Upcoming Sun Ra Arkestra Album Is The Ensemble’s First Studio Date In Decades

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The Strut imprint recently announced a forthcoming album by the Sun Ra Arkestra.

(Photo: Strut)

Since the 1993 death of keyboardist and bandleader Sun Ra, his Arkestra has continued to navigate space and time with saxophonist Marshall Allen at the helm.

A handful of archival recordings have been issued recently, including Of Abstract Dreams, which Strut released in 2018. But now, the ensemble’s returning with Swirling, another Strut disc being hailed as the Arkestra’s first studio date in about two decades.

The recording, due out Oct. 9, includes “Seductive Fantasy” (a tune Sun Ra first recorded for On Jupiter in 1979) and finds the group performing as it floats in space alongside psychedelic globs and swirling colors, all animated by Chad Van Gaalen. A second song from the album—“Angels And Demons At Play”—was posted July 15. DB

Updated July 15



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