This was the first Arthur Russell record I was introduced to, which is kind of an easy way in. It’s the popular, folky side of his work. It’s a conflicting conversation about releasing music after someone’s died: how do you release it? Is it okay to release it? Were these just demos for a reason? But also, as if these are all demos. But I’m really glad that it was released, because it’s informed so many people, and it’s such an important record to a lot of people that I know.

This is another kind of album where the music is great, but it’s hard to progress from it yourself. If you try and recreate this music, it could be boring or soppy. There’s a fine line in the moment that an artist makes music, and this is a perfectly balanced record. It’s in the delivery; it’s in the combination of sounds. Just all the right components in harmony. 

I have embarrassingly tried to use his influence with my lyrics in the past, but those songs are not played live anymore. They’re so embarrassing! He can write very naive-sounding lyrics, and even the way that he sings, he sounds like a child sometimes, it’s very wide-eyed and curious. The way he talks about love and longing is so honest, but honesty and love combined can lead to something a bit cringe to listen to. That’s why it’s such an incredible record, because you don’t have any of those negative thoughts. But you can’t try and do it. Many of us have tried and failed.