OUTER SPACEWAYS INCORPORATED

KRONOS QUARTET & FRIENDS MEET SUN RA

Individually, Kronos Quartet and Sun Ra are two of the most groundbreaking names in contemporary music. The former is the legendary San Francisco-based string quartet that laid a blueprint for what concert music could become, working with the likes of John Cage, Tanya Tagaq, and Astor Piazzolla. The latter was a singular jazz and avant-garde bandleader, as well as a philosopher and poet, who honed an extraordinary strain of cosmic experimental music from the 1950s until his ascension in 1993. As a capstone to Kronos Quartet’s 50th anniversary, the group has joined forces with the Red Hot Organization for the new album Outer Spaceways Incorporated: Kronos Quartet & Friends Meet Sun Ra. It’s stacked with some of the most innovative artists active today — everyone from multidimensional electronic musician Jlin, to Moor Mother and DJ Haram’s radical noise / rap project 700 Bliss, to abstract hip hop luminaries Armand Hammer, to avant-garde hero Laurie Anderson, to minimalist pioneer Terry Riley.

Enojy the first three singles from the record, along with the full records, OUT NOW!

One features New Age pioneer Laraaji, and finds the beloved, orange-clad zither and piano player putting a hypnotic spin on Sun Ra’s propulsive early doo wop piece “Daddy’s Gonna Tell You No Lie.”

The second is a reimagining of Ra’s iconic “Outer Spaceways Incorporated,” which pairs Kronos’ swooping sounds with vocals by Los Angeles’ inimitable cosmic diva Georgia Anne Muldrow.

The latest is a suite of gorgeous movements, mystical and charged with the ethereal space-like narrations by Laurie Anderson. In collaboration with Steven Bernstein, Marshall Allen, Sex Mob & Kronos Quartet, this track is a star-studded, synergetic collection of Sun Ra interpolations.  Let the splendid “Images Suite (Images / Horoscope / Ancient Aiethopia / Interstellar Low Ways)” entice you and elevate your morning.

All feature powerful performances from Kronos Quartet, offering an enticing glimpse at what could easily go down as one of the most eclectic, boundary-pushing, and delightful albums of the year.

Support & Purchase the vinyl here

Sun Ra was a musical visionary who explored the outer limits of jazz and fused it with elements of Afrofuturism and science fiction. Over the course of his career, he assembled a collective of musicians known as the Arkestra and created a unique sound that blended big band swing with free improvisation, electronic instruments, and Eastern and African musical traditions

Sun Ra’s music was not just a product of his time, but a precursor to future developments in jazz, fusion, and electronic music. His work was a celebration of blackness, an embrace of the cosmic, and a challenge to the limits of human imagination. Even decades after his death, his influence on music and culture remains profound.

Outer Spaceways Incorporated : Kronos Quartet & Friends Meet Sun Ra

Artwork by Lorna Simpson.

Layout & Design by Char Esme.

Kronos Quartet is

David Harrington (violin)
John Sherba (violin)
Hank Dutt (viola)
Paul Wiancko (cello)

01. Outer Spaceways Incorporated
Artists: Kronos Quartet, Georgia
Anne Muldrow, Jacob Garchik
Written by Sun Ra
Arranged by Jacob Garchik
Performed by Georgia Anne Muldrow (vocals) Kronos Quartet
Kronos Recorded @ Hyde Street Studios, SF CA
Engineered by Zach Miley
Produced by Jacob Garchik,
Reshena Liao, Zach Miley
Vocals recorded @ The Velvet Room and The Upper Room, LA CA
Vocals Produced & Engineered by Georgia Anne Muldrow & Elia Einhorn
Special Thanks to Jim Newman
SUN RA SAMPLES: Sun Ra dialogue taken from the film… more
credits
released June 21, 2024

Created by John Carlin and David Harrington

Produced by David Harrington
Co-producers: Elia Einhorn & Nikolás Mcconnie-Saad
Project Supervisor: Jonathan Galkin
Executive Producer: John Carlin

Red Hot & Ra Project Producers: John Carlin, Elia Einhorn, Jonathan Galkin

Project Consultants: Earle Sebastian, Kendall Thomas, Adrian Shankar, David Grandison Jr., Upendo Kissai

Cover Artwork by Lorna Simpson Courtesy of the Artist and Hauser & Wirth, New York with special thanks to Jennifer Hsu and James Wang from Lorna Simpson’s studio

Design by Chris Capuozzo & Char Esme

Mastered by Joe Lambert

Publishing: All Sun Ra compositions: © Enterplanetary Koncepts (BMI)

This is the fourth in a series of albums dedicated to the music and spirit of Sun Ra.

Red Hot’s mission is to promote diversity and equal access to healthcare. The Sun Ra series is focused on Climate Justice and advocating for the basic human right to a healthy environment.

Special thanks to Irwin Chusid and the Sun Ra Estate.

Kronos Quartet / Kronos Performing Arts Association extend special thanks to Jim Newman and Jane Ivory for their support of this recording.

John Carlin thanks David Harrington for helping elevate Sun Ra to his rightful place as one of the great American composers of the 20th century.

Thanks to: all the artists who participated; kronos quartet / kronos performing arts association team: Janet Cowperthwaite, Mason Dille, Dana Dizon, Sarah Donahue, Reshena liao; Lorna Simpon’s studio, Jennifer Hsu, Chuck Mitchell, King Britt, 3db, Renee Dossick, Amy & Conwy Phillips, Brandon Stosuy, Shaun MacDonald, Linda Brumbach, Mark Christman