Veteran musical renaissance man Luther Russell is set to release his fifth LP, a double-length entitled The Invisible Audience, on July 12th on his own Ungawa Records.  The double album will make up for lost time, since Russell hasn’t released an album since 2007’s Repair, which was produced by the legendary Ethan Johns. Though he may not have been making his own music, Russell has worked with the likes of Noah & The Whale, Laura Marling and Sean Lennon, to name a few, since his last solo release. This is one of the most ambitious records of his career, which the multi-talented singer-songwriter/producer calls “a glimpse into the jukebox of my psyche.” The twenty-five tracks on this record were culled from months and months of recording “whenever I could get into my eight-track studio or on a four-track cassette to get an idea down.” The album’s narrative flow seems to run the gamut of emotions from regret, betrayal and loss to humor, nostalgia and hope.  Recently, Bestnewbands.com caught up with the singer talk about the differences between this album and his earlier work, the recording process and his plans for the rest of the year.

Daniel Kohn: What makes this album different than your earlier material?

Luther Russell: That’s a hard one to say. I wouldn’t say it’s that much different, Just contains performances I’m happier with, that cut more to the bone. It’s definitely more rocking in places, that’s for sure.

 

DK: How many songs did you write for this album? Were there any leftover tunes from these sessions?

LR: I’m always writing songs, so nothing was written specifically for this record. It just sort of fell together this way. There are nine outtakes for the record (believe it or not). Sounds just indulgent, doesn’t it? But you always do more than you need so that you can cut it down to something stronger.

 

DK: How long did the recording process take?

LR: In the case of this record, on and off for five years. But in actual recording time, not long. Because each of these tracks got cut in a day, for the most part. Stuff was added later here and there. Many vocals are live, for instance…

 

DK: What made you want to do a double album?

LR: I think it just got to that point. I had a lot of different recording and didn’t want to leave out some shade or color. For once, I wanted to convey a lot of different musical ideas and not be held back. Plus, after I struck upon the idea, I started to realize that it would be a fun, new thing to do that I had never really tried before. A longer story to tell, I guess. A wider swath to cut.

 

DK: What was some of the most important aspects about the sessions that made you reflect as a songwriter?

LR: That’s a tough one to answer because one never notices a change like that. What did make me reflect as a songwriter was how I did these particular sessions, which was very fast and without a lot of thought. Sometimes, in the case of the instrumentals, I had no idea what I was going to do, which sort of goes back to my instrumental record, Down At Kit’s, which was built from thin air, really, an experiment. I have learned to experiment more in my writing. People may find the record to be quite crafted, but, in fact it’s made up of a lot of tracks that were written either stream-of-consciousness, or just very quickly, but happened to come out fully formed. I liked that a lot when it happens. So what took some time was waiting for it to happen!

 

DK: Has the label been supportive of the record so far?

LR: Definitely, since I AM the label! Though I certainly piss myself off at least once each day. I can be a real bastard to deal with sometimes…ha ha.

 

DK: What are your plans for the rest of the year?

LR: God, just to do whatever I can to get people to know about this record.

 

Luther Russell will be releasing his record on July 12 and check his website for more information concerning the album’s release and subsequent tour dates.