Psychic Hotline

Nathaniel Russell Shares “Bloodsucker”

October 25, 2023 - By Psychic Hotline

Today the Indiana-based multi-disciplinary artist Nathaniel Russell shares new song Bloodsucker” via Psychic Hotline. This warm but slightly-spooky single is the first song Russell has released since he packed up his car and drove from his home in Indiana all the way to North Carolina to record new music with his long-time friend Amelia Meath (Sylvan Esso, The A’s)

Stream “Bloodsucker” Here

“My favorite thing about the song is that it feels a little like a secret being whispered. Like something of which you are reminding yourself,” Russell says of the single, “I love hearing all the details and textures: the wood, chimes, the broom bristles and the moments of voices. It makes me feel like I’m creeping through the underbrush.” 

Russell makes drawings, paintings, prints, murals, objects, music and videos that are exhibited internationally in galleries, DIY spaces, and living rooms, often with friends and fellow artists. Over the past however-many years his work has appeared on album covers by Vetiver, Neil Halstead, Mountain Man, and Tommy Guerrero among others. Drawings have been seen in The New York Times, Apartamento, The Baffler and many other publications and books. A lifelong skateboarder, his graphics are on countless decks, accessories and clothing. All this to say that Russell makes a lot of different kind of work that may be familiar to you already, and continues to make more every day. 

“Bloodsucker” was recorded at Betty’s, the wooded studio haven of Sylvan Esso, where recent releases from The Tallest Man on Earth, Caroline Rose, Wednesday, The A’s The Mountain Goats, Flock of Dimes, GRRL Indigo de Souza, and many more have been born. “Bloodsucker” was produced by Meath and engineered by Alli Rogers. The song features additional vocals from Meath, percussion from Joe Westerlund (Megafaun, Califone), with bass guitar and drum programming by Nick Sanborn (Sylvan Esso, Made of Oak).

“[Nathaniel Russell’s] clever words and bold graphics illuminate sad truths of contemporary culture, as well as empowering values. These themes of hope, reflection and transcendence take on a particular significance against a contemporary backdrop of cultural disconnection and distraction.” –Juxtapoz Magazine