Arthur Russell’s Instrumentals are brought to life at Oval Space

In 2012, nearly twenty years after his death, his friend and frequent collaborator Peter Gordon put together a one-off performance of the piece in which he helped to create at New York art venue The Kitchen. Tonight (10th August) Peter Gordon brings the piece alive again at the wide Oval Space in Bethnal Green for an evening that is as much about paying respect to the late composer and his work as it is a celebration of the timeless energy that the piece evokes.

The night begins with a screening of Wild Combination: A Portrait of Arthur Russell, originally released in 2008, which tells the touchingly beautiful and honest story of Rusell’s career and personal life. The enlightening biopic perfectly sets the tone of the evening. Whilst munching on popcorn, the story of ‘Instrumentals’ and how it fits into Russell’s wider catalogue of work is told in a fittingly informative style.

The virtuoso cellist and disco icon wore many guises and harboured an obsession with merging what he saw as being ‘serious’ with ‘popular’ music. By studying what made people want to dance at discos and parties across New York in the ‘70s, he incorporated what he learnt with the style of music writing that he was already familiar with to great effect and in many ways was extremely ahead of his time.

His obsessive nature and almost worrying craving for perfection in the music he created is seen in Instrumentals, where every note is placed as deliberately as a paintbrush stroke. The complexity of the piece is downplayed because of the rich melodies that underlay it. It sounds deliberately familiar, but also challenges the audience. It is a performance which is as accessible to the casual listener as the hardcore fan, and is a perfect example of Russell’s ambition to make what could be seen as particularly challenging or minimalist music more accessible to a wider audience.

The biggest trick that the piece plays is in how it constantly feels like it might climax and keeps teasing the listener, with wonderful saxophone solos building up against the disco inspired drum beats, and synths playing against xylophones, it feels as though there will be a great big pop ending, but instead the themes develop into new themes. The ideas are intricate, and all the musicians on stage swap instruments between themes and play with such skill that the performance is incredibly natural. There is the overwhelming feeling that these musicians want to pay tribute to Russell, and seem incredibly aware of how Russell would want to see this piece performed - with an intense attention to detail.

Tonight’s colourful performance brings the magic of Instrumentals to life once again, and this unique performance is an absolute celebration of the minimalist pop, experimental disco and more classical training that made up Russell’s eclectic style. As the sun sets through the window panels that line the Oval Space and the warm colours spread across the room whilst the music enriches the space, the timeless nature of Russell’s work undoubtedly lives on.