Richard Russell on Adele’s future and what it takes to get signed to XL Recordings

Watch our video interview with Russell above

Richard Russell has shared his confidence over Adele‘s next record – as well as revealing what he looks for in an artist before signing them to XL Recordings. Watch our video interview with Russell above.

Russell is the owner of XL Recordings – home to the likes of Adele, The xx, FKA Twigs, Arca, Sigur Ros, Arca, Thom Yorke and Jungle.

Speaking to NME on the red carpet of the Mercury Music Prize, where he was nominated for the collaborative album ‘Everything Is Recorded’, Russell remained tight-lipped about what to expect from Adele’s upcoming fourth album, he did praise her recent ‘Titanic’ themed birthday party.

“I went to her birthday party, that was fantastic,” said Russell. “She doesn’t do things by halves. If she’s doing it, she does it really, really well. It was a phenomenal party, but it didn’t go much further than that.

Asked about what risks he’d like to see Adele explore on the next album, Russell coyly replied: “She’s already worked that out.”

Quizzed on the idiosyncratic nature of XL’s roster and what he looks for in an artist, Russell replied:”I’m not really that hands-on with the A&R thing any more, I’ve been producing records for the last 10 years,” he replied, “but my thing is originality – you want to hear something you haven’t heard before. That’s the most important thing.

“That originality comes from people just being themselves and really putting it out there in a way which is unafraid – rather than trying to fit into something else. That’s the main thing I look for in everything; that spark of honesty and originality.”