Liberation Through Hearing

by Richard Russell

For almost 30 years as label boss, producer, and talent conductor at XL Recordings, Richard Russell has discovered, shaped and nurtured the artists who have rewritten the musical dictionary of the 21st century, artists like The Prodigy, The White Stripes, Adele, M.I.A, Dizzee Rascal and Giggs.

LIBERATION THROUGH HEARING tells the remarkable story of XL Recordings' three decades on the frontline of innovation in music, and Russell's own story; his highs and lows steering the fortunes of an independent label in a rapidly changing industry. This is the portrait of a man who believes in the spiritual power of music to change reality, and of a label that refused to be categorised by genre.

'Taking us from the rap 80s to the rave 90s into the grimy 21st century, Richard Russell is a Firestarter in his own right and his story is a riveting adventure' Simon Reynolds

'Russell reveals his forensic love of music and its strategies. A fascinating read' Damon Albarn

'Required reading for anyone who cares about the recent history of British music' Gilles Peterson

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Memoir, History, Biography

320 pages, Paperback

Published January 25, 2022

Reviews

[Niklas Pivic · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is something different to what I thought it would be. I was hoping for truth, brilliant anecdotes, and some lovely words on how music is made, produced, and how keeping a record label alive for decades can be like.

I’m happy to say it turned into something else. I’ve never met Richard Russell but if he’s like his words in this book, he’s probably a humble and astute character.

He’s also a fucking fanatic when it comes to music, more so than a simpleton capitalist:

In 1985 Mike D, just out of his teens, purchased two copies of a 12-inch single from a record store in Manhattan, an establishment on Carmine Street in the West Village called Vinylmania. Back in Edgware, I was turning fourteen. Five years later I would be Serving customers from behind the counter in this same New York record store. Mike had never purchased doubles’ before.
This record Justified the outlay. It was Schoolly D’s self released, reverb-heavy, proto-gangsta monster, ‘P.S.K’, with another classic on the flip, ‘Gucci Time’.

The original pressing of this record is to this day a perfect artefact, representing a special moment in the history of music. The song is incredible, and so is the physical object.

Mike D, on ‘P.S.K’: It was the record we wanted to make.

Sure, I love Beastie Boys—and I must give Russell an arse-kicking for writing ‘the Beastie Boys’—but what enthralls and made me read this book quickly is Russell’s proliferous spirit: he makes music that I’ve not heard of seem alive and makes me want to dig in.

The classic US soundtrack to the early UK events did not just sound outstanding at the time but resonates with great power today; some of the greatest gospel-tinged soul music of all time, rejected by the US mainstream, lovingly embraced in the UK. The nostalgic effect the biggest songs Joe Smooth ‘Promised Land’, CeCe Rogers’ ‘Someday’, Phase II’s ‘Reachin”, Frankie Knuckles ‘Your Love’ – still have on anyone who was present can be almost comical. On hearing these tunes, even in a domestic setting, I’ve seen grown people of my age group lose their composure, the structure of their grown-up, responsible lives dissolving as a moment of connection to pure rave essence occurs.

I actually used to love Russell’s own music as Kicks Like A Mule (KLAM), whose song ‘The Bouncer’ I still love. About it:

Our friend Sam Spivack could probably come up with a better vocal hook. He was entertaining us by impersonating a local nightclub bouncer rejecting our attempts to gain free entry with a surprising de of accuracy: ‘Your name’s not down, you’re not coming in’, which we duly recorded on to a TDK C90 cassette tape using a no-brand Walkman knock-off tape recorder.

“The Bouncer’, which we chose to release under the name Kicks Like a Mule, was written, recorded and mixed in one day. Not that we knew we had performed three separate functions – we’d just strung the samples together until something new existed, something that we’d be happy to DJ with, adding a one-finger, two-note synth riff and equally monophonic bassline, keeping the lo-fi recording of Sam’s vocal performance intact. With the help of Paul Connolly, now apparently our publisher, we took the tune to a few labels, thinking it might be better to keep some separation between the records we released on XL and our own efforts. None of them were interested.

