Arthur Russell: Let’s Go Swimming

Arthur Russell: Let’s Go Swimming

30 September, 2011 | 5.54AM

• Written by: Beatportal
• Filed under: Videos: arthur russell, audika, dinosaur l

Nearly two decades after Arthur Russell‘s death, his catalog continues to grow. The New York composer and avant-disco icon left behind a wealth of material, filling box after box of tapes with sketches, dubs, and alternate versions, and thanks to the archival work of labels like Steve Knutsen’s Audika—founded in 2004 to introduce Russell’s music to new generations of listeners—the best of that material continues to find its way to our ears.

The latest addition to the canon is a newly remastered edition of his classic ”Let’s Go Swimming.” When it was originally released, in 1986, it was clear that Russell was sailing deep into uncharted waters, as far as dance music was concerned. “A lot of DJs take the tapes I make and try to make them into something more ordinary,” Russell told David Toop. “‘Let’s Go Swimming’ was supposed to be a futuristic summer record. Some DJs said that nobody would ever, ever play that. I think eventually that kind of thing will be commonplace.”

Judging from the present day’s bountiful supply of Balearic house, nu-disco, chillwave and other “futuristic summer” sounds, Russell was indeed right.

The reissue includes all three versions of “Let’s Go Swimming"—Russell’s own “Gulf Stream Dub” and “Puppy Surf Dub” as well as Walter Gibbons‘ mind-bending “Coastal Dub.” (Gibbons also put together the song’s accompanying video, armed with a VHS recorder and copious nature-show footage.) As a bonus, the EP also includes the previously unreleased “Make 1, 2 (Gem Spa Dub),” an 11-minute slice of blissed-out funk. Check it out on Beatport here.

Discover more Arthur Russell via the samples below, and then check out his catalog on the new Beatport here.

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• Get Arthur Russell's "Let's Go Swimming" on Beatport

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• Get Arthur Russell's "Let's Go Swimming" on Beatport

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