Saving the lost tapes of a musical genius
When one of the 20th century’s most prodigious musical talents died of Aids before his work could be recognised, it became his partner’s mission to share it with the world.
In 2004, rumours of an unreleased archive of musical genius were circling online. That genius was Arthur Russell, an eccentric American cellist from the cornfields of Iowa who would push the boundaries of the disco, folk-pop and avant-garde genres in the 70s and 80s. But when his life was tragically cut short by Aids, he was little known and his vast cache of unreleased tapes were in danger of being lost forever. In his grief, Tom Lee, Arthur’s partner, resolved to find an audience for the music, but what happened would far outstrip anything he’d imagined.
Chiara Vigo from Italy is a master weaver of byssus, a rare sea-silk produced by a giant muscle shell. King Solomon was said to have a tunic light as a feather made from it and the ancient Egyptians reserved it for the highest nobility. Chiara’s family has been keeping the artform alive through the generations. Now she is one of the last people in the world who knows how to harvest and spin its delicate fibres. This interview was first broadcast in 2015.
Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com
Presenter: Mobeen Azhar
Producer: Edgar Maddicott
(Photo: Arthur Russell (L) with his partner Tom Lee (R). Credit: Steven Hall and Johnny Fu)
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