Experimental label Unheard Of Hope is releasing a series of 7" vinyl records that see a number of artists covering their favourite songs by Arthur Russell.
The series will take in six releases in all, with Stereolab’s Laetitia Sadier among the artists taking on tracks by the late musician. Kicking off the series, Peter Broderick and Peter Zummo each contribute a cover. Broderick takes on ‘All-Boy All-Girl’, while Zummo covers ‘Tone Bone Kone’.
The two tracks, collected on one release as 1/1, will first be released digitally later this month, with the vinyl to follow at a later date. Details of the other releases in the series will also follow in the coming months.
"’All-Boy All-Girl’ has been one of my favourite Arthur Russell tracks for years," says Broderick. "I never thought to cover it before because, like most the material on the World Of Echo album, it is hard to pin down what exactly the song itself is. What is the song, what is the production, and what is the performance? It’s all very amorphous, and I love that about it. When asked to cover an Arthur track for this project, I thought I’d finally give this song a try."
Speaking about his cover, Zummo says: "One day when we were working in the rehearsal studio, Arthur mentioned his idea of a song called ‘Tone Bone Kone’. We talked about it but I never heard any music. I wondered about what role the trombone could take on. Later, I was surprised and pleased to hear his solo version on the World Of Echo album. For a few years, I’ve tried it with colleagues here in New York, looking for a group approach to Arthur’s cello/delay vamp. Just before the pandemic hit in March 2020, I had some concerts in the UK with Peter Broderick, Joe Carvell, Mabe Fratti and Sebastian Rojas. We played ‘Tone Bone Kone’ as our encore. This recording builds on the live energy the group was getting into at the close of those concerts."
Unheard Of Hope will release 1/1 on April 28, 2021.
