Suns of Arqa
Credit where it’s overdue. Even if Michael Wadada’s name hasn’t made headlines over the past three decades, the sheer imagination inherent in his musical output and the consequent influence of Wadada’s Suns of Arqa deserve immediate reappraisal.

In the twenty nine years since the first Suns of Arqa release, British music has been richly embellished by such acts as Transglobal Underground; Jah Wobble’s Invaders of the Heart; The Orb; Loop Guru and the Afro-Celt Sound System, each with their own ways of exploring the same cultural commotions that have so gloriously distinguished Wadada’s work. All these groups owe a debt to the pioneering Suns of Arqa.

That contribution is recognised in ‘Solar Activity 1979-2001’, a two-CD set that brings together the best work from fourteen albums in the impressive history of Suns of Arqa. Each of the twenty-five tracks has its own story to tell, with influences from such diverse sources as India, Africa, Scotland, Iran, America, England, Ireland and Jamaica, uniquely fused with dance beats, dubs and ambient music. The album is released on Arka Sound UK through EMI Records.

The Suns of Arqa story starts in 1979 when Wadada, together with friend and producer Adrian Sherwood, launched the 4D Rhythm label. The only release was ‘Revenge of the Mozabites’, the first Suns of Arqa album. Although groundbreaking in its cultural ambitions and references, the album proved far too obscure for popular tastes. Taking stock of his future moves, Wadada retreated to the Pennines outside his native Manchester while Adrian Sherwood went on to create the formidable On-U Sound label.

Three years later, however, Peter Gabriel came across a rare copy of ‘Revenge of the Mozabites’. Immediately impressed and immensely curious, Gabriel tracked down Wadada and invited him to perform at the first World of Music & Dance (WOMAD) Festival. Suns of Arqa thus emerged as a live band, essentially a vehicle for Wadada’s own musical explorations. Over the years, Suns of Arqa have included a stellar list of contributors, from Manchester poet John Cooper Clarke and linguistic lobotomist Professor Stanley Unwin to the acclaimed ambient flautist Tim Wheater and the truly legendary Jamaican DJ, Prince Far-I.

Around the time that Suns of Arqa made their live debut, Wadada had also returned to the studio, recording the ‘Wadada Magick’ album released by Belgian label, Antler Subway. He was also collaborating with Prince Far-I, with some of the resulting tracks now featured on ‘A Brief History of SOA’, a compilation album released on Wadada’s own Arka Sound label.

On 7th December 1982, Prince Far-I played a concert in Manchester with Suns of Arqa. The show was recorded and subsequently released as ‘Suns of Arqa Live with Prince Far-I’, a final tribute to the DJ who was murdered by an unidentified gunman in Jamaica less than a year later.

By the mid-Eighties, Wadada had quit Manchester to live in the Cornish fishing village of Polperro, where he produced the epic ‘Land of a Thousand Churches’ album. This was truly astonishing in the breadth of its ambitions, an album where the Requiem Mass of Gabriel Faure meets heavy dub; Hindu gods confer with Celtic mythology and soul gets reggae.

‘Land of a Thousand Churches’ also features a huge cast of contributors, including John Cooper Clarke, Professor Stanley Unwin, Afro-Jazz star Feso Trombone and singer Helen Watson, keyboardists Eric Random and James Young, together with choirs, hurdy gurdy’s and Wadada’s very own musical invention, the Sajoe.

Wadada was on something of a roll. His next album, originally released by Antler Subway, was distinguished by Wadada’s bass line gelling with Tim Wheater’s beguiling flute and the whirling shehnai (the ancient Persian equivalent of the oboe) sounds of Kadir Durvesh, whose subsequent credits include working with George Harrison and Kula Shaker. Wadada’s album, later remixed by Youth, is now available as ‘Jaggernaut Whirling Dub’ on Arka Sound.

