On the occasion of his 101st arrival day on planet earth, two bands and one dj celebrate the music of cosmic courier Sun Ra. Heliocentric Counterblast, Mascadian Space Equation and Discipline 99 aka Dj Leo Kaufmann dedicate a whole evening to the being also know as Le Sony’r Ra.
Heliocentric Counterblast and Mascadian Space Equation are two bands from Berlin who devote themselves entirely to the music of the extraterrestrial jazz musician, band leader, poet, space apologist, and philosopher. They play compositions from the inexhaustible repertoire of his Sun Ra Arkestra that he founded in the beginning of the 1950ies and relentlessly perpetuates his historical legacy today.
httpv://https://youtu.be/2jFqcTBWjO4
On the 22nd of May at Villa Neukölln, together with the artist and Sun Ra collector Leo Kaufmann, they will celebrate the 101st birthday of Sun Ra, who himself referred to his birthday as his “arrival day on planet earth”.
The eight-member big band Heliocentric Counterblast was founded in 2009 by saxophonist Kathrin Lemke; since then they published two CDs with music of Sun Ra and toured several times through Germany and Europe. Stylistically they melt diverse musical elements of the jazz tradition in their Sun Ra arrangements, like old-time fashioned swing or free jazz improvisations.
Mascadian Space Equation is Mathias and Sebastian Maschat on keyboards and drums as well as on microphones. For more than ten years they have dedicated themselves not only to the music but also to the poetry of Sun Ra, by interpreting only the vocal pieces of the Arkestra like Space is the Place, Enlightenment, Astro Black or Interplanetary Music – all of them telling titles, whose cultural source from afro-futuristic space philosophies is evident.
Both groups have in common that they likewise have found their own ways to translate and transform the music of the Sun Ra Arkestra, which is in the first place deeply connected to its original and very specific context. Original recordings will be played before and after the concert by Leo Kaufmann, who will present a unique DJ set with pearls from 50 years of Sun Ra Arkestra history, picked from his collection for the occasion and the lovely atmosphere of Villa Neukölln.
Sun Ra 101 – Arrival Day On Planet Earth Celebration w/ Heliocentric Counterblast,
Mascadian Space Equation & Discipline 99
Friday, 22 May 2015 | 19:30 CET
Villa Neukölln | Hermannstraße 233 | 12049 Berlin/Neukölln
Website of Heliocentric Counterblast | soundcloud.com/mse | villaneukoelln.de