AUDIO: Allen Russell – “Pharr Phuturr”
Milwaukee’s Allen Russell has never been one to color inside the lines. Best known around town as a violinist, composer, and educator with deep roots in the UWM music community and as the frontman of the gypsy jazz outfit Swing Chevron, Russell has spent years quietly proving that the space between genres is where the most interesting sounds live. His latest release, “Pharr Phuturr,” takes that philosophy and plugs it straight into the wall.
Trading acoustic strings for synthesized textures, “Pharr Phuturr” is a full-on electronic excursion — a project that feels less like a pivot and more like a natural extension of a curious mind that refuses to sit still. The record leans into pulsing rhythms, warped melodies, and the kind of forward-thinking production choices that reward headphone listening. It’s playful, occasionally disorienting, and genuinely surprising coming from an artist most Milwaukee listeners associate with 1920s swing and chamber compositions.
That range is exactly what makes “Pharr Phuturr” worth your time. Russell brings a composer’s ear to electronic music, building tracks with harmonic depth and structural intention rather than just chasing a drop. There’s a jazz musician’s sense of phrasing baked into the programming, and the album moves with the confidence of someone who’s spent a lifetime listening closely to how sounds interact.
If you’ve been sleeping on Milwaukee’s more experimental corners, consider this your wake-up call. Stream “Pharr Phuturr” in full below and dig into one of the more unexpected local releases of the year.