That song broke the band onto the burgeoning UK electronic-dance scene.

Another thing that I love about Russell’s writing is how he seems to be honest by seemingly mixing the good with the bad and self-deprecating. An example of this:

The weakness of our ‘road-test’ approach was illustrated when I purchased Aphex Twin’s self-released white label ‘Analogue Bubble Bath’ from Zoom Records on Camden High Street. I took the 12-inch vinyl home to my flat around the corner on Delancey Street, and remember having some vague inkling that there was something special about it, but there was no way I could fit it in my DJ set, and I had a gig that night, so I exiled it to the high shelf.

This was before Aphex Twin was affiliated to Warp Records, so I was in effect at that moment failing to recognise the then-unsigned most visionary experimental electronic musician of my lifetime.

Then: The Prodigy. Liam Howlett, the person who made nearly all of the music in the band, sought out XL Recordings because he felt they would represent his band and his music well. He became friends with Russell.

When The Prodigy became really big with their second album, that’s when eyes in the USA started widening.

Ruthless boss Jerry Heller, one of the most controversial figures in the history of rap music, manager of NWA and with Eazy-E, co-owner of Ruthless, formerly agent to seventies superstars such as The Who and Black Sabbath, was welcoming enough, though, in his way. Ushering me into his old-school exec-style office, he asked me a couple of questions about myself and XL and, idly, if I’d ever considered moving to America. He then showed me a framed picture on his desk of a blonde in a bikini and said, ‘This is my girlfriend. You can have anything you want in this country if you have enough money.

Lovely people. Not.

It’s interesting to see how Russell writes about The Prodigy’s song Smack My Bitch Up:

I never considered its questionable nature. I did not even think about it. When we scheduled the song for single release, Martin Mills unusually made the short journey to my office at 25 Alma Road and questioned the validity of releasing this piece of music as a single. He approached the subject calmly and attempted to make me consider my actions. I ignored him. In the light of two decades-plus later, this says much about him. And about me. I wished to make my own mistakes.

The Sex Pistols had their swastika armbands. The Prodigy had this sample. Did anyone ever become a Nazi because of Sid Vicious?

No. But were people entitled to be offended by the use of the armband, or the sample? Yes. Is it insensitive to victims of abuse?

Yes. Were we thinking about that? No. Was that thoughtless? Yes.

Should The Prodigy have been censored in any way? I don’t think so. Is it pleasant? No. But is it art? Yes, just about, and a great deal of art is not pleasant. Was any woman ever abused because of The Prodigy? My instinct is no. But how can I be sure? So, do I regret releasing a single on XL with the title ‘Smack My Bitch Up’? No.

But I doubt that I would do it again.

I still remember the day that The Prodigy’s Firestarter was debuted on MTV Europe. I actually rushed home after school to see it. It’s like a world exploded to me, there and then, and I started thinking about how I’d buy the CD album the very instant it was released.

Punk was a big influence on all of us. We had been too to experience it first-hand but all related to the DIY ethic, Keith had decided to borrow and adapt the hairstyle created d first worn by one of the most influential original punks, Soo Lucas, aka Soo Catwoman. The do in question consisted of two parallel shark fins, everything else shaved clean, the fins them selves, in Keith’s case, dyed bright green for good measure.

Soo Catwoman, a powerfully enigmatic figure who has always shunned publicity (her website says ‘solicitation for interviews is futile’) had achieved the look originally by asking an obliging barber in Ealing, west London, to shave the middle of her head. An old Myspace post of hers gives an insight into her views on punk style: ‘It seems quite funny that what started out as anti-fashion became a fashion in itself. I’m sure for many people around at the time none of them (despite their claims) could have known the impact the whole thing would have, and still be having so many years on.

It’s obvious that this book is very marked by the suicide of Keith Flint. It’s harrowing to read about his dark periods and how he both seems to have possessed wondrously expressive skills as well as an intensely dark side to his person.

