Sun Ra Arkestra & Omni Sound Announce ‘My Words Are Music: A Celebration of Sun Ra’s Poetry’

Sun Ra was an incredibly prolific being, an unimitable innovator, and a visionary whose work was so powerful and inventive that it continues to inspire and resonate 30 years after his return to the cosmos. Not only ahead of his time, he was beyond time and beyond this human plane. You may hear endless accounts about how “out there” Ra was, but the reason for that was simple: he was from there. The man from Saturn seemed to be ahead of the curve on everything from embracing synthesizers to the adoption of his afro-futuristic aesthetic. At a time when artists weren’t really putting out their own records, he created one of the earliest African-American-owned labels with El Saturn Records, which went on to yield over 200 independent releases. Even his backstory of being teleported by extra-terrestrials predates almost every other personal account of UFOs or alien abduction. He may have found himself on this planet, but Sun Ra built his own world within it, forging a path based on a singular vision, while recruiting numerous others who believed in that vision enough to devote their lives in support of it. Sun Ra was an endlessly gifted musician and composer, but his true strength lay in his message, his words, and the charismatic way in which he was able to wield them.

When so many other large ensembles were dissolving and becoming increasingly less prevalent due to the prohibitive costs of maintaining them, Ra formed and kept his Arkestra together using more direct, yet unorthodox methods: he turned them into a family. His group all lived communally within the same home and practiced the majority of the day every day. The enigmatic bandleader kept them together, by keeping them together. The Arkestra would grow and fluctuate and, whenever it did, new parts were written so the music fluctuated along with it. On one hand, the composer would encourage his players to abandon the instincts rooted in their training in favor of something more left-field and counterintuitive, yet he would also perform the unthinkable task of continuously readjusting his compositions depending on the specific individuals involved at any given moment.

Ra consistently maintained a troupe of over a dozen members, ultimately bringing in vocalists and dancers. There were some extremely talented artists among the ranks — James Spaulding and Julian Preister both had stints in the Arkestra — but something about this eccentric musical wizard spoke to them deeply enough that they were willing to abandon any personal pursuits they may have had to devote themselves to his cause. Sun Ra was like a more avant-jazz Zappa with his anti-drug stance during the height of the psychedelic movement — his mind had already transcended this reality — and the high expectations and dedication that he expected from his players. But whatever restrictions or discipline he espoused in service of the goal, there was undeniable freedom in the way that they broke convention. The crossover appeal of the ensemble defied boundaries — they played shows with the MC5 and, at the tail end of Ra‘s life, even shared bills with Sonic Youth — and, during live performances, became notorious for breaking the barrier between audience and performer by physically infiltrating the crowd. And while it’s beyond impressive for anyone to put together such a uniquely talented and dedicated outfit for any amount of time, the most mindblowing aspect is the fact that he was able to maintain it for over 40 years. The Arkestra continues today under the leadership of original member, Marshall Allen.

With the overwhelming amount of music generated in his lifetime, new Sun Ra-related albums and reissues are still popping up every day. Back when the Arkestra was assembling the records themselves, they would often hand decorate each individual cover; simultaneously a collector’s dream and a completist’s nightmare. I’m not versed or invested enough in the catalog to know what everything is when it’s announced, so I’m always curious as to whether we’ll be dealing with something on the unbridled soaring beauty end of things or pure frenetic chaos; meditative dissonance or stone-cold grooves. Even knowing of his tremendous range, today’s announcement of a brand new album paying tribute to Sun Ra‘s poetry caught me by surprise.

Slated for a late summer release through New York label, Omni Sound, My Words Are Music: A Celebration of Sun Ra’s Poetry is a 23-track spoken word project that brings together an impressive array of intergenerational artists influenced by Ra‘s legacy to perform his written poetry. Among the names featured on this thing are spoken word elder, Abiodun Oyewole of The Last Poets; rapper/songwriter/spoken word powerhouse, Saul Williams; jazz experimentalist, Melanie Charles; British-Trinidadian poet, novelist/musician, Anthony Joseph; poet Mahogany L. Browne; poet, playwright, and conceptual artist, Carl Hancock Rux; musician/digital composer L’Rain; singer, actor, and director, Tunde Adibempe of TV on the Radio; British DJ and BBC radio host, Zakia Sewell; ballistic hip-hop poet Jive Poetic; and longtime members of the Sun Ra Arkestra, Marshall Allen, Knoel Scott, and Tara Middleton. As the official press release explains, “My Words Are Music is a project developed in conjunction with Living Sky, the all-instrumental Sun Ra Arkestra album released last year. These two bodies of work aim to offer an opportunity to follow Sun Ra into a better future, through sound and poetry. ”

While most of us know him as a musician and, to a lesser extent, a filmmaker, it makes sense that poetry was an equally important aspect of Sun Ra‘s artistic identity. Jazz legend and collaborator, Archie Shepp once said that he couldn’t help thinking that “Sun Ra is bigger than his music” and Ra even referred to himself as simply a catalyst for messages to flow through. Poet and activist, John Sinclar, has an account of witnessing him speak and do poetry for 8 straight hours. In a consistent state of flow, he would continue to expand on and evolve his topics as people came in and out to listen to him. There’s video footage that I’ve seen a few times where Sun Ra claims that, while we need the sunshine for our survival on this planet, the Earth doesn’t actually produce it, nor the rain or the wind. “All planet Earth produces is the dead bodies of humanity” he continues. “That’s its only creation. Everything else comes from outer space… from unknown regions. Humanity’s life depends upon the unknown. Knowledge is laughable when attributed to a human being.” There’s another segment in a documentary titled A Joyful Noise, where he is sitting in front of the White House lamenting the absence of a “black house,” while explaining that nothing can exist without its opposite. He uses this moment to casually insert his views on our justice system by asserting that “you can’t have justice if you penalize people for doing wrong and don’t do anything to help them when they’re trying to do right”

His messaging was very pro-black and humanitarian, but, not unlike the writings of Harlan Ellison, Philip K Dick, or Aldous Huxley, his heaviest and most poignant critiques and observations were often delivered within the framework of science fiction. Ra‘s faith in the human race to correct our bumbling, destructive trajectories wasn’t great, but his faith in our potential was limitless. The answer, of course, was to look beyond current habits and understandings to greater consciousness and something larger and more infinite. Underrated is the amount of humor he’d inject into his work, like in the song “Nuclear War‘ in which he warns, “It’s a motherfucker, don’t you know / If they push that button, your ass gotta go.” His words always informed the art, bringing context and depth to the overall Sun Ra ethos and mythos alike. To have a project where his words and poetry are allowed to stand on their own power is intriguing indeed.

Our first sample of the upcoming release is “When Angels Speak,” one of 2 tracks contributed by the always-affecting Saul Williams. Check out the lyric video animated by Mertcan Mertbilek, below.

My Words Are Music: A Celebration Of Sun Ra’s Poetry with be released digitally on August 25th, followed by CD and limited edition vinyl on October 27th. Preorders are available now on the Omnisound Bandcamp.