Russell E.L. Butler

Russell E.L. Butler is an electronic musician based in the Bay Area who makes stripped-down yet high-impact techno using analog hardware equipment. Originally from Bermuda, the non-binary artist's work explores themes related to transplantation, evolution, and healing. Initially known for making goth-influenced synth pop as Black Jeans, Butler began releasing improvised techno and acid tracks under their own name in 2014, gradually expanding their sound through releases like 2018 full-length The Home I'd Build for Myself and All My Friends.

Butler first began making vocal-based goth/EBM under the name Black Jeans, debuting with a self-titled tape in 2011 before releasing the LP Black Tourmaline in 2013. Switching to instrumental techno, Butler released Constructions, an album of live hardware-based improvisations, in 2014. This was followed by God Is Change, a 2015 release inspired by the philosophy of the Parable novels by groundbreaking science fiction author Octavia E. Butler. Issued by <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Opal+Tapes%22">Opal Tapes</a>, the release immediately received critical acclaim, with NPR naming it one of their favorite electronic albums of the year. Cassette EP Visions of the Future appeared on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Jacktone%22">Jacktone</a> in 2016, shortly followed by vinyl EP The First Step on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Black+Opal%22">Black Opal</a>. I'm Dropping Out of Life, an EP dedicated to Butler's friends who perished in the 2016 Ghost Ship warehouse fire, was released by <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22CGI+Records%22">CGI Records</a> in 2017. Butler's equally introspective full-length The Home I'd Build for Myself and All My Friends appeared on Left Hand Path in 2018. An EP of rough, functional club tracks titled Petty was released by <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Ghostly+International%22">Ghostly International</a>'s <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Spectral+Sound%22">Spectral Sound</a> imprint in 2018. ~ Paul Simpson, Rovi