Instead of turning this book into a classic sort of rags-to-riches kind of book, Russell delves into why he was feeling horribly.

While I was theoretically now in a more fortunate position than before, my outlook has changed in ways that were not healthy.

I’d lost sight of my core values. I may have been unconsciously imitating some of the wealthy and powerful executives I’d met in the US.

I thought that the fearful state I found myself in had come from re but now I see that it had a long gestation period. I was clinically depressed.

It’s hard for anyone who hasn’t experienced it to understand this illness. The inability to carry out the simplest of tasks ma life next to impossible. I woke up every morning in severe physical pain, sharp aches all over my body which resembled some serious physical affliction but were, in fact, just a psychosomatic manifestation of my condition.

I’d always had a lot of ambition, some of which was useful. But my ambition had become toxic, and was threatening to damage me and the people around me. I needed help. The process of putting myself back together needed to begin. I had to find meaning.

Initially, I was resistant to psychotherapy because it felt like an admission of defeat, so I imagined, hopefully or lazily, that there would be some sort of chemical solution. I vaguely presumed that I would be able to get a prescription and that would be that. While a course of antidepressants, Seroxat initially, was indeed necessary, it did not begin to address the underlying causes.

Our past traumas – and everyone has them to greater or lesser extents – can weaken and compromise the already fragile underpinning of our psyches. Once medication is prescribed that seemingly strengthens these foundations, the need to explore one’s history, habits and lifestyle, with the pain that entails, seems less pressing.

But this exploration is the best way of attacking our anxieties. The drugs do not, in fact, work. Not on their own anyway. And not on any deep level.

I embarked on seven years of therapy where I explored my upbringing and relationships, and was thus able to examine my own behaviour and motivations. The therapeutic process, where I explored the childhood experiences that shaped me, felt learning to walk. I began to keep a diary, and the emptying of my thoughts on to the page was cathartic. My constant inter dialogue lost some of its negative power when it was written down.

I saw the keeping of a diary not as any type of creative process but as a purge, like vomiting or a visit to the toilet. What is written in a diary is usually not art. It is of little interest once it’s written; it tends to be much the same every day, like a bowel movement.

But you’ve got to get it out. Keep it inside at your peril. Art and excrement do have similarities. It’s art if you can find one person who is interested in it apart from you. Your shrink doesn’t count.

Reading his words on trying to free and elevate musicians like M.I.A., Gil Scott-Heron (with whom he made a very good album), Bobby Womack, and The White Stripes, makes me happy. It’s obvious that Russell hasn’t written about them to show the reader his ego, but to make their music heard.

The parts about Keith Flint are truly harrowing:

On the morning of 4 March 2019 I learned of Keith’s suicide aged forty-nine. He had taken his own life by hanging. I had long, bewildered conversations with Liam, Maxim and John Fairs, feeling the infinite sadness.

In an effort to still my thoughts I tried to write about how I felt, but there was no way to process what had happened. I was stuck on the idea that there is a time when we are meant to go, and we are not meant to take that into our own hands. We are no more supposed to be in control of our end than we are of our beginning.

I was doubtless one of many people wishing, hopelessly and pointlessly, that they could have somehow changed the course of events. Surely this was an avoidable tragedy? That a person who was a source of joy and excitement to so many ultimately found his own pain unbearable seemed, in itself, unbearable. I was bewildered by the randomness of it all.

[…]

I am lucky to have shared many peak experiences with them. When John Fairs, Leeroy, Maxim and Liam entered the church, leading the coffin bearers, Liam sporting Keith’s ‘Champions Of London’ live belt over his shoulder, Keith’s dog Cyrus among them, I felt a mixture of pride and deep sorrow.

Liam referred to Keith that day as ‘my loyal friend and, indeed, Keith would have done anything for his bandmate.

