Within hours of receiving the devastating news that musical behemoth, recording artist and producer Steve Albini had passed away, former Pulled Apart By Horses guitarist turned electronic musician James Adrian Brown and Kingsley Hall of art-punk band Benefits set to work collaborating on their own take of one of Albini’s tracks. Kingsley and James’ interpretation of the classic Shellac track ‘The End of Radio’ fuses Hall’s provocative, moving vocals with Brown’s sonic sound-scaping; the cover is far removed from the original but is an apt tribute to the lost legend.
Reflecting on the news and collaboration, Brown shares, “I was so shocked; I genuinely thought it was some kind of social media wind-up. Albini paved a path forward for me as a teenager. I’d never heard anything so sonically pleasing and intriguing. I’ll never forget hearing Shellac for the first time. This whole idea of doing a cover with Kingsley was basically therapy. Long live his work. RIP, Albini.”
And Hall adds on the passing of Albini, “An immense inspiration in terms of his artistry, engineering, and navigating both within and outside the music industry. The fact that he became a source of support and encouragement to Benefits via a few noisy videos on Twitter was as amazing as it was unexpected. A true genius.”
All proceeds from download sales will be donated to Steve Albini’s wife’s charity, ‘Letters to Santa’, which provides direct assistance to families facing urgent financial hardship.