Arto Lindsay receives the musical wiki treatment on upcoming double album Encyclopedia of Arto Lindsay [1]

Recalling my recent, very first, and probably last viewing of Kill Your Idols, I remember my ultimate reaction to be one of mostly confusion, as being an almost-English major has taught me to increase my expectation of theses. Instead, what I got was a predictably varied first-hand take on the evolution of experimental rock music in New York, “summarized” in a little over an hour. Lydia Lunch was gloriously hypocritical in her aging elitism. Michael Gira seduced by way of mere conversation with whomever was behind the camera. And Arto Linsday, who was highlighted for his work with DNA towards the latter end of the 70s, sparked intrigue with his low-key persona off-stage and his seeming schizophrenia on it. Turns out, as you might expect for a man who spent the majority of his early life in Brazil (where he’s since moved back), and who was later (clearly) influenced by the New York punk scene, there’s more than one side to his actual music as well.

Interested in a musical overview? Northern Spy has that covered with the aptly titled Encyclopedia of Arto Lindsay, a 2CD release that “presents the different musical souls” conveyed, but surely not malevolently taken, over Lindsay’s ~35-year career. Not intending to deny the significance of his group contributions, the release is mostly a recollection of his solo/collaborative work: the first disc includes tracks from his solo albums released between 1996 and 2004, while the second contains previously unreleased (solo) live recordings from 2012, including covers of Prince, Al Green, and Brazilian singer/songwriter Chico Buarque. Why yes, this is the same Arto Lindsay.

Clearly, he’s a hard guy to sum up, but Encyclopedia stands to be a good initiation for the unacquainted when it comes out on May 20. Here’s a track off the album, featuring Ryuichi Sakamoto on piano and synths:

Encyclopedia of Arto Lindsay tracklisting:

Disc 1:

01. 4 Skies
02. Simply Are
03. Illuminated
04. The Prize
05. Personagem
06. Child Prodigy
07. Ridiculously Deep
08. Complicity
09. Invoke
10. Reentry
11. Combustível
12. Ondina

Disc 2 (Live):

01. The Prize
02. Privacy
03. Pony
04. Erotic City
05. Invoke
06. Maneiras
07. O Mais Belo dos Belos
08. Garden Wall of Guitar
09. Illuminated
10. Simply Beautiful
11. Estação Derradeira
12. Wall of Guitar

• Arto Lindsay: http://www.facebook.com/artolindsayofficial
• Northern Spy: http://northernspyrecords.com

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