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Radio Slave, Yam Who? & Pocketknife pay homage to the iconic Arthur Russell in a beguiling, explorative package for electric minds that brings a new edge to Russell’s innovative, disco motion magic.

Such is the importance of Russell’s contribution to the modern music scene that many consider his work to be untouchable but with a profound appreciation for the legend, these contemporary artists have picked out key elements from some of his best known material and recorded entirely new and up to date soundtracks. In a labour of love, Yam Who? of Faze Action with singer Mary Moore and Russell’s friends and musicians Peter Gordon, Steven hall & Joyce Bowden have created entirely new instrumentals and vocals with NYC producer Pocketknife and Radio Slave pulling out all the stops for the remixes.

‘Go Bang’ is one of those rare and classic records that could move a corpse onto the dancefloor by the sheer energy of its infectious percussive groove. Here Radio Slave, known for his epic and hypnotic rolling beats lavishes his style onto Yam Who? and Mary Moore’s cover version in an evocative journey that has filtered down vocals with added reverb and a characteristic experimentation that honours the movement and ever-evolving, transcendent quality of Russell’s original.

Yam Who?’s dreamy Balearic disco sound is laid bare in the stunning reimagining of another Russell classic ‘Make 1 2’. Jazzy trumpets, laid-back keys, island congas and Mary Moore’s soulful vocals make for a lush, cosmic groove with glittering rays of sunshine. Russell’s weird and wonderful composition ‘Lucky Cloud’ is recreated by Recent Memory – a collaboration between Steven Hall and Joyce Bowden and remixed by Pocketknife. The result is an electric folk fusion of ethereal vocals, solid, emotive guitars and warm floating synths.

Rounding off the package is ‘Radio Slave’s Love Breakdown Remix’ of ‘Go Bang’ that fizzes with a stripped back, off-kilter weirdness, plus an instrumental version of his ‘Vinyl Only Remix’. With electric mind’s special re-release of these fresh interpretations, the collective of artists at work here has brought Arthur Russell’s timeless, life-affirming music to the fore once more.

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