Intergalactic Medium

Strut presents the original albums ‘Dark Myth Equation Visitation’, ‘Nidhamu’ and ‘Horizon’ released as individual LPs, documenting Sun Ra’s first trip to Egypt with his Arkestra in December 1971. In the years leading up to 1971, Sun Ra wrote many compositions and poems specifically inspired by the ancient African Kingdoms and many others with associated mythological and heliocentric connotations. As such, a visit to Egypt and the opportunity for the Arkestra to play there was a matter of necessity. Ra’s first ever concerts outside of the US had occurred in late summer and autumn of 1970 with performances in France, Germany and the UK and a second European tour was arranged for late 1971. At the end of that second tour, Ra caught wind of cheap flights from Denmark to Cairo.

In celebration of Record Store Day 2015, Strut and Art Yard join forces once more for the first release anywhere of a live Sun Ra performance from Amiens, France in 1973, Planets Of Life Or Death. Recorded direct from the soundboard and mastered from first generation reel to reel, the title is exclusively available for Record Store Day 2015.

Sun Ra & His Intergalactic Solar Research Arkestra - Helsinki 1971: The Complete Concert (2009) {2CD Set Transparency 0314}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 897 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 355 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 21 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1971, 2009 Transparency | 0314
Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz / Experimental Big Band / Progressive Jazz

The complete document of a rare Finnish performance by the Sun Ra Arkestra – material recorded in Helsinki on October 14, 1971 – presented here in a 2CD package. The CDs feature both the first and second sets of the evening – and the material was recorded by the Finnish broadcasting company, so the quality is pretty good – well-recorded, and with as much clarity as some of the better-known live Arkestra albums of the time. The group's in wonderful form – a fairly large lineup, given the Scandinavian trip – and they run through modes that are spacey, spiritual, and straight. Players include Kwame Hadi, Marshall Allen, John Gilmore, James Jacson, Pat Patrick, Danny Davis, and Danny Ray Thompson – and June Tyson sings some really wonderful vocals on the record too.

A celestial journey is what Sun Ra and His Arkestra created with Space is the Place. Sun Ra’s opus, at its simplest, is a trip through outer-bound melodies, planetary bodies, eras in time, crystals, and space caravans. You will be transported a world away!