From Detroit’s techno resistance to Berlin’s elastic minimalism, Lusaka’s ancestral futurism to Chicago’s house communion, When There Is No Sun is a recording project, uniting visionary electronic music producers to reimagine the universe of Sun Ra.
One of the most radical musical pioneers of the 20th century, Sun Ra used jazz, electronics, poetry, and performance to expand the possibilities of sound, identity, and imagination.
Commissioned by Omni Sound and curated by Ricardo Villalobos, the series brings together Underground Resistance, Chez Damier & Ben Vedren, Calibre, A Guy Called Gerald, She Spells Doom, Barış K, and Ricardo Villalobos himself.
Drawing from Omni Sound’s recordings of Living Sky by the Sun Ra Arkestra and My Words Are Music of Sun Ra’s poetry, the producers pull fragments of sound and text into their own creative orbits, passing through the portal that Sun Ra opened into a realm where the impossible is possible.
Saul Williams, Tunde Adebimpe, Mahogany L. Browne, Abiodun Oyewole, Anthony Joseph and Tara Middleton are the featured voices that turn rhyme into rhythm and revelation into resistance
Rooted in deep reverence for Sun Ra’s legacy, yet reaching forward as a living, generative force, When There Is No Sun is not a tribute but a continuum, balancing the pulse of electronic music with the spirit of experimentation, embodying Sun Ra’s promise that ‘there are other worlds’ if you are willing to see them.
A1. Underground Resistance - When Angels Speak featuring Saul Williams
A2. SHE Spells Doom - Portrait of the Living Sky featuring Sun Ra Arkestra (SHE Spells Doom Remix)
A3. Chez Damier & Ben Vedren- The Three Dimensions of Air featuring Anthony Joseph (H2H Kora Mix)
A4. A Guy Called Gerald - Message to Black Youth featuring Mahogany L.Browne (Gerald Rework)
B1. Ricardo Villalobos - I Have Forgotten featuring Tara Middleton (Ricardo Villalobos Earlier than Late Remix 1)
B2. Calibre - Chopin featuring Sun Ra Arkestra (Calibre Ambient Remix)
