Description
Officially licensed from Irwin Chusid of the SUN RA estate, Cold Spring’s Justin Mitchell negotiated rare and unreleased tracks from the SUN RA archive to be remixed and treated by Masami Akita. The tracks incorporate the jazz power of SUN RA, carried into brutal excess by the legendary Japanese artist, MERZBOW.
This release is available in two distinct editions: vinyl or CD editions. Please note that both formats have completely different music! Free release stickers when purchased direct from Cold Spring!
Track listing:
1. Livid Sun Loop (32:11)
2. Granular Jazz Part 2 (34:03)
Reviews
“The constant and destructive waves of noise make this decisively a Merzbow record, but its cosmic mood and rhythms prove that Sun Ra lives in its DNA… Many of the strengths Akita has developed over roughly four decades of noise devotion are put to use here. He creates relentlessly forward-moving music with so much going on that it feels three-dimensional… You could call Strange City a Merzbow victory, but it couldn’t have happened without Sun Ra on his team.” (Pitchfork) “Strange City” gives me the impression of sonic lava, which is progressively covering your imagination with images of terror. The totally transformed jazz elements are a rather weird, but exciting aspect of the work… I can imagine noise freaks will fully enjoy this opus while jazz lovers will maybe experience this work as pure blasphemy.” (Side-Line)
“Recorded music is able to generate a fistful of dreams and this is one of them… Instead of being a noise release using the name of Sun Ra as smoke and mirrors, it tries to fuse the two language and it’s a reminder about some jazz purists called free jazz as noise”. (4/5, Chain D.L.K.)
“by balancing out [Merzbow’s] chaos with Sun Ra’s sense of exploratory wonder, the songs possess much of Sun Ra’s original intention and spirit… Over the course of each piece Merzbow tries to ensure that the original piece remains in awe of its incredible journey and masterful blend of styles.” (The Beach Sloth)
“Purely a labor of love and a must-have for fans of both artists… Noise and avant-garde jazz have long shared common sensibilities. While this certainly isn’t the first such undertaking, it’s certainly one of the best” (Big Takeover)
