24 → 24 Music

It's arguable that no other artist has so successfully conflated the mutually exclusive worlds of disco and avant-garde music than the late cellist/composer/producer Arthur Russell. In the late '70s, he casually mixed it up with New York City's modern classical elite, as well as in its burgeoning underground dance music scene. In 1979, Russell assembled a crew of seasoned session musicians under the name Dinosaur L, recording the first of his many innovative productions, 24-24 MUSIC.
Working under the tight conceptual framework of minimal composers like Steve Reich--the title alludes to subtle changes in the music initiated every 24 bars--the album contains a brilliant interplay of structured rhythms and loose improvisatory jams. On "#5 (Go Bang)," staccato bursts of horns and organ vamps punctuate the thumping 4/4 disco beat--sounding like a curious fusion of downtown no-wave and afro-beat. Among the more odd-ball experiments are the acid-soaked funk guitar and faux-operatic vocals of "In the Corn Belt," and the J.B.'s-in-an-echo-chamber funk of "#1 (You're Gonna Be Clean on Your Bean)." An expansive, boundary-defying work, 24-24 MUSIC is a journey through the wild imagination of one of dance music's true geniuses.