Sun Ra And His Arkestra - To Those Of Earth...And Other Worlds (2015)

Strut follow up their hugely successful Marshall Allen-curated ‘In The Orbit Of Ra’ compilation with a newly curated set from the immense 125 LP back catalogue of jazz maverick, DIY philosopher and self-professed member of an “angel race”, Sun Ra. ‘To Those Of Earth… And Other Worlds’ is a hand-picked selection from BBC 6Music DJ Gilles Peterson, long-time champion of Ra’s music and the UK’s leading tastemaker for jazz-based sounds. It serves as perhaps the best introduction yet to the music of Sun Ra for a whole new generation of converts.

Sun Ra was a one-off in the annals of jazz. As author Robert L. Campbell describes, “He claimed to be the last of the swing band leaders, yet dosed classic songs with LSD. He wrote poetry about the “coming space age” and claimed to be a citizen of Saturn. He dressed himself and his band in gold-lame and lectured on the Creator’s message to the cruel and deceitful Earthman. He named himself after an Egyptian God. Was this guy for real? Sun Ra was very much for real.”

For the CD version, Peterson picks personal favourites, classics and unreleased tracks and weaves them into a flowing piece across 2CDs, showcasing the incredible variety of Ra’s work. Alongside the familiar tones of ‘Love In Outer Space’, the modal classic ‘Sleeping Beauty’ and a heavy version of ‘We Travel The Spaceways’, he brings in the off-kilter croon of ‘Dreaming’, a 45 given to him personally by the late John Peel, alongside an unreleased 1987 bossa take on ‘Astro Black’, the experimental dub ambience of ‘Adventure-Equation’ and the defiant anthem, ‘Blackman’.

The 2LP features full length versions of selected tracks from the mix while the digital version features a full unmixed selection with Peterson’s mix available within the album bundle. Sleeve notes on physical formats come from Gilles Peterson with a full Ra career biography by author Robert L. Campbell. The album also features previously unseen photos from the archives of Val Wilmer and Jorg Brecker alongside full musician line-ups and session details.

CD1:

01. Sun Ra And His Myth - Science Arkestra- Calling Planet Earth
02. Sun Ra - Sun Song
03. The Cosmic Rays With Sun Ra And The Arkestra - Dreaming
04. Sun Ra And His Arkestra - India
05. Sun Ra And His Myth- Science Arkestra - Space Loneliness
06. Sun Ra And His Intergalactic Infinity Arkestra - Love In Outer Space
07. Sun Ra And His Myth-Science Arkestra - Adventure Equation
08. Sun Ra And His Myth-Science Arkestra - Spontaneous Simplicity
09. Sun Ra And His Myth-Science Arkestra - Brazilian Sun
10. Sun Ra Quartet - When There Is No Sun
11. Sun Ra And His Astro Infinity Arkestra - My Brother The Wind
12. Sun Ra And His Astro Arkestra - Mystery, Mr. Ra
13. Sun Ra And His Myth-Science Arkestra - Black Sky And Blue Moon
14. Sun Ra And His Myth-Science Arkestra - Watusa
15. The Sun Ra Arkestra - The World Of Africa
16. Sun Ra And His Solar Arkestra - Cluster Of Galaxies
17. Sun Ra And His Arkestra - Strange Worlds (Live in France)
18. Sun Ra And His Blue Universe Arkestra - Blackman

CD2:

01. Sun Ra And His Myth-Science Arkestra - Twilight
02. Sun Ra And His Intergalactic Myth Science Solar Arkestra - Sleeping Beauty
03. Sun Ra - Moog Solo (Live in France)
04. Sun Ra And His Arkestra - They Plan To Leave
05. Sun Ra And His Solar Arkestra - Reflects Motion (Part 1)
06. Sun Ra And His Arkestra - Children Of The Sun
07. Sun Ra And His Myth-Science Arkestra - We Travel The Spaceways
08. Sun Ra And His Arkestra - Astro Black (Live in Zurich)
09. Sun Ra And His Mythic Science Arkestra - Somebody Else’s idea (Live in Paris)
10. Sun Ra And His Arkestra - I Roam The Cosmos
11. Sun Ra And His Solar Arkestra - On Jupiter
12. Sun Ra - There Are Other Worlds (They Have Not Told You Of)
13. Sun Ra And His Interglactic Arkestra - The All Of Everything
14. Sun Ra - Enlightenment
15. Sun Ra And His Arkestra - Make Another Mistake
16. Sun Ra And His Arkestra - Space Is The Place (Live in France)