But he could not live on for him. It was an extraordinary service, the send-off that Keith deserved. Although Keith only sang on a handful of songs, his spirit can be heard in every Prodigy record.

All in all, this is a remarkable non-fiction memoir about life in the music business. There are deeply human elements embedded in and throughout all of this book. It’s not often one can say that, I think, about books that are written not only about the music industry, but about books that are written by somebody who’s revered by a lot of musicians and others. I’m sure other people may have other stuff to say about Russell, and there are probably reasons as to why he didn’t include the words of others—as Beastie Boys did with their book—but that’s another story.

This is a human book and if you love music, regardless of genre, you might just dig this one.

[Josh Preston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read, refreshing perspective on the music industry.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

So enjoyable and nicely paced. Lovely insights into richard’s world and musical education. Lots of music, new and old to dive into!!

[Jacob Wren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some passages from Liberation Through Hearing:


*


“As is often the case with those who make disturbing art, he seems a person of integrity. Those in the public eye who go out of their way to seem benevolent, the supposedly squeaky-clean ones, are the ones to beware of. Nasty pretends to be nice, and vice versa.”


*


“Mainstream entertainment, like mainstream religion, is used to control people. But there are threads that run through all religions and I see music in similar terms. Both religion and music provide ways of seeing the unseeable and a necessary escape from the sometimes unbearable harshness of reality. Ideas can be communicated about death and the worlds beyond the one we inhabit.”


*


“Once I had been allowed to enter the movement, I decided it was rubbish, continuing a lifelong pattern of disowning my goals once they were achieved.”


*


“Not only did this represent champagne aspirations on a beer budget, but Nick and I were attempting it without our partners. There were lessons to be learned: break up a winning team at your peril. Never overlook the contributions of your collaborators.”


*


“Every artist who achieves longevity does so not just through the making of music, but the making of decisions, eventually thousands of decisions, starting with what to call themselves and who to play their demos to, through whether to sack their friend and go with a professional manager, which live agent to work with, and then on to the lifelong navigation of an endless series of suggested compromises.

The artists who thrive are not just the most musically talented but the most dedicated to their core values. There is a toughness required of this kind of work, but given that artistry is delicate, a dichotomous nature is necessary. That is the thread that has linked the artists I have worked most closely with. Extraordinary strength coupled with sensitivity that is so acute it is almost psychic.”


*


“I was starting to realise that a large part of the creation of success was about ignoring the reasons it might not happen. Blocking out reality and getting on with it. Focusing on what I wanted to happen and how to get there, not the reasons it was unlikely to work.”


*


“The process of songwriting and recording often involves wild oscillation between feeling immensely empowered – godlike is how some describe it – by one’s own abilities to make something out of nothing, and feeling like an idiot who is wandering around naked while everyone laughs. These extreme swings can occur in very short spaces of time and when they do you are fairly close to madness. The uncertainty of the creative process feels to me at times like chewing tin foil.

The manager of one huge artist proudly told me that he insists to the musicians he works with that they behave functionally. He said that he doesn’t buy into the idea that instability is intrinsically linked to creativity. Perhaps, I thought, he is just working with talent so mediocre that their behavior is as mundane as their music. Whatever abilities I possess feel like they are simply the flipside of the least functional parts of me. Dysfunctionality comes with gifts as a consolation prize. Whether a person is able to tap into these gifts is another question.

But no one whose art is really good tends to feel all that good for much of the time. Blissful happiness is an unlikely condition in any event and would certainly be an unusual place for a gifted person to inhabit, at least for long. The best a great talent can hope for is to reach some sort of an accommodation with themselves. An appreciation that they at least have something to show for their alienation.”


*


“John Peel was an influential taste-maker, but I wanted to diverge from his approach as much as emulate it. He was probably the greatest champion of independent music ever because the way he chose which records to play was so ideologically powerful. His position was not that he would play good music, regardless. It was more political than that. If he perceived something was too pop, he would not play it.

