If you’re awake late at night on June 9 and feel like being a dork, there are worse things you could do than put your ear close to your computer and sing the first lines of Arthur Russell’s “Close My Eyes” to yourself. This is an obtuse way of saying that, on June 9, Steve Knutson’s Audika Records will release Corn, a new collection of nine previously unreleased Russell tracks recorded between 1982 and 1983.
In the nearly 25 years since his death in 1992, supported by Knutson’s own excavatory work through Audika with reissues, and tribute albums, Russell’s reputation as an almost comically multi-faceted and productive musician has rightfully only expanded. Corn, which follows 2008’s Love is Overtaking Me, is another tightly curated look into the extraordinary and seemingly bottomless body of work Russell left behind. Knutson collaborated with Russell’s partner Tom Lee in order to select the tracks from completed 1/4” tape masters, and although the tracks are in large part solo Russell affairs, they also feature contributions from the likes of percussionist Mustafa Ahmed, trombonist Peter Zummo, and trumpeter Rik Albani.
Listen to closing track “Ocean Movie” below, and pre-order the album from Audika here.
Corn tracklist:
01. Lucky Cloud
02. Corn
03. Keeping Up
04. See My Brother, He’s Jumping Out (Let’s Go Swimming #2)
05. This Is How We Walk on the Moon
06. Corn (Continued)
07. Hiding Your Present From You
08. They and Their Friends
09. Ocean Movie
• Audika Records: http://audikarecords.com