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Wild Combination by Matt Wolf

Night Flight present Wild Combination - a portrait of Arthur Russell by Matt Wolf

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Arthur Russell

Arthur Russell was a classically trained cellist who ended up losing himself in the rhythms and polymorphous sexuality of 1970s New York disco culture. His list of collaborators stretched from celebrated beat poet Allen Ginsberg to minimalist composer Philip Glass, with names like David Byrne (Talking Heads), Wave Music founder Francois K and legendary Studio 54/Gallery DJ Nicky Siano dotted in-between. As founder of Sleeping Bag Records he released work by the likes of Mantronix, Todd Terry and EPMD as well as his own leftfield disco excursions. As the 21st Century progresses and club culture increasingly turns to its past in order to discover its future, so Russell’s music has been rediscovered and increasingly celebrated. A major 2004 retrospective on Soul Jazz Records entitled The World Of Arthur Russell brought acclaim from the likes of Gilles Peterson and Mr Scruff, while Russell’s work as part of Loose Joints and Dinosaur L has appeared on compilations like The Loft, Disco Not Disco and Optimo’s Kill The DJ. Tragically, Arthur died from AIDS related complications in 1992 before the recent resurgence of interest in his work.

Wild Combination

Wild Combination explores the compelling cultural history of New York in the 1970s and ’80s, the experience of being gay and confronting AIDS, and the cathartic process of making art and pursuing popular success at a time when those goals were mutually attainable. Director Matt Wolf incorporates rare archival footage and commentary from Arthur’s family, friends and closest collaborators (including Philip Glass and Allen Ginsberg) and offers an engrossing visual language to bring Russell’s music to life, and to help bring some long-overdue attention to this ground-breaking artist.

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