So while John Peel was a supporter of Scritti Politti’s early singles and debut album for Rough Trade, Songs to Remember, he never played anything from their masterpiece, and one of my all-time favourite albums, Cupid & Psyche 85. This music was even better than their previous output but he did not support it. Green and co. had decamped to New York and made the music they dreamed of, which was R&B, with storied soul producer and arranger Arif Mardin. But Peel stopped playing them because he considered what they were doing too pop.

I didn’t wish to take this approach.

‘Indie’ to describe music was a term that was destined to become obsolete, and I didn’t want this type of ghettoization to happen to XL. I wanted to be able to back artists to be as ambitious as they saw fit. Equally, I wanted to discourage artists from being overly commercial if that meant their records would suffer. I wanted to work with the best artists and help them make the best music. I didn’t want to be tied down to an ideology that would get in the way of that. I didn’t want records to have to be commercial – like a major; equally, I didn’t want them to have to not to be – the way John Peel seemed to sometimes see it.”


*


“Her approach owed something to punk, perhaps best summed up as: If it ain’t broke, break it.”


*


“This book is not about sales figures or awards. Too many artists whose work is close to my heart have not achieved huge sales for me to think of units sold as what is important. Commercial success is a measure of something outer; not necessarily anything deeper. The record industry’s obsession with figures is limiting and stifles creativity. Music that reaches a lot of people but has no substance is of no interest. Music that has depth but only reaches a small audience is often the most important and long-lasting.”


*


“I just knew that whatever we did needed to be a celebration, and that I had to have faith that something special would manifest. The principle I tried to stick to was that the absence of doubt would lead to success. Commit to the process, don’t waste time thinking about whether it will or won’t work, and execute to the best of your ability. The rest will take care of itself.”


*


“Coincidences are ‘God’s way of staying anonymous.’ They are a reassurance that there is a flow and it’s useful to note and appreciate them when they occur.”


*

[Sam Samuels · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic,simply fantastic, heart warming, heart wrenching, wonderfully written a musical journey interspersed with some touching personal moments, you won’t read a better autobiography for many a year

[Chris Molnar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kind of like the song "Losing My Edge," but all true.

[Justin Lehmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I generally find that reading books about the industry you're in land in one of two places: self-aggrandizing to a disgusting degree or so sophomoric that you're a bit confused as to who it's been written for. Russell manages to avoid both. The sheer number of wildly impactful artists he has worked with across the years leaves the sensation of his being a bit of a musical Forrest Gump.

If you love this kind of music (and by this kind I mean, out of fear of sounding like a judgmental asshole, Great Music) then you'll find yourself delighted by this book. It made me reflect quite a bit on how I operate in my day to day work and had me questioning some of my own behaviors. While I do think the industry has dramatically changed in the time since many of these stories were told, there are still some eternal truths that are worth holding close. Those of us that work in this industry are lucky to be doing so and should remind ourselves of that fact as often as possible to keep from going insane.

[Jordan Robertson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Richard Russell's autobiography is a good example of the strengths and weaknesses of the genre. The highlights of this book come when he taps into his incredibly broad experience to give us insights into the inner workings in the music industry, and his collaborations with some of the most talented and innovative artists of the past few decades. Russell's philosophy on life and nurturing talent really stands out towards the tail end of the book, providing some very interesting and broadly applicable lessons.

However, this book could have perhaps benefited from some more editing, as some areas seem to drift between topics or lists of artists without direction, sometimes even between paragraphs.

[tristan bowden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Couldn't put this book down

Thank you to Rich for such an insightful and enjoyable book, this is not just a history of a record label but the story of a man finding success & then finding himself as a human being, a father & a producer of some of the most touching & personal music to have been created in the electronic era, all the while running the label that has touched so many lives over the past four decades. By far one of the music biogs I have ever had the pleasure to read.

