Introducing a musical treasure from the enigmatic Sun Ra's expansive discography, Strut Records proudly presents "Inside The Light World: Sun Ra Meets The OVC”.

This extraordinary album unveils previously unreleased recordings from the year 1986 for the very first time, showcasing a unique chapter in the Sun Ra catalogue. Crafted by the forward-thinking technological innovator and rocket scientist, Bill Sebastian, during the mid-1970s, the Outer Space Visual Communicator (OVC) stood as a groundbreaking invention. Instead of producing traditional sound, this keyboard-triggered "instrument" harnessed the power of light, casting mesmerising kaleidoscopic, multicoloured patterns onto a screen suspended above performers on stage. Ra first performed with the idiosyncratic fractal light projector in the late ‘70s

and, in 1986, two grainy VHS tapes surfaced featuring Ra performing ‘Calling Planet Earth’ and ‘Sunset On The Nile’, both accompanied by the OVC’s radiant light painting.

“I was curious about the performances,” explains Irwin Chusid, administrator of the Sun Ra catalogue. “I couldn't locate these terrific versions and wondered from where they originated. I discovered that not only was Bill Sebastian alive but he was still in Boston developing advanced iterations of the OVC, which by then incorporated Virtual Reality (VR) technology.” Sebastian and Chusid embarked on the intricate task of assembling the session tapes sourced from Sebastian's archives. These recordings, which took place on August 25, 1986, at Mission Control studios in Westford, Massachusetts, were originally spontaneous and never intended for a formal album release. Although the tape transfers yielded remarkable material, the recordings remained in an unmixed state, prompting Chusid to collaborate with engineer Joe Lizzi. Together, they embarked on the journey of reconstructing each track with painstaking precision.

The end result is nothing short of a revelation, featuring exceptional performances by the Arkestra. This release unveils previously unheard renditions of Sun Ra classics such as 'Love In Outer Space,' 'El Is A Sound Of Joy,' and 'Calling Planet Earth.' Additionally, it offers a complete performance of 'Discipline 27-II,' making it a musical gem for fans and collectors alike.

The package features stills from the original OVC videos, extensive liner notes and a full interview with Bill Sebastian. The album is fully remastered from the original reel to reel tapes by Joe Lizzi and Peter Beckmann.

TRACK LISTING

1. Calling Planet Earth
2. Theme Of The Stargazers
3. Love In Outer Space (DX7 Interlude)
4. Love In Outer Space
5. Stardust From Tomorrow
6. El Is A Sound Of Joy
7. Sunset On The Nile (DX7 Interlude)
8. Sunset On The Nile
9. East Of The Sun
10. Saturn Rings
11. Calling Planet Earth (Piano Interlude)
12. Discipline 27-II

It might thrill you; it might unnerve you; it might strum your heartstrings; it might spook the living daylights out of you. Most likely you'll experience all of the above before the jolting musical jeremiad is done.

Pressed on violet vinyl! When you're Sun Ra, you don't need synthesizers to evoke apocalyptic visions and interstellar excursions. You don't even need a band. Ra is most widely known for working with various iterations of his Arkestra, but he was no stranger to unaccompanied keyboard expeditions. His discography contains solo piano albums, solo Fender Rhodes records, and solo recordings on conventional organ, the latter going as far back as his home recordings from the 1940s.

But none of those instruments ever offered Sun Ra the kind of sonic artillery that waited beneath his fingers and feet when he sat before the keyboards, pedals, and multicolored constellation of tabs controlling the Wurlitzer pipe organ. Mystic and magisterial, Ra comes off here like a cross between a demonically riffing '50s horror movie villain and a futuristic congregation leader delivering the interplanetary gospel. Brassy stabs provide the kind of punctuation that could be graphically rendered as an endless string of exclamation marks in 500-point font. String- like swoops and swirls dance across the top of the carnage, cooling the flames just enough to keep the whole thing from combusting (for a while at least) but never dousing the fiery fury that Ra draws forth from the instrument.

