As a founding member of epochal noise rock band the Dead C as well as head of obscure but essentially important indie labels Xpressway and Corpus Hermeticum, Bruce Russell was an essential player in New Zealand's indie scene throughout the late '80s, '90s, and beyond. Loosely connected with friends' bands on the Flying Nun label, Russell and the Dead C were far more fringe and obtuse than the dark jangle of acts like the Clean, the Bats, or the Chills, but proved no less influential. Russell worked as a producer, but with his labels he offered a platform for more experimental acts including Alastair Galbraith, This Kind of Punishment, and the Terminals, and even opened the borders for releases by Thurston Moore, the Shadow Ring, Flying Saucer Attack, and other non-New Zealand acts. With the Dead C, solo, and as part of various other side projects, Russell continued to walk the line between chaos and structure with his music into the 2000s and 2010s.

Producer, guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, and label boss Bruce Russell was most prominently known for his role in long-running noise rock icons the Dead C, who formed in Dunedin, New Zealand in 1986. Serving as a counterpoint to the wistful jangle pop bands released on Flying Nun, Russell's first label, Xpressway, documented the more experimental side of the Dunedin scene, releasing albums by Peter Jefferies and Alastair Galbraith (who ran the label with Russell), as well as more psychedelic bands like the Terminals. Xpressway operated throughout the late '80s and early '90s, but Russell started second label Corpus Hermeticum in 1993 as a home for his even more abstract output. The first several releases on the label came from A Handful of Dust, his lumbering improv duo with Galbraith. The label would go on to release music from Alan Licht, Lovely Midget, Thurston Moore, and many others as it continued into the early 2000s before slowing down somewhat. Russell continued as part of the Dead C as the band burned on, and also released solo material under his own name. In addition to his musical output, Russell also developed as a writer. He first published letters and essays to be included with the liner notes of Corpus Hermeticum releases, and eventually went on to write articles for avant-garde music journal The Wire. ~ Fred Thomas, Rovi