Thursday, January 18, 2007

Springfield

Arthur Russell - Springfield (DFA Remix) - removed by request
LISTEN TO IT HERE...

This week's back catalogue purchases included two Arthur Russell reissues. One is the remastered reissue of 1994 release Another Thought. The other is called Springfield, and is six previously unreleased tracks plus this remix by DFA. Originally recorded in 1988, it shows Russell moving away from the ambient and avant funk of his early '80s stuff and into electro and early house territory. The original version is 8 minutes of booming post-disco beats bathed in a massive amount of reverb. DFA brings it all down to the basics, and strips the tune of all of it's watery effects. The result is that you can clearly hear all of the various parts, and when Arthur's weedy voice breaks through, it is clean and right up front in the mix and almost startling in it's clarity. A fascinating addition to an unpredictable body of work, this is a really lovely tune.

On a related note I'm happy to pass on this bit of info... original music blogger (and one of my favorites) Spoilt Victorian Child is back in business. After several years Simon shut down the blog last fall, presumably to concentrate on his fledgling record label. His first post back is the most excellent Arthur Russell AKA Dinosaur L track Kiss Me Again.

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