TRACK LISTING

1. Beyond Hiroshima
2. Excelsior

Humanity's path since then makes his message even more urgent today. Years after Herman Poole "LeSony'r Ra" Blount "left the planet" he's still trying to reach us, to wake us up and to change our destiny.

Sun Ra and the Arkestra weren't a traditional studio band, and every star in the vast galaxy of their discography reflects this. The origins of these records can be hard to pinpoint at times, but when it comes to Thunder Of The Gods, it's a bit easier. "Calling Planet Earth - We'll Wait For You" was discovered on tapes from Ra's, Universe In Blue, believed to be recorded in '71. The raucous title track and "Moonshots Across the Sky" are unearthed from the '66 Strange Strings sessions. Modern Harmonic has once again paired Ra's sonic art with the visual art of "The Father of Modern Space Art," Chesley Bonestell, whose 1952 work "Formation of the Earth's Continents" spralls across the front and back covers.

TRACK LISTING

1. Calling Planet Earth - We'll Wait For You
2. Moonshots Across The Sky
3. Thunder Of The Gods

THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2024 EXCLUSIVE AND WILL BE AVAILABLE INSTORE ON SATURDAY APRIL 20TH ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVED BASIS, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

IF THERE ARE ANY REMAINING COPIES THEY WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE ONLINE AT 8PM ON MONDAY APRIL 22ND.

THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2024 EXCLUSIVE AND WILL BE AVAILABLE INSTORE ON SATURDAY APRIL 20TH ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVED BASIS, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

IF THERE ARE ANY REMAINING COPIES THEY WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE ONLINE AT 8PM ON MONDAY APRIL 22ND.

This special 60th Anniversary reissue of groundbreaking jazz artist Sun Ra’s iconic 1962 album The Futuristic Sounds of Sun Ra features all-analogue re-mastering by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio, pressed on 180-gram vinyl at RTI. The package includes Tom Wilson’s original liner notes, plus insightful new essays by jazz historian Ben Young, as well as by Irwin Chusid, who is also a journalist, radio personality, and author. 

TRACK LISTING

Side A
1. Bassism
2. Of Sounds And Something Else
3. What's That?
4. Where Is Tomorrow?
5. The Beginning
6. China Gates
Side B
1. New Day
2. Tapestry From An Asteroid
3. Jet Flight
4. Looking Outward
5. Space Jazz Reverie 

Space Is The Place – highlighted by the rousing 21-minute title track – is both an essential album and a great onramp for new listeners to travel the spaceways of Sun Ra’s other-worldly blend of avant-garde jazz, experimental rock, and Afrofuturism.

This Verve By Request title is pressed on 180-gram vinyl at Third Man in Detroit. 

TRACK LISTING

Side A
1. Space Is The Place
2. Images
Side B
3. Discipline 33
4. Sea Of Sound
5. Rocket Number Nine

Cosmic Myth Records is dedicated to issuing reamstered and fully authorized out of print titles from Sun Ra's independent Saturn Records catalog. Sun Ra's Jazz in Silhouette was enshrined in the Penguin Jazz Guide's "Core Collection" as an album that "will someday be recognized as one of the most important post-war jazz records."

Remastered with extra tracks - extra disc also includes Sound Sun Pleasure LP. Features the original space nymph cover art, which only appeared in cropped and washed out reproductions on an early 60s version.

Allow yourself to envision or feel a world away with this deluxe package of 3LPs, a BluRay Disc & DVD or 2CD Bluray & DVD Discs of the film, and lots more! The audio portion contains the original music composed for the film, which was eventually released as a soundtrack in 1993. It also features The Mathematics Of The Altered Destiny a third previously unissued LP recorded in the same soundtrack sessions but is finally being released half a century after it was recorded. This newly discovered LP is heavy on the prose of Sun Ra, as he and June Tyson bestow countless bits of information and inspiration onto the listener.

