Rough Trade is lining up reissues of two albums of archive material by Arthur Russell.
The re-release of 2008’s Love Is Overtaking Me and 2015’s Corn will mark the first time the two albums have been made available on physical formats since 2014 and 2015 respectively. It’s also the first time Corn will be pressed to vinyl after it was originally given a CD-only release by Audika, the label that has overseen a number of past Arthur Russell reissues and archive releases.
Love Is Overtaking Me takes in 21 demos and home recordings of unreleased pop, folk and country songs from Russell’s vast catalogue of material that he produced before his death in 1992. Compiled from over eight hours of music, it includes some of his very first recordings from the early ’70s and some of his last, made at home in 1991.
Corn, meanwhile, features nine tracks that Russell recorded between 1982 and 1983. In collaboration with Russell’s partner Tom Lee, Audika’s Steve Knutson compiled the album from Russell’s original, completed 1/4-inch tape masters. The artist originally compiled the material on three separate test pressings — labelled El Dinosaur, Indian Ocean and Untitled — in 1985.
Speaking about the reissues, as well as Rough Trade’s history with Arthur Russell, the label’s Geoff Travis said in a statement: "When we started working with Arthur we had no idea he would turn out to be one of the seminal artists of this century. We did know that his cello playing, his wonderful singing and his sensibility, melding modern classical with the Buddhist sense of space in the world, moved us deeply. We are proud to have helped push the boat out from the shore."
Rough Trade will release Love Is Overtaking Me and Corn on December 2, 2022.
