Stolen devices typically disappear into the anonymous void of the black market. Raymond J. Lustig decided to follow one to its final destination. “Corrientes 2500” was inspired by a brazen phone theft by motorcycle in Buenos Aires caught on camera. It was subsequently tracked to what Lustig describes as an underground den of thieves. Not particularly eager to pay the place a visit, he pictured what might’ve been happening inside.
“No one dared go to the address, but ‘Corrientes 2500’ imagines the loot-cluttered space, with a loop-based beat, a stash of stolen instruments: ukulele, accordion, surf guitar, synths,” says Lustig.
It’s an appropriately offbeat premise for an artist who’s made a career out of ignoring conventional boundaries. One half of New York City “alt-deco” songwriting duo Manicburg, Lustig has a résumé that extends deep into contemporary classical music. He’s taught at Juilliard, served on a Pulitzer Prize selection committee and received a Charles Ives Fellowship, ASCAP’s Rudolf Nissim Prize and the Aaron Copland Award.
But over the years, Lustig has steadily moved beyond the institutional classical world, collaborating with underground rock acts, electronic artists, jazz players and traditional folk instrumentalists. His music has likewise expanded from symphonic works and experimental opera into territory informed by psychedelic post-punk, electronic music and alternative rock. That evolution continues on the self-released Welcome, which arrives on the heels of the 2026 reimagining of his choral opera Semmelweis. Out now, Lustig’s first official solo album moves decisively back toward alt-rock as it explores a “serial tale of psychedelic peril.”
“Corrientes 2500” fits neatly into that dystopian world. And there’s another satisfying wrinkle: Francis Petty, the porteño whose phone was stolen, turns up in the choruses. Seems the victim found a way into that den of thieves after all.
We’re proud to premiere Ray Lustig’s “Corrientes 2500.”
—Hobart Rowland