The film soundtrack is an entirely different journey than the 1973 Blue Thumb LP it shares its title with. We suggest you take both journeys. These recordings were sourced from the Sun Ra tape vault, then were digitally restored to make an album this special sound the best it possibly could.The BluRay contains the entire glorious film complete with film artifacts, and was sourced from the restoration prepared by Rapid Eye Movies of Germany. The bonus features on the BluRay are composed of Ra and Ra-centric material from the Modern Harmonic archives, including video from the Outer Space Visual Communicator footage.An additional track from these sessions, "The Idea Of The Greater Age" can be found on the CD version of this album or on the album Some Skin: A Modern Harmonic Bongo & Percussion Party.

A collection of torrid live club performances at the legendary NYC venue Slugs. Originally released in 1972, these recordings provide an intriguing glimpse of the Arkestra's repertoire and virtuosity towards the end of their first decade in New York. Universe In Blue has never been available on CD, and only a previous unofficial vinyl version was available prior to 2022.

Includes liner notes by Irwin Chusid, and an expanded essay by Jazz historian Ben Young.

Strut and Art Yard join forces for a special release to mark what would have been Sun Ra’s 100th birthday with ’In The Orbit Of Ra’, a new collection curated by the longest serving member of the Arkestra and current bandleader, Marshall Allen. Bringing together Ra highlights from over 25 years of music, the album is the first internationally released compilation to provide an introduction to the music of Sun Ra, curated personally by the Arkestra and mastered from the original tapes. With a catalogue of well over a hundred albums, Sun Ra forged his own direction in music from the mid ‘50s until his passing in 1993, injecting space age cosmic philosophy, ancient Egyptian history and lyrical poetry into a unique and freeform jazz sound. His music evolved constantly with relentless rehearsals, live gigging and recording schedules, developing a second?sense chemistry with his fellow Arkestra band members. Together, their emphasis would often be on improvisation and “the moment”, constantly re?interpreting and evolving their sound. Elements of magic and ritual would regularly feature in their performances and would lend the Arkestra a mystical aura.

For this exclusive new collection, Strut join forces with Art Yard to gain access to the inner sanctum of the Arkestra. In addition to the track selection, the release features recollections and contributions from some of the core Arkestra line?up including Marshall Allen, Michael Ray, Knoel Scott and Danny Ray Thompson. For the music, Allen’s selection takes us through the huge variety and intricacy of the Arkestra’s work covering the ‘60s to early ‘80s, from the celestial blues of ‘Spontaneous Simplicity’ and ‘Plutonian Nights’ to the urgent jazz of ‘Rocket Number Nine Take Off For Planet Venus’ and ‘Dance Of The Cosmo Aliens’. The album features an exclusive previously unreleased Sun Ra track from the Art Yard archives, the acoustic ‘Trying To Put The Blame On Me’ recorded live in Rome in 1977, along with a previously unreleased Part 1 of ‘Reflects Motion’ from 1962 and an unheard extended version of ‘Island In The Sun’ from the late ‘60s.

‘In The Orbit Of Ra’ is released on 2CD and 2LP. Physical formats feature full interview with Marshall Allen along with rare and previously unpublished photos by Val Wilmer.

TRACK LISTING

LP 1
1. Sun Ra And His Myth Science Arkestra – Somewhere In Space
2. Sun Ra & His Solar‐Myth Arkestra – The Lady With The Golden Stockings
3. Sun Ra And His Afro Infinity Arkestra – Somebody Else’s World
4. Sun Ra – Spontaneous Simplicity
5. Sun Ra & His Solar‐Myth Arkestra – Plutonian Nights
6. The Sun Ra Arkestra – Angels And Demons At Play
7. Sun Ra – Island In The Sun
8. Sun Ra – Rocket Number Nine Take Off For Planet Venus
9. Sun Ra – Solar Differentials 

