Arthur Russell was one of the most extraordinary musicians ever produced by New York dabbling in a broader gamut of musical genres than almost anyone else, from experimental minimalism to Power Pop, Country to New York Disco.

Tonight we present a night in honour of his unique music: an award winning documentary, 4 of the best Newcastle bands with music inspired by Arthur Russell, and some of our favourite DJs to make everyone dance until 4am...

"Arthur Russell(1951-1992) was an avant-garde cellist active in the New York art scene of the late twentieth century. But next to his 'art music' activities, Russell was equally active in the New York club scene, writing dance music. As such he bridges the gap between art music and popular music.has become a very cult musician." From a great page on him here

"Arthur Russelldied in obscurity of AIDS in 1992. Yet this New York composer was a true visionary, traversing dub, disco and Minimalism, and anticipating the 90s obsession with musical hybrids" - David Toop, an A to Z of DUB

"If Nick Drake had lived long enough to make records with New Order, they might have sounded something like this" (Rolling Stone , 2004)

 With performances from some of Newcastle's best musicians playing their own interpretations of Arthur Russell's music.

No less than Cath Tyler, Jazzfinger, The Turing Test  and ~~~ (yes this is the name of the band!) will be playing on the night!

Cath Tyler
“There's an earthiness and grittiness and a reality about this that I find personally incredibly appealing, the simplicity of the music is absolutely stunning.”- Bob Harris, BBC Radio 2

The Turing Test
Electro / Visual / Pop

Jazzfinger
Alternative / Improv with a cult following

~~~
"These sounds are the product of my continued fascination with the natural tones and base qualitys of various instruments." - From ~~~ himself