It was followed by the purely meditative ‘Cradle’ album, which again featured Kadir Durvesh and Tim Wheater, together with the Polish violinist, Marek Miczyk. The prolific works of Wadada and Suns of Arqa also included an ambient dub collaboration with Ragunath Seth, the great bamboo flute maestro from Bombay, on ‘Kokoromochi’.

Given a limited distribution, these albums were not readily available in high street record stores, but they were on the turntables of Alex Paterson, who was at that time a rising club DJ and the A&R man at EG Music. Paterson, of course, was later to form The Orb, with whom Wadada was to play sitar on the band’s UK tour in 1998. It wasn’t only Paterson who was listening. Check out, for instance, Andy Weatherall’s first ‘Sabres of Paradise’ single for an unauthorised sampling of Suns of Arqa music.

Wadada moved to London to record ‘Alap-Joe-Jhala’, an album featuring Nicolas Magriel, the American exponent of the sarangi (a Northern Indian bowed instrument), with Wadada on bass and drummer Chris Joyce. It was to be Joyce’s last session before joining Simply Red and a more mainstream pop career.

Returning to Manchester, Wadada changed his focus with a series of hard-edged dance singles. First came ‘Govinda’s Dream’, produced with 808 State’s Graham Massey. It was followed by the first-ever jungle tune, recorded by Suns of Arqa with A Guy Called Gerald. All these mixes can now be heard on the ‘Govinda’s House in the City of Nine Gates, Remixes Vol. 2’ album. Another collection, ‘Abergaube Remixes Vol.3’, incidentally, includes the very first recording of another of Wadada’s proteges, a singer called Finlay Quaye.

Wadada, however, was always the great eclecticist. In addition to dance singles, Suns of Arqa were also collaborating with ambient-dub mystics, Astralasia, on ‘Sul-E-Stomp’ - perhaps the first Acid Folk track - which can now be heard on the ‘Total Eclipse of the Suns’ album.

By the mid-Nineties Wadada was working with a new collection of musicians. Among the latest Suns of Arqa arrivals, for instance, were the highland bagpipes player John Snelson; the Indian violinist Johar Ali; vocalist Angel-Eye; the Indian dhrupad singer Reba Bhaduri and reggae drummer Delroy ‘Sticksman’ Walker. This line-up went on to record ‘Shabda’, one of the Suns of Arqa’s most spiritually uplifting and danceable albums.

There followed appearances on the Andy Kershaw and Mark Radcliffe radio shows, television appearances, the Glastonbury, Phoenix and Trans-Musical Festivals and extensive touring. The intensity and vitality of this period can be heard on the ‘Animan’ live album.

By the end of the Nineties, Wadada was working with Hungary’s Lazlo Hortobagyi, whose ethno-electronic explorations in many ways mirror the work of Suns of Arqa. Their collaboration, released as ‘Suns of Arqa Meet the Gayan Uttejak Orchestra’, was recorded in Budapest. It also includes contributions from two longtime honorary Suns, John Cooper Clarke and Professor Stanley Unwin. Wadada’s Arka Sound label also released Hortobagyi’s own ‘Songs from Hungisthan’ album.

Wadada’s restless imagination, however, soon propelled him back to England where, with producer John Leckie, he recorded the ‘Cosmic Jugalbandi’ album at the Real World Studios in Wiltshire. This version of Suns of Arqa features Wadada’s favourite band of Indian musicians, with Ragunath Seth (bamboo flute), Johar Ali (violin), Shahbaz Hussain (tablas) and Kadir Durvesh (shehnai).

The influence of Suns of Arqa has long since permeated into the fabric of contemporary music. “It’s the ultimate sound to take us through the changes to come,” says Wadada, “when sound is not just a backdrop to life, but ultimately it is life itself”.