LP2
1. Sun Ra And His Arkestra ‐ Afro Black
2. Sun Ra And His Intergalactic Infinity Arkestra - Have You Heard The Latest News From Neptune
3. Sun Ra – Dance Of The Cosmo Aliens
4. Sun Ra – Trying To Put The Blame On Me
5. Sun Ra And His Solar Arkestra – Planet Earth
6. Sun Ra And His Myth Science Arkestra – The Nile
7. Sun Ra And His Solar Arkestra – Reflects Motion
8. Sun Ra And His Solar Arkestra – Reflects Motion (part 2)
9. Sun Ra – Ancient Ethiopia 10. Sun Ra And His Arkestra – Interplanetary Music
11. Sun Ra And His Myth Science Arkestra – We Travel The Spaceways  

A bona fide Sun Ra classic, 'Discipline 27-11' was recorded by Impulse! producer Ed Michel in October 1972 at Streeterville Studios in Chicago and involved the largest Arkestra lineup Sun Ra had ever taken into a studio session. The recordings spawned two albums, the celebrated 'Space Is The Place' and 'Discipline 27-11' which would remain its rather mysterious occult twin. Official reissue remastered from the original tapes.

TRACK LISTING

A1: Pan-Afro
A2: Discipline
A3: Neptune
B1: Discipline 27-II

For more than two decades alto saxophonist Marshall Allen has carried on the legacy and sound of the Sun Ra Arkestra - He turned 98 in 2022 and as evidenced by Living Sky, his influence and leadership remain undiminished

On the group's first recording since the pandemic and their Grammy nomination, bandleader Marshall Allen and company give us something we can hold onto, an instrumental album rich in spirituality to guide us through the unknown yet again. The album includes the first studio recording of Sun Ra's elaboration of Frederic Chopin's "Prelude in A Major", first instrumental recording of Ra's "Somebody Else's Idea". Features Allen's "Day of the Living Sky", a meditative work that is a belated response to Sun Ra's composition "Night of the Living Sky" which is also featured in the album.

Cover art by Damon Locks.

Mixed & mastered by two time Grammy winner Dave Darlington.

TRACK LISTING

Chopin (Frédéric Chopin)
Somebody Else’s Idea (Sun Ra)
Day Of the Living Sky (Marshall Allen)
Marshall's Groove (Marshall Allen)
Night Of The Living Sky (Sun Ra)
Firefly (Marshall Allen)
Wish Upon A Star (Leigh Harline)

60th Anniversary Edition of groundbreaking jazz artist Sun Ra’s iconic 1962 album The Futuristic Sounds of Sun Ra. Originally produced by Tom Wilson, this is the first Sun Ra LP to be recorded by Arkestra in NYC. This new edition is pressed on 180-gram vinyl at RTI with ALL-ANALOG Mastering by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio. Includes new essays by Irwin Chusid & Ben Young.

Recorded in New York in the Summer of 1978 for Philly Jazz (who attempted to form the Ra-legion Cosmo-Fan Club!), this legendary (and previously ultra-rare) LP is maybe the closest Sunny ever got to a crossover album! That's not to say that the out-of-this-world arrangements have been toned down (far from it!), but you can hear the influence of disco and fusion on tracks like "Where Pathways Meet" and "That's How I Feel". It's had a few re-issues over the years, including an amazing deluxe version, which was enough to get my pants moistened, but now it has been reissued on vinyl with all original artwork, and some amazing liner notes in which they interview Bob Blank (the engineer), Michael Ray, Danny Thompson (Arkestra musicians) and Tom Buchler (from Philly Jazz) - I have well and truly soaked my trolleys!! Definitely one of the top five all-time greatest Sun Ra albums - if you've never bought one before, I reckon that this is the perfect introduction to THE GENIUS OF SUN RA!!!

TRACK LISTING

A1. Lanquidity
A2. Where Pathways Meet
A3. That’s How I Feel
B1. Twin Stars Of Thence
B2. There Are Other World (They Have Not Told You Of)

Strut present the definitive edition of Sun Ra’s classic ‘Lanquidity’ album from 1978 with brand new 4LP box set and 2CD editions.

