VF Mix 138: The Residents by Lord Tusk

A deep dive with the arch provocateurs.

For almost fifty years, avant garde collective The Residents has poured out recordings of indefinable grandeur and poise – whether surreal or satirical, provocative or down right peculiar, they have eye-balled popular culture, taken a step to the left and crafted a discography approaching triple figures.

With his own genre-hopping new EP Communiqué out now on MIC Records (one of our favourite new releases this week), Lord Tusk has sought not to make sense of the madness, but rather craft an hour-long soundtrack that traverses the archive in broad sweeps.

Listen to the soundtrack now and read Tusk’s compelling introduction to The Residents below:

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“‘Songs like rice…’ That’s the untold amount of music and creations The Residents have archived, just like rice. It’s endless and is still steadily growing. They have transcended music as supreme architects free from the constraints and delusions set upon most artists.

Their approach to music is true reality and freedom. Recording hundreds of creations like a painter with sketches, it’s the truest way to approach writing and producing – just get going and knock ’em out…next!

In time they will find their rightful place, whether that’s part of an album, project or left in darkest regions of the bin. I have a played less than 1% of the Residents archive for this mix, however a unique selection I have chosen. Interpret the songs as you feel, you may elevate to other places, or simply switch off.”

Tracklist:

1. The New Machine
2. Dreaming Of An Anthill
3. Hard & Tenderly
4. Santa Dog
5. Moisture
6. Caring
7. Hit The Road Jack
8. The Seven Ugly Cows
9. 22
10. Margaret Freeman
11. Diskomo
12. American tv show
13. Hello Skinny
14. Making Of A Soul
15. Amber
16. Yes Yes Yes
17. Emotional Music
18. What ever happened to vileness
19. Africa Tree