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

XL Recordings XL Recordings is a British independent record label founded in 1989 by Tim Palmer and Nick Halkes. It has been ran and co-owned by Richard Russell since 1996. It forms part of the Beggars Group. Although only releasing an average of six alb ...

Career

was founded in 1989 by

Tim Palmer Timothy J. Palmer (born 4 October 1962, in North Shields) is an English record producer, audio engineer, guitarist and songwriter of rock and alternative music. He mixed Pearl Jam's debut album ''Ten'' (1991) and tracks on U2's album ''All Tha ...

and Nick Halkes to release

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded danc ...

. 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. ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'' described the song as

rave music A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mu ...

that was "knocked into shape in about five hours" which "crossed over from pirate radio to reach number seven in the charts." Russell appeared on ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most o ...

'' and was initially signed to

London Records London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...

for an album but was dropped from London before its completion. 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 The White Stripes were an American rock duo from Detroit formed in 1997. The group consisted of Jack White (songwriter, vocals, guitar, piano, and mandolin) and Meg White (drums and vocals). After releasing several singles and three albums wi ...

Dizzee Rascal Dylan Kwabena Mills (born 18 September 1984), better known by his stage name Dizzee Rascal, is a British MC and rapper. A pioneer of grime music, his work has also incorporated elements of UK garage, bassline, British hip hop, and R&B. D ...

Thom Yorke Thomas Edward Yorke (born 7 October 1968) is an English musician and the main vocalist and songwriter of the rock band Radiohead. A multi-instrumentalist, he mainly plays guitar and keyboards and is noted for his falsetto. He has been describ ...

and MIA. Between 2007 and 2009, Russell worked with the American musician and lyricist

Gil Scott-Heron Gilbert Scott-Heron (April 1, 1949 – May 27, 2011) was an American Jazz poetry, jazz poet, singer, musician, and author, known primarily for his work as a spoken-word performer in the 1970s and 1980s. His collaborative efforts with musician ...

to produce the album '' I'm New Here'', released in 2010. He also conceived the reworking of the original album, ''

We're New Here ''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 ...

'', remixed by

Jamie xx James Thomas Smith (born 28 October 1988), known professionally as Jamie xx, is an English musician, DJ, record producer and remixer. He is known for both his solo work and as a member of the English indie pop band The xx. He has been describe ...

and released in 2011. In 2011, Russell joined

Damon Albarn Damon Albarn (; born 23 March 1968) is an English-Icelandic musician, singer-songwriter and composer, best known as the frontman and primary lyricist of the rock band Blur and as the co-creator and primary musical contributor of the virtual ...

and several other producers on a trip to

Congo Congo or The Congo may refer to either of two countries that border the Congo River in central Africa: * Democratic Republic of the Congo, the larger country to the southeast, capital Kinshasa, formerly known as Zaire, sometimes referred to a ...

where they recorded the album '' Kinshasa One Two'' as the newly establishe
DRC Music
(

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

Music) group. The album features various producers including Russell, Dan the Automator,

Jneiro Jarel Omar Jarel Gilyard, known by his stage name Jneiro Jarel, is an American recording artist, music producer, composer and DJ. Recognized for his versatile, abstract, and often experimental style, he is also known for his beat-making alias Dr. Who ...

, 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. In 2012, Russell and Damon Albarn co-produced '' The Bravest Man in the Universe'', the new studio album from

Bobby Womack Robert Dwayne Womack (; March 4, 1944 – June 27, 2014) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Starting in the early 1950s as the lead singer of his family musical group the Valentinos and as Sam Cooke's backing guit ...

. 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,

was named Label of the Year at the ceremony. In April 2020, Russell released his autobiography ''Liberation Through Hearing'' through publishing house White Rabbit.

Production discography

* Kicks Like a Mule - '' The Bouncer'' (1992) - co-artist & co-producer on "The Bouncer" with Nick Halkes *

- '' I'm New Here'' (2010) - producer on all tracks * Gil Scott-Heron &

- ''

'' (2011) - co-producer on all tracks, commissioner * DRC Music - '' Kinshasa One Two'' (2011) - co-producer on "Hallo" and "If You Wish to Stay Awake", producer on "Respect of the Rules" *

- '' The Bravest Man in the Universe'' (2012) - co-producer on all tracks with Damon Albarn *

- ''

Everyday Robots ''Everyday Robots'' is the debut solo studio album by British musician Damon Albarn, best known as the frontman of Blur and Gorillaz. Described by Albarn as his "most personal record", the album was co-produced by Richard Russell and released ...

'' (2014) - producer on all tracks with Damon Albarn *

Ibeyi Ibeyi is a French musical duo consisting of twin sisters Lisa-Kaindé Diaz and Naomi Diaz. The duo sings in English, French, Spanish and Yoruba, In Yoruba, Ibeyi (''Ìbejì'') means "twins". Their music has elements of Yoruba, French and Afr ...

- ''

'' (2015) - producer on all tracks * Everything Is Recorded - ''Close But Not Quite EP'' (2017) - artist & producer on all tracks * Ibeyi - ''

Ash Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non- gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...

'' (2017) - producer on all tracks * Everything Is Recorded - ''Everything Is Recorded'' (2018) - artist & producer on all tracks * Everything Is Recorded - ''FRIDAY FOREVER'' (2020) - artist & producer on all tracks * Ibeyi - '' Spell 31'' (2022) - producer on all tracks

References

External links

Interview, HitQuarters September 2008

{{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Richard British music industry executives Living people English electronic musicians English record producers 1971 births Musicians from London