Recorded overnight at Bob Bank’s Blank Tapes on 17th July 1978 after the Arkestra had appeared on Saturday Night Live, the album is unique in the Ra catalogue. “Most critics felt that it was more of a fusion-inspired record,” explains Michael Ray. “As the name suggests, the album is liquid and languid.” Bob Blank continues, “Musically, it was very ad hoc and freeform. There were horn charts but most tracks came out of improvised jams. Sun Ra just did his thing.”

Comprising five effortlessly fluid pieces, the album eases in with Lanquidity. Danny Ray Thompson remembers, “This was one of Sun Ra’s on-the-spot compositions. It is almost like an Ancient Egyptian Stargazing Ceremony, mapping out the stars and the planets.” Where Pathways Meet is “Sun Ra’s funky version of an Egyptian march. Pharaoh is sending his troops off to fight and this is his pep-talk!” continues Thompson. “The music seems to take different pathways but still converges.” The loping groove of That’s How I Feel, features the reflective trumpet lines of Eddie Gale with solos by John Gilmore and Marshall Allen: “Marshall comes in with that snake charming oboe.” Says Thompson. The funky Twin Stars Of Thence weaves around Richard Williams celebrated elastic bassline while the haunting closer, There Are Other Worlds (They Have Not Told You Of), is pure “space music.” The poet Mama Nzinga described it as ‘The essence of light. Spirit takes a ride inside the deep dark space of just being.”

The new box set edition of ‘Lanquidity’ features the widely distributed version of the album alongside alternative mixes by Bob Blank originally released in limited quantities for a 1978 Arkestra gig at Georgia Tech. Both versions of the album are cut loud at 45 rpm over 2LPs each.

Housed in a silver foil box, both LP sets reflect the original Phlly Jazz artwork. The first comes in a foil / magenta sleeve while the second features 2 x yellow A4 sheets pasted onto a white sleeve. Also included is a 12-page over-sized booklet featuring unseen photos by Veryl Oakland and liner notes by Tom Buchler (Philly Jazz), Michael Ray and Danny Ray Thompson (Sun Ra Arkestra) and Bob Blank.

The 2CD version is housed in a foil digipak.

TRACK LISTING

4LP TRACKLISTING:
A1. Lanquidity
B1. Where Pathways Meet
B2. That’s How I Feel
C1. Twin Stars Of Thence
D1. There Are Other Worlds (They Have Not Told You Of)
E1. Lanquidity (Alternate Version)
E2. Where Pathways Meet (Alternate Version)
F1. That’s How I Feel (Alternate Version)
G1. Twin Stars Of Thence (Alternate Version)
H1. There Are Other Worlds (They Have Not Told You Of) (Alternate Version)

2CD TRACKLISTING:
CD 1
1. Lanquidity
2. Where Pathways Meet
3. That’s How I Feel
4. Twin Stars Of Thence
5. There Are Other Worlds (They Have Not Told You Of)
CD 2
1. Lanquidity (Alternate Version)
2. Where Pathways Meet (Alternate Version)
3. That’s How I Feel (Alternate Version)
4. Twin Stars Of Thence (Alternate Version)
5. There Are Other Worlds (They Have Not Told You Of) (Alternate Version)

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.

This release comprises recordings made by Arkestra member Thomas “Bugs” Hunter made in December 1971 in the streets around the Mena House Hotel, Giza, from a concert held at the house of Goethe Institute ex-pat Hartmut Geerken in Heliopolis, from a live Cairo TV channel broadcast and a concert at the Ballon Theatre in Cairo.

The impact and significance of these few weeks upon Sun Ra can be measured by the growth and development of his output over the next few years; the immediate post-Egypt period included new studio and live recordings on the Saturn, Blue Thumb, Atlantic and Impulse labels and the ‘Space Is The Place’ movie. Ra also edited the three LPs of the ‘Live In Egypt’ series which were subsequently released on his Saturn record label and its affiliated twin, Thoth Intergalactic: ‘Dark Myth Equation Visitation’, ‘Nidhamu’ and ‘Horizon’.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Space Loneliness No. 2
A2. Discipline No. 11
A3. Discipline No. 15
B1. Nidhamu

"I have always thought orchestra. I play that way, even when playing the piano." - Sun Ra

Considering the monumental depth of Sun Ra's recorded oeuvre, there are surprisingly few solo piano albums.

