Steven Hall reveals Nirosta Steel double LP My Skyscraper, with lost Arthur Russell co-writes

The record includes several previously unheard songs co-written with Arthur Russell, as well as others that feature the late cellist and composer’s accompaniment. Hall worked closely with Russell from 1980 until Russell’s death in 1992 after two were introduced by Allen Ginsberg in New York.

Hall’s contributions have appeared on posthumous Russell releases including backing vocals on “A Little Lost” and “My Tiger, My Timing”. The 2008 collection Love Is Overtaking Me was also drawn largely from a scrapped collaborative album between the pair.

My Skyscraper is described as a collection of "queer love songs, nightlife hallucinations and post-rave comedowns" in press material announcing the record. The double LP contains multiple iterations of several tracks, pairing folk versions with disco mixes and has overseen by ULYSSA, a label behind the compilation Contrahouse and reissues of work by Julie Ragbeer and Sam Gendel.

The announcement is accompanied by two songs – “BOSS TRIX (BENNY’S SONG)” is a downtempo disco tribute to a former boyfriend which its B-side “YHEMA” is a dubbed-out folk piece that stretches Hall’s falsetto.

My Skyscraper artwork

My Skyscraper tracklist

“ENGLISH PARTY”
“BOSS TRIX (BENNY’S SONG)”
“NEW BOY”
“YHEMA”
“TRIANGULARIZE”
“FIRST LOVE (RUFFIAN MIX)”
“SUPERBOY”
“LOST IN MUSIC”
“FIRST LOVE (DISCO MOONBEAM MIX)”
“MY NAME IS NIGHT”
“FRESH FEELING”
“SPECIAL WEAKNESS”
“GREY BOY (A CAPELLA MIX)”
“MOHAN (MANDARIN VERSION)”
“GO FOR THE NIGHT”
“THAITANIUM”
“JOVI SONG”