Richard Russell (record producer)

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Richard Russell
Also known as
  • Everything Is Recorded
  • rLr
Born (1971-03-18) 18 March 1971 (age 52)
Dollis Hill, London, England
Genres
Occupation(s)
Instrument(s)
Labels XL
Website XL Recordings

Richard Russell (born March 18, 1971) is an English record producer and the owner of British record label XL Recordings.

Contents

Career

XL Recordings was founded in 1989 by Tim Palmer and Nick Halkes to release dance music. [1] Richard Russell joined XL as an A & R scout in 1991.

In 1992, Russell released a single titled "The Bouncer" as part of a duo named Kicks Like a Mule. [2] The Guardian described the song as rave music that was "knocked into shape in about five hours" which "crossed over from pirate radio to reach number seven in the charts." [2] Russell appeared on Top of the Pops and was initially signed to London Records for an album but was dropped from London before its completion. [2]

By 2007, Russell was a chairman and half owner of the record label XL Recordings, which had released albums by acclaimed groups such as the White Stripes, Dizzee Rascal, Thom Yorke and MIA. [2]

Between 2007 and 2009, Russell worked with the American musician and lyricist Gil Scott-Heron to produce the album I'm New Here , released in 2010. He also conceived the reworking of the original album, We're New Here , remixed by Jamie xx and released in 2011. [3]

In 2011, Russell joined Damon Albarn and several other producers on a trip to Congo where they recorded the album Kinshasa One Two as the newly established DRC Music (Democratic Republic of the Congo Music) group. The album features various producers including Russell, Dan the Automator, Jneiro Jarel, T-E-E-D, Rodaidh McDonald and Kwes alongside various local musicians from Congo. It was released on 7 November 2011 on CD and LP, following a digital release the previous month. [4]

In 2012, Russell and Damon Albarn co-produced The Bravest Man in the Universe , the new studio album from Bobby Womack. [5] In April 2012, Russell became the youngest ever recipient of the prestigious Strat Award, named after music manager Tony Stratton Smith, at the Music Week Awards in London. Russell's label, XL Recordings was named Label of the Year at the ceremony. [6]

In April 2020, Russell released his autobiography Liberation Through Hearing through publishing house White Rabbit. [7]

Production discography

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">XL Recordings</span> British record label

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Kicks Like a Mule is a British electronic music duo consisting of Richard Russell and Nick Halkes. Their first single, "The Bouncer", peaked at No. 7 in the UK Singles Chart when it was released in 1992. Although both Halkes and Russell worked at the XL Recordings label at the time of the single's release, it was released on Rebel MC’s independent Tribal Bass label. It featured a repeated vocal sample of an archetypal club bouncer saying "Your name's not down, you're not coming in" and "Not tonight, you're not on the list."

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We're New Here is a remix album by American vocalist Gil Scott-Heron and English music producer Jamie xx, released on February 21, 2011, by Young Turks and XL Recordings. A longtime fan of Scott-Heron, Jamie xx was approached by XL label head Richard Russell to remix Scott-Heron's 2010 studio album I'm New Here. He worked on the album while touring with his band The xx in 2010 and occasionally communicated with Scott-Heron through letters for his approval to rework certain material.

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References

  1. ↑ Stokes, Paul (21 January 2012). "Vampire Weekend top US albums chart". NME. Archived from the original on 2 June 2013. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Teather, David (13 July 2007). "The Friday interview: Richard Russell". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
  3. ↑ Richter, Mischa (January 28, 2011). Jamie Smith of the xx on Remixing Gil Scott-Heron, Working With Drake, New Music From the xx. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved on 2011-02-24.
  4. ↑ "Blur News - Damon launches DRC Music (updated) - Aug 1, 2011". Vblurpage.com. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
  5. ↑ "Bobby Womack". Bobby Womack. 11 June 2012. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
  6. ↑ Collett-White, Mike (27 April 2012). "Adele's label XL is big winner at Music Week Awards". Reuters.
  7. ↑ Lazlo Rugoff (17 January 2020). "XL Recordings' legacy explored in new Richard Russell book". Thevinylfactory.com. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  8. 1 2 "Everything Is Recorded - Close But Not Quite (EP)". pitchfork.com. 26 June 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
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