Steven Hall, a 69-year-old Scottish musician living in Illinois, has seen his double LP My Skyscraper, released under the name Nirosta Steel, become a critical sensation. The album, which compiles material recorded between 1984 and 2025, blends disco, folk, synth-pop, Chinese opera, and ecclesiastical a cappella. Pitchfork called it “an archival triumph and one of the year’s most thrilling new releases.”
A Chance Discovery
The album’s journey began when a label head, impressed with Nirosta Steel’s 2014 album Cool Fire, asked Hall if he had more music. “He didn’t know what he was in for,” says Hall. The unreleased songs spanned four decades, revealing a globe-trotting life intersecting with experimental icons like Arthur Russell and Allen Ginsberg. Two weeks ago, the label was $2,000 in debt, planning 200 copies. Now, with 1,000 orders, they are pressing 2,000.
Early Life and Influences
Born in Milngavie, Scotland, Hall grew up performing in church choir and local theatre. His parents sent him to a teacher to lose his accent, but were liberal about his sexuality. After his father died, his mother placed a personal ad in the International Herald Tribune and moved the family to Delaware. Hall was fascinated by American musicals and the Chrysler Building, built from Nirosta steel, which inspired his stage name.
Meeting Arthur Russell
In New York, Hall befriended Allen Ginsberg and Arthur Russell. He studied at Naropa University with William S. Burroughs and later collaborated with Russell on projects like the disco outfit Loose Joints. Their song Go for the Night appears on My Skyscraper. Two improvised one-takes, Fresh Feeling and Special Weakness, feature Russell on drums. “Once we got going, the idea was we don’t stop, and we don’t go back and do it again,” Hall explains.
Global Inspirations
Hall spent time in Hong Kong and Taiwan, scoring performances for experimental theatre and recording location sound. My Skyscraper track Lost in Music includes audio from a Cantonese funeral procession. “I’ve been collecting these songs for ever,” Hall says. “A song written 30 years ago, I keep doing it in different ways.”
Future Plans
With the album’s success, Hall hopes to reignite his writing and perform at New York’s former Pyramid Club. He wants to do a covers album including Sade’s No Ordinary Love. “There was no plan or budget for promotion,” he says. “It was just the music we wanted to put out.”