Monorails and Satellites Volumes 1 and 2 were the first commercial LPs of the artist's solo keyboard excursions. Recorded in 1966 and released on his Saturn imprint in 1968, Volume 1 featured seven idiosyncratic originals and one standard ("Easy Street") delivered in Sunny's singular manner. Volume 2 was released the following year, and contains five compositions, all originals. A third volume was prepped but shelved, and this deluxe edition marks it's premiere release.

As with all Cosmic Myth releases these volumes are superbly mastered, and are available as a deluxe 2xCD or 3xLP tri-gatefold cover with copious liners notes by renown American jazz pianist Vijay Iyer, and additional overviews by jazz historian Ben Young and producer Irwin Chusid.

TRACK LISTING

1. Space Towers
2. Cognition
3. Skylight
4. The Alter Destiny
5. Easy Street
6. Blue Differentials
7. Monorails And Satellites
8. The Galaxy Way
9. Astro Vision
10. The Ninth Eye
11. Solar Boats
12. Perspective Prisms Of Is
13. Calundronius
14. Soundscapes
15. The Eternal Tomorrow
16. Today Is Not Yesterday
17. World Island Festival
18. The Changing Wind
19. Don't Blame Me
20. Gone With The Wind
21. How Am I To Know
22. Yesterdays

Shining sounds from the dawn of the Sun Ra Arkestra. "El is A Sound of Joy" was recorded in 1956 and appeared the following year on the very first Saturn LP, Super-Sonic Jazz. Incredible is the fact that saxophonist Charles Davis, here providing the soulful baritone anchor line (counterpoint to Ra's formidable left hand), remains in the front-line of today's Sun Ra Arkestra directed by Marshall Allen. Shuffle swing breakdown jets leisurely, casually, masterfully, painting lush, post-modern impressions of ancient future worlds, of space, of time … of Chicago's elevated trains … Reaching for the sky, for Joy …. The “Joy” coda dovetails magically into the intro theme of "Black Sky And Blue Moon," before downshifting into another dimension of romantic outrospection. We follow The Nu Sounds, aka Cosmic Rays, on a faraway journey to the land of late-50s Chicago singing groups, the Arkestra supporting with quiet grace, pulsing in Nubians of Plutonia mode. An uncanny blend of antique blackness and bright satellites, ethereal voices perfectly in tune; thanks to Ra's disciplined coaching (plus Modern Harmonic's expert re-mastering), their sweet dynamics and exact harmonics are crystal clear. Flute solo from Marshall Allen. Hearts swelling like the full moon, ripening in the darkness to the point of bursting.

THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2014 EXCLUSIVE AND WILL ONLY BE AVAILABLE INSTORE ON THE DAY (SATURDAY APRIL 19th) AND LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

IF THERE ARE ANY REMAINING COPIES THEY WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE ONLINE FROM SATURDAY APRIL 26th.

On vinyl for the first time in over three decades, this limited edition Record Store Day release will feature a white and purple psychedelic color LP and exclusive cover art.
.

TRACK LISTING

Somewhere There
Outer Spaceways Incorporated
Saturn
Song Of The Sparer
Spontaneous Simplicity

Recorded live November 9th 1970 at Queen Elizabeth Hall in the South Bank Centre, "Live In London 1970" captures Ra and his many pals in full jazzprov mode. This was Sun Ra's first UK appearance, and he brought along fire eaters, golden robed dancers and 16 musicians. Tornadoes of percussion, eerie cello glissandi, ferocious blasts and tendrils of electronic sound from Ra's Farfisa organ and Moog syth all made this a bit of a free-jazz psychedelic happening. This double CD recording captures it all, if all in a little bit 'cassette recorder from the audience' lo-fi mode.