Pop Your Funk
Arthur Russell - Let's Go Swimming (Walter Gibbons Mix)
Dinosaur L - In The Cornbelt (Larry Levan Mix)
Arthur Russell - Treehouse
Indian Ocean - Schoolbell/Treehouse (Walter Gibbons Mix)

Sometimes the catalyst for creating great art is simply being in the right place at the right time. For Arthur Buck, the new collaboration between singer-songwriter Joseph Arthur and guitarist Peter Buck, that place was Mexico and that time was the fall of 2017. Specifically, a little town off the Baja coast named Todos Santos, with the Sierra de la Laguna mountains to the east and the bright blue Pacific stretching out infinitely to the west. It is here that Buck has held the Todos Santos Music Festival for the last several years, which he created in 2012 with his wife, Chloe Johnson, shortly after R.E.M. called it a day.

Among the many artists who have played the festival is Joseph Arthur, who also happened to leave behind a guitar - a Dobro, specifically - after his last appearance there. And so last year he made the trek down to Todos Santos to pick up the instrument. Which is where he ran into Peter Buck. That was the beginning of Arthur Buck.

The creative result of this relationship is a vibrant 11-song collection that captures the spontaneity at the heart of the project - right down to the 1-2-3-4 count off from Buck that opens the record - with sounds and styles meshed together in an easy, almost playful manner.

Tchad Blake was brought in to mix the proceedings and the product is the new Arthur Buck - the outcome of a shockingly productive burst of inspiration.

TRACK LISTING

I Am The Moment
Are You Electrified? The Wanderer
Forever Waiting
If You Wake Up In Time
Summertime
American Century
Forever Falling
Before Your Love Is Gone
Wide Awake In November
Can’t Make It Without You

Recorded at Studio Somil, Rio De Janeiro in 1972, the album was produced, arranged, directed by the self-taught, Arthur Verocai. Previously he had worked on many records in various capacities, with artists including Jorge Ben, Ivan Lins and Celia, this album gave him the chance to do his thing in it's most pure form. The LP has an orchestral folk-soul, jazz, funk or lo-fi electronic experimentation feel, in a similar vein to Shuggie Otis, Charles Stepney (the LP uses 20 piece string arrangements) or Jorge Ben, with lyrics (sung in Portuguese) that subtly challenge the repressive military dictatorship of the time. Featured musicians include Robertinho Silva, Paulo Moura, Edson Maciel, Oberdan Magalhaes (Banda Black Rio) and Tonhino Horta.  For a very long time, Mr Bongo have been trying to re-issue this record. A true and complete album masterpiece in every sense of the word, considered by many people to be one of the greatest ever made, regardless of genre.  Mastered in 2012 from the original Continental master tapes and supervised by Arthur Verocai, the album comes complete with original replica gatefold artwork.

TRACK LISTING

Caboclo 2:48
Pelas Sombras 2:13
Sylvia 2:59
Presente Grego 2:29
Dedicada A Ela 3:30
Seriado 1:40
Na Boca Do Sol 2:52
Velho Parente 2:17
O Mapa 2:38
Karina (Domingo No Grajaú) 5:14

The pantheon of performers known by but one name is full of superstars. Arthur - the nom de plume of singer-songwriter Arthur Lee Harper - is not one of them, but this gentle singer-songwriter and his wan, string-drenched, loved-up, psych-folk was probably never likely to be suitable for mass consumption.

Released on Lee Hazlewood's LHI label, the haunted Dreams And Images is the first of two albums from the Melbourne, Florida-born singer-songwriter. LHI was a broad church, taking in everything from soul to country, and Arthur found a home, a producer, and a champion in Hazlewood, who described him as "A man who will someday be a child again… A reason to cry and be unafraid… A bird with eighth-notes for wings."

Though his lonely, intimate music, shy demeanor, and stutter might not have suggested a man of great ambition, Arthur moved to Hollywood chasing the music industry dream. He suffered hardships to do so, living hand-to-mouth in a YMCA hostel with two like-minded individuals: Mark Lindsey Buckingham and Stephen John Kalinich, whose A World Of Peace Must Come has been reissued by Light In The Attic. "Arthur was a peace person. He was all about peace, love, and harmony," remembers Kalinich in the brand new, extensive liner notes for Dreams And Images. "He was a person that believed you could change the world. We thought we would be some of the ones to usher in peace."

While Kalinich and Buckingham were signed by the Beach Boys' Brother Records, Arthur allied with Hazlewood, having knocked on the door of the label's Sunset Boulevard HQ and auditioned on the spot. Entering the studio with Hazlewood, Donnie Owens, Tom Thacker, and arranger Don Randi, who brought baroque pop grandeur to the songs, Arthur let his music do the talking. "He stuttered and had a hard time getting his ideas out, so he would sing me the parts he had in mind,” remembers Randi.

A mixture of things conspired to make sure few people heard Arthur, including a packed release schedule at LHI, followed by the withdrawal of their major label funding and a lack of foundation on which to market the album. After the 1970 follow-up album, Love Is The Revolution, Arthur bowed out of the business, immersing himself in Christianity, family, and a career working first as a rocket engineer and, latterly, a teacher. "I never stopped writing or recording," he later said. "I recorded in studios, friends’ houses, and live. I just recorded music with my friends or by myself when I felt inspired. For me, singing and songwriting is like breathing; I just do it."

On January 10th, 2002, Arthur’s wife Lora died in a car crash. He tragically passed away of a heart attack the same night. Now, with this reissue of his great, lost album, Arthur's fragile heart can finally be enjoyed by all.

* First ever LP reissue, first time on CD & Digital
* Produced by Lee Hazlewood
* Featuring three unreleased tracks
* In-depth liner notes by LHI Archive Series co-producer Hunter Lea with unseen archive photos
* All tracks newly remastered from the original tapes
* LP housed in deluxe Stoughton “Tip-On” gatefold jacket.

TRACK LISTING

1. Blue Museum
2. Children Once Were You
3. Sunshine Soldier
4. A Friend Of Mine
5. Open Up The Door
6. Dreams And Images
7. Pandora
8. Wintertime
9. Living Circa 1920
10. Valentine Gray
11. 1860 *
12. Coming Home *
13. Excursion 13*

*Previously Unreleased

Who needs the summer when the next three Outta Sight R&B collectables are as hot as these?

The Northern end of R&B continues to pack the dancefloors across Europe and it is showcased - at its best - in these in-demand cuts. Six top tunes that would set you back a month’s wages if you’re lucky! All hard to find on their respective original labels which, incredibly, date from as early as 1952.

On side A Little Arthur Mathews hooks up with the Johnny Otis Band for the horn honking skiffle-like cut "’m Gonna Whale On You". On the flip Willie Wright belts it out on rhythm & blues roller "I’m Gonna Leave You Baby, And I’m Goin’ Away To Stay".

TRACK LISTING

1. I’m Gonna Whale On You - Little Arthur Mathews With The Johnny Otis Band
2. I’m Gonna Leave You Baby, And I’m Goin’ Away To Stay - Willie Wright

Arthur & Yu are Seattle's answer to Nancy & Lee. A beautifully hazy record, "In Camera" is the perfect album to compliment the coming of Autumn. Think drifty, 60s, folky pop, half Velvets for its lo-fi simplicity and half West-coast dreamland for its otherworldly laidbackness. Lovely.