Arqa

Swiftly chasing their greatest hits retrospective, Un1verse City shows how Arqa retain their relevance in the global fusion arena. The two decades-plus longevity of this sprawling collective marks the Suns out as true pioneers of Asian dubbery and ethnographic psychedelia. Deep bassman Michael Wadada is their eternal figurehead, but Kadir Durvesh and N Magriel are also firmly ensconced sidemen, playing shehnai (reed flute) and sarangi (a box-like bowed instrument, with no shortage of sympathetic strings). Wadada also continues his collaboration with Hungary's Arqa equivalent, Laszlo Hortobagyi & The Gayan Uttejak Orchestra, these sessions also recorded in their Budapest studio. The musical template is made up from Indian raga rules, but heavily interfered with by electronic tomfoolery…

Suns of Arqa have materialised as a musical collective, combining the ancient Hindustani raga systems with Piobaireachd and Nyabinghi roots drumming. They appear intermittently at the seasonal festivals and sacred ritual spaces, where they are a vehicle for the positive raising of vibration, connecting with both the sensory and infinite worlds, for the on going evolution of all sentient beings.
Opening with the wonderful psychedelia of Lennon & McCartney's "Tomorrow Never Knows", "Shabda" by Suns Of Arqa moves through the familiar territories of dub, ragas and world music in a conscious and direct manner. Tracks 2 and 3 build up the hypnotic tension before "Through The Gate We Go" drops into some heavy 90s breakbeat dub…

In these times of unprecedented change and impending uncertainty Suns of Arqa have been called to bring musical solace to the people with their CD release ‘Know Thyself?’ - a stunningly beautiful ambient album comprised of 4 rarely heard Indian ragas.
Produced by Michael Wadada, the mystical and enduring founder of Suns of Arqa, and featuring bansuri master Raghunath Seth, ‘Know Thyself?’ instantly transports the listener into a delicate liminal realm laying somewhere between ancient India and the western worlds…

The legendary SUNS OF ARQA release their 40th album 'The Wolf of Badenoch', an epic masterpiece based on the life of Alexander Stewart, Earl of Buchan who was the third surviving son of King Robert II of Scotland, making him the great-grandson of Robert the Bruce. This album takes you on a deep hypnotic journey through the life of one of Scotland's most notorious historical figures.

With over 30 genre-bending years of experience, creator and mentor Michael Wadada expertly carves a new path in the evolution of Dub, drawing for the melodies of classical Indian Raga and countless other ethnic influences and draping them over bass-heavy rhythms and euphoric soundscapes. In an age of incoherent albums designed to be 'cherry picked', this is an engulfing musical journey, rewarding the listener with almost seamless transitions between rich atmospherics and driven, uplifting beats.

The long-awaited sixth album from electronic explorer Kuba aka Laurence Harvey has finally landed on Liquid Sound Design Records. Written and recorded in Youth’s Space Mountain studio in Spain, the wonderful fusion of organic sounds like flamenco guitars, organs and vocals with synths and chilled beats - ranging from full-on ambient to dubby and playful - is guaranteed to take you on a lush floating journey to the stars and back…

Crazy Belgian '80s electropop-rockduo from Ghent. The band initially consisted of guitar player (later multi-instrumentalist) Rembert De Smet and drummer Herman Celis. The name ("two belgians") was jokingly explained as "the only thing we had in common : our nationality". Almost all the songs are written by Rembert De Smet, who also characterizes the music by the extensive use of the guitar-synthesizer (then a small revolution), playing bass & rhythm on the same guitar and by his quite unique singing style. They sign a deal with Antler (a firm in Aarschot best known for its productions in the alternative genre, eg. Chowchow, Poesie Noire, Nacht Und Nebel, Siglo XX …) and record a first single with Roland Beelen as producer : this is the single "Quand le film est triste / Lena", of which they immediately sell more than 5,000 copies…