How can one define an artist like Sun Ra? Is it possible to label his multifaceted personality, often considered by many to be on the brink of madness? Undoubtedly questions that are incredibly difficult to answer.
Robert L. Campbell (his real name) still represents one of the greatest enigmas in the history of music, starting from his mystical and otherworldly look. Active since the early '50s with the clear aim of renewing the Jazz genre, which at the start of the new decade was beginning to feel stale, he began offering unwary listeners a clever mix of concrete music, avant-garde experiments, wild Free-Jazz, and disorienting electro-acoustic interludes, which found its first real fruition in "Atlantis" in 1967. With the transition to the '70s, his production became more oblique: partially setting aside the Avant-Garde Big Band frenzy, the Solar-Myth Arkestra and its leader increasingly pushed the boundaries with Electronics and the pioneering, skewed use of Moog and synthesizers. The second volume of "The Solar-Myth Approach", published in 1971 shortly after its eponymous predecessor, is perhaps the clearest example of this change in direction, a timeless gem ready to propel Sun Ra into legend, amongst the cult artists of the century that had just ended. Nine tracks for forty-two minutes of (non) music, but enough to reveal all the fascination of an artist who was never afraid to surprise, going beyond and rewriting at his pleasure the canons of Black Music. It starts with "The Utter Nots", the first explicitly chaotic and cacophonous moment of the entire work, a triumph of frantic drums, detuned guitars, crazy sax and trumpets, with a tremendous and bewildering impact. From here onwards, you encounter the drunken choir of "Other Spaceways, Inc.", complete with a Minimal background of pulsating bass and guitar, before proceeding with the wild scores and off-key Moog solos of "Take 1, Scene 1" and the mysterious harpsichord of "Pyramids", almost a dark reference to far-off times and worlds. With "Interpretation", Sun Ra’s side closest to concrete music takes the stage: timpani, exotic and regular string instruments, screeching electric noise reminiscent of Iannis Xenakis’s "Persepolis" unite in a hypnotic and suspended mix that never descends into total chaos and keeps you glued to your stereo speakers for its entire duration. All done? Far from it, there’s still room for the pulsating double bass and mystical and oddly regular atmospheres of "Ancient Ethiopia", delighting DJs, producers, and crate-digging enthusiasts before reaching the awaited and liberating catharsis of "Strange Worlds", where tribal percussion, wild improvisations, absurd "solos", and strange Coltrane-inspired suggestions are mixed in a mad and fascinating cauldron, enriched by voices obsessively repeating the phrase "We live in Strange Worlds!", resulting in a dreamlike, almost spiritual trance.
This is Sun Ra, take it or leave it: some have considered him an absolute genius from the start, others an alien, and some a madman to be locked up as soon as possible. In any case, "The Solar-Myth Approach (Vol. 2)" remains an essential record for understanding his strange world, and even the most skeptical might find themselves appreciating it and becoming passionate about his surreal stories of ancient dynasties, strange flying objects, and unknown universes...
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