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The Collaborations
Suns of Arqa creator and mentor Michael Wadada began his collaborative recordings with Revenge of the Mozabites in 1979 with Adrian Sherwood, and was subsequently invited by Peter Gabriel to perform at the very first WOMAD Festival. Over the years, Suns of Arqa have included musicians from around the globe, interpreting the various indigenous, tribal and classical folk traditions. Some of the world's most renowned talents have contributed to this collective including 808 State's Graham Massey (single Govinda's Dream), Finlay Quaye…Sounds From the Ground…Kopeikin…Youth…MuslimGauze (Remixes Vol. 2 & 3), JohnCooper Clarke…Professor Stanley Unwin (album Suns of Arqa meet the Gayan Uttejak Orchestra), Eric Random (album Land of a Thousand Churches) and Astralasia (album Total Eclipse of the Suns). Prince Far-I can be also be heard on ‘A Brief History of SOA’, and ‘Suns of Arqa Live with Prince Far-I’ as he collaborated on these albums before his murder in 1982. In the early days Suns of Arqa appeared on the turntables of The Orb's Alex Patterson, and Wadada later toured with The Orb, playing sitar on their October 1998 tour. Releasing a rare style of "cerebral-illusive cosmological vibrations of raga" since 1979, Cosmic Jugalbandi, the 14th full length release, marks the 20th Anniversary Edition of Arka Sound and is yet another uplifting collectors gem already available in Europe.

Who are SUNS OF ARQA?

SUNS OF ARQA were direct descendants of the Osira civilization that existed at the time of the Rama Empire, in what are now North Africa and the Mediterranean basin.

At this time, most civilizations possessed 'Manusa' technology that included the use of anti-gravitational flying crafts or 'Vilmaner', and were witness to a great interplanetary war, that is described in numerous ancient texts such as the Ramayana and Mahabharata. This all took place around the time of the 3rd Kali Yuga, 24,000 years ago, of which we are now approaching the last days. The real history of the human race and its civilisations, have been written about in great detail in these pre-Arian classics, yet are still blatantly ignored or dismissed as myth. Several artefacts recently looted from the Baghdad museum, provide clear evidence of evolved technology which pre-dates the building of the Egyptian pyramids.

The devastating war with the Rama Empire saw the forgotten planet 'Maldek' completely destroyed. Its remains are still orbiting between Mars and Jupiter, and are now known as the asteroid belt. Mars of course remained in one piece but completely void of life after the terrifying thermonuclear fall out. Evidence of this will shortly be coming to light from the NASA probes.

There is evidence of extensive destruction upon the Earth, with recent discoveries of sunken civilisations beneath the oceans. The story of this inter-galactic war is depicted in carvings at the temple of Maduarai in Southern India and many other major sites. Further signs showing the extent of this global catastrophe are revealed in the vitrification of several settlements in the far North of Scotland. However, the Earth did recover from this great cataclysm, for how much longer? Watch this space! www.sunsofarqa.com

SUNS OF ARQA were among one of the groups to emerge after the fall, and settled in Konarak, Orissa, where they became masters of manipulation in sound and developed the raga formulas for healing and every other conceivable application. They also merged this knowledge with light signals, which could act as portals, in a way that the current 'orb' phenomenon is opening up similar pathways.The Arqan's were very small in number; in time they broke away from their Indian roots and travelled west, eventually ending up in Britain, which at this time, was still connected to the rest of present day Europe. They settled in Alba and were befriended by the Picts, who were impressed with their seemingly magical feats and intricate music. Together they built a fortress temple in the shape of a lingam at the Pictish capital. The Arqan's also brought with them their veneration of all life forms, which saw all animals as sacred. You can still see several carvings of the sacred bull found at the site, totally unique to the Pictish Kingdom, yet resembling carvings found at the ruins of Mohenjo Daro in present day Pakistan.

Since 1979, SUNS OF ARQA have materialised as a musical collective, combining the ancient Hindustani raga systems with Piobaireachd and Nyabinghi roots drumming. They appear intermittently at the seasonal festivals and sacred ritual spaces, where they are a vehicle for the positive raising of vibration, connecting with both the sensory and infinite worlds, for the ongoing evolution of all sentient beings.