Everything Is Recorded

Everything Is Recorded operates as a collaborative endeavor led by Richard Russell, the influential British producer behind the highly successful independent label XL Recordings. Captured during sessions at Russell's London studios, the project's output draws together a broad array of R&B, hip-hop, indie, and jazz musicians—XL regulars such as Sampha and Giggs alongside unexpected contributors including violinist Warren Ellis, saxophonist Kamasi Washington, Crass' Penny Rimbaud, and Wu-Tang Clan's Ghostface Killah. Although the sessions allow for any direction, the results typically blend dark trip-hop, vulnerable soul, and brooding rap, as heard across the albums Everything Is Recorded by Richard Russell (2018) and Friday Forever (2020).

Russell joined XL as A&R manager in the early '90s, when the fledgling label concentrated on rave music and techno. As one half of the duo Kicks Like a Mule, he achieved a U.K. Top Ten hit in 1992 with the breakbeat hardcore classic "The Bouncer." While XL built its initial reputation through dance acts like the Prodigy and SL2, Russell—who assumed full control of the label by the mid-'90s—expanded its reach; landmark recordings by indie folk songwriter Badly Drawn Boy, Detroit garage rock duo the White Stripes, and grime pioneer Dizzee Rascal all appeared on the imprint during the first half of the 2000s. He maintained an active role behind the scenes as producer and musician, helming Gil Scott-Heron's final album, I'm New Here, and collaborating with Damon Albarn on multiple efforts that encompassed DRC Music, Bobby Womack's The Bravest Man in the Universe, and Albarn's Everyday Robots. Russell also produced Ibeyi's self-titled 2015 debut.

Not long afterward he initiated the studio sessions that would become the foundation of Everything Is Recorded. A website launched to document both studio and radio work, followed by the debut EP Close But Not Quite, issued on XL in May of 2017 and featuring the Sampha-sung title track along with contributions from Scritti Politti's Green Gartside and London-based rapper Obongjayar. Later that year came the singles "Mountains of Gold" (with Sampha, Ibeyi, Wiki, and Kamasi Washington) and "Show Love" (with Syd and Sampha). Early in 2018, "Bloodshot Red Eyes" (featuring Gartside and Infinite) preceded the full-length Everything Is Recorded by Richard Russell; dedicated to Gil Scott-Heron and containing a cover of his "Cane," the album entered the U.K. chart at number 66 in March. A second album, Friday Forever, arrived in April 2020 and showcased an expanded roster of collaborators—A.K. Paul, Mariah Somerville, and Penny Rimbaud together with Infinite and his father, Ghostface Killah—while coinciding with the release of Russell's book Liberation Through Hearing: Rap, Rave & the Rise of XL Recordings. The following year Bristol drum'n'bass heavyweight Clipz issued Saturday Specials, a full remix of the project's sophomore LP Friday Forever.