Name: Swirling
Brand: Sun Ra

Bonus disc

Bonus disc: No

Catalogue number

STRUT153LP

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Colour

Black

Colour details

Discogs ID

Format multiplier

Download code

Download code: No

Rough Trade Exclusive

Rough Trade Exclusive: No

Extended format

Extended format: No

Format detail

Format Music GB

Limited edition

Release date

2020-10-30

Signed copies

Signed copies: No

Supplier GB

Tax rate GB

Standard:20

UPC / Barcode

4062548015003

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Total Cap

2 / Extended format: No / LP / Rough Trade Exclusive: No / Signed copies: No / black

Artist

Sun Ra

Genre GB

Jazz

Label GB

Strut

Vinyl variants, bonus material and signed editions exclusively available from Rough Trade.

Strut is a British independent label founded by Quinton Scott. From 1999 to 2003, Strut was at the forefront of unearthing forgotten dance music gems, covering a wide range of genres from hard funk and underground disco to Nigerian Afrobeat and old skool hip hop. Their releases not only featured killer dancefloor tracks but also provided a comprehensive context for the music, delving into the stories behind the tunes, the clubs, and the scene of that time. With meticulous attention to detail, Strut's albums were mastered from original tapes whenever possible and included extensive sleeve notes written by respected journalists, rare photographs, and memorabilia.

In January 2008, Strut was reactivated and became part of the *K7 label group. Since then, their releases have been primarily based in Europe unless there is an exclusive retailer in another territory.

Sun Ra, born Herman Blount in Birmingham, Alabama in 1914, was an American Free-Jazz composer, pianist and band leader. He was a pioneer of free improvisation and modal jazz, as well as an early user of electronic keyboards and synthesizers. Sun Ra's music innovations and visionary experiences set him apart as a true musical innovator. He formed the Sun Ra Arkestra in the 1950s and continued to compose and perform until his death in 1993.Born and raised in Alabama, Sun Ra showed exceptional talent as a pianist from a young age. By the age of 11, he could sight-read and compose music. As a teenager, he performed with local jazz and R&amp;B bands before taking on his first full-time musical job leading the Sonny Blount Orchestra. In the mid-1930s, Sun Ra had a transformative experience during deep meditation where he claimed to have been transported to Saturn by beings from outer space who tasked him with spreading peace through music.

The planets align this October as the mighty Sun Ra Arkestra, under the direction of the maestro Marshall Allen, release their first studio album in over twenty years, Swirling.

Recorded at Rittenhouse Soundworks in Philadelphia, the new recording represents the continuation of a heartfelt rebirth of the Arkestra under Allen’s guidance since Sun Ra left the planet in 1993, gaining new generations of followers from their regular touring across the globe. With a big band line-up featuring long-standing Arkestra members including Danny Ray Thompson (RIP), Michael Ray, Vincent Chancey, Knoel Scott, Cecil Brooks, Atakatune (RIP), Elson Nascimento and Tyler Mitchell, the album is a full-blooded celebration of Sun Ra’s legacy.

Tracks include brand new arrangements of Arkestra staples Angels And Demons At Play, Satellites Are Spinning, Door Of The Cosmos and Rocket No. 9 alongside lesser known gems; the rousing blues Darkness is recorded here for the first time, resurrected from the Ra archives by Marshall Allen. Other highlights include an epic version of Seductive Fantasy (first recorded on Ra’s On Jupiter LP in 1979), the freeform sonic blast of Infinity / I’ll Wait For You and a first ever recording of the Marshall Allen swing composition, Swirling.

Swirling

Music GB

Buy Sun Ra Arkestra - Swirling (Vinyl, CD) now from Rough Trade - independent purveyors of great music, since 1976.