World of Echo

World of Echo is the only full-length non-collaborative studio album recorded, released and compiled by Arthur Russell during his lifetime. It was released in 1986 on Upside Records in the United States and on Rough Trade Records in the United Kingdom.
Audika Records issued a remastered limited edition CD on 27 October 2004 which included bonus tracks and a DVD with footage by Phill Niblock. They subsequently issued another CD on 11 January 2005 and a double vinyl edition on 29 March 2005. Rough Trade also reissued the album on 9 January 2005.
In 2013, "Fact" magazine ranked "World of Echo" the number one album of the 1980s.
Background and composition.
"World of Echo" has been noted as prominently incorporating Russell's "folksy tenor, cello, and scant electronic microtones". It departs from his dance music recordings of the time, although many songs are still built on pop structures, and also features Russell's spontaneous use of production effects, including echo, reverb, and distortion, which has garnered comparisons to dub music. Multiple songs on the album incorporate hand percussion and clapping, also similarly processed.
Writing for "Pitchfork", Cameron Macdonald noted that Russell's style of cello playing, often improvised, makes use of sporadic, imaginary sounds like "hollow thuds, window-washing brushes, chipped strings, knuckled knacks, and the boom of a floor peg dropping on concrete". He also commented that the cello "startlingly duets with his voice", leading to inharmonic sounds that makes it sound like the instrument "clears its throat during his awkward moments".
Reviewers have also commented on the album's "skeletal framework", with "bare melodies rising to the surface, vocal lines encompassing wordless singing" and "constantly shifting textures swirling throughout".
Personnel.
People involved in the making of this album include:
In popular culture.
In 2016, American rapper and producer Kanye West sampled a section from Russell's "Answers Me" in his song "30 Hours".