Horizon

Description

Strut presents the 4CD edition of "Egypt 1971" by Sun Ra as well as the original albums "Dark Myth Equation Visitation," "Nidhamu," and "Horizon" released as individual LPs, documenting Sun Ra's first trip to Egypt with his Arkestra in December 1971.
Before this period, Sun Ra had composed a lot of music and poems inspired by the ancient African kingdoms and other works related to mythology and heliocentrism. A visit to Egypt and the opportunity for the Arkestra to perform there were therefore a necessity. In the fall of 1970, they made their first concert tour outside the United States with performances in France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, followed by a second European tour organized at the end of 1971. This album includes recordings made in December 1971 by Thomas "Bugs" Hunter, a member of the Arkestra, in the streets surrounding the Mena House hotel in Giza as well as from a concert held at the Goethe Institute in Heliopolis and a concert in Cairo.
The significance of these few weeks and the impact it had on Sun Ra can be measured by the growth and development of his output in the following years. The period following the Egyptian episode included new studio and live recordings on the labels Saturn, Blue Thumb, Atlantic, and Impulse! and the film "Space Is The Place." Sun Ra also released three albums in the "Live In Egypt" series that were later published on his Saturn label and its affiliated twin, Thoth Intergalactic: "Dark Myth Equation Visitation," "Nidhamu," and "Horizon."
These three albums are now reissued as unique LP editions in their original artwork. The 4CD set presents these albums alongside previously unreleased material from the December 1971 recordings. All tracks are remastered from the original tapes and the CD box set also includes a 24-page booklet containing new notes and rare photos by Hartmut Geerken and general information about the recordings by Paul Griffiths.