Master Mix embodies the genre-defying, experimental spirit that defined Arthur Russell's work. Living in the East Village from the '70s until his untimely death in 1992 at age 40 from AIDS-related causes, Russell moved effortlessly between the city's various music scenes, recording disco beats one night, and the next, crafting haunting tracks in his apartment with his cello and idiosyncratic warbling voice.
The record features 26 tracks by more than 20 artists, including Hot Chip, Sufjan Stevens, Phosphorescent, Blood Orange and Lonnie Holley, paying homage to Russell's boundless creativity and wide-ranging work, which swerved from electronic dance to folk to classical.