[Ali Miremadi · Rating 3 out of 5]

A music industry success story with more of a focus on the music and less on the lifestyle than usual for the genre. There are essentially three stages - learning about electronica and hip hop in the 80s; making money with Prodigy in the 90s; and then astonishing success with White Stripes, Adele and some on and so on. What screams out throughout despite Russell’s adoration of Liam Howlett, Adele and Jack White is how much he wishes he could have spent the time making more music himself.

[Jake Reuter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Richard Russell is one of the most prolific and inspirational figures in the modern music industry, and his autobiography carefully revisits his journey from aspiring DJ to world-renowned A&R / label executive with exquisite detail. There are so many fantastic artists that he has surrounded himself with, from Gil Scott Heron to M.I.A., the Prodigy to Adele. It’s a fascinating read written by a man who truly loves music and artistry; I was hooked from the first sentence.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really great account of Russell’s journey through the music industry. He does a great job at educating the reader on relevant areas of musical history and his involvement in the matters. I liked his honesty discussing certain artists and decisions made about their releases/careers - admitting his mistakes and not taking credit for others successes.

[Andrew Baxter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this. A really great insight into the music business through the lens of XL Recordings Richard Russell. The authors passion for music shines through throughout. So much for the music fan in this book - stories ranging from The Prodigy, Easy - E and Adele. Highly Recommend!

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Little disappointed by this. Interesting enough but I expected the inside track of how the likes of Adele and the Prodigy were discovered and nurtured to their incredible success but you don’t really get that. Adele for example warrants just one brief chapter covering her entire career!

[Russell Barton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really interesting read. Richard tells us his personal story as he goes from being a raver to running the record label that’s home to some of the biggest acts in the world. The moments if enlightenment and self acceptance are a nice antidote to the usual corporate fuckery in the music industry.

[Jacob Buckle · Rating 5 out of 5]

real great insight into artists like The Prodigy, Adele, Dizzee and Giggs and is really well written - personally found it started slow with Richards upbringing, but once the book hits XL Recordings starting, its essential for any music head imo and I raced through it towards the end

[Sam Timmons · Rating 5 out of 5]

Would recommended to people who love music. Details the rise of XL records and therefore a kinda semi autobiography of Richard Russel, the founder. There’s chapters on some of the artists that have released under the XL label, the prodigy, dizzier rascal, adele, Jamie xx & Gil Scott heron.

[Thomas Pineau · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very engaging book that traces the journey of the creator of XL Recordings. From his beginnings in a Jewish neighborhood in London, his time in New York, and his role as an A&R to leading XL, it covers the significant trials and encounters of his life.

[Tobi Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy and insightful read that can offers both inspiring and humbling look into music both now and in days gone by.

Some great thinkers and great music referenced to dig into post read, a proper page turner.

[Gareth Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are sections where it feels like descent into the humble brag but all in all this is a lovely ode to music and the importance of true collaboration in the creative process.

[Jon Stamp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it - really interesting.

[Matt Jamison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating story about how XL records came to be. Loads of great stories within. My fav was Richard’s visit to Lee Perry’s home.

[Jon Cohen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love you Richard Russell. Amazing.

[Rhys · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow

[Isa Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

an epic collection of experiences told in such a humble way. richard russel sounds like the chillest man. loved the variety of music discussed.

[Dan Coye · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible read. Might be the best music book I’ve read so far. Crazy to step into this guy’s music world. Did not realize how many classics XL have released. Wish I could rate it higher.

[Tony GD · Rating 4 out of 5]

Required reading for anyone whose musical journey, like mine, includes the Beastie Boys, MIA, Sampha and Gil Scott Heron. A deft mix of personal reflection and potent musical history.

[Miguel Rodriguez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Life has a point for Richard Russel. It’s music. It’s both inspiring and informational in its prose. Real love type stuff.

[Nicolas Gomez Ospina · Rating 4 out of 5]

It gets kind of swampy in the middle but then it revives near the end with easy rhythm.

[Erin Gallacher · Rating 5 out of 5]

BEST book I’ve read this year 100000%

Close but not quite - everything is recorded 🩵