The sun always rises

"Gig of the year? It could be one of the best fucking gigs of your life!"

The message from David Holmes is clear - miss the Sun Ra Arkestra's visit to the Dublin Redbox and you'll end up kicking yourself to death. Wanting to make sure of a ticket, Holmer has agreed to DJ at the bash which takes place on April 7th as part of the hotpress-sponsored Hybrid Weekender.

"I saw them in New York and, well, it completely blew my mind," the Belfast dancemeister continues. "You've got 20 of these guys on stage, dressed in the most outrageous space age outfits and making a noise that's totally unlike anything you've ever heard before. At the end of the show, they jump down two at a time and walk through the audience playing their instruments. All except the drummer, that is, who just stays there beating the crap out of his kit. The atmosphere at the Knitting Factory that night was one of total elation."

Although it's only recently that they've started being lauded by hip young things like Holmes and Primal Scream, the Sun Ra Arkestra have been plying their cosmic jazz trade since the late '50s and have released over 120 albums. The name comes from their founder who died in 1993, but is still worshipped by his disciples who live together communally in Philadelphia.

"Sun Ra was this 80-year-old dude who was born in Alabama, but claimed to be from Saturn," Holmer continues. "His basic philosophy was, 'Whatever the rules are, break 'em!' The label that's most commonly applied to them is 'freeform jazz', but, really, they go beyond that to a whole new realm of improvised insanity."

Interviewed shortly before his death, Sun Ra explained (?) that, "It's not my Arkestra. It belongs to some other force, which wants certain things to reach people. I'm playing dark history. It's beyond black. I'm dealing with the dark things of the cosmos. I'm talking about what I choose to call the omniverse. It's endless and it's got all kinds of worlds out there, all kinds of mysteries."

No wonder Spiritualised mainman Jason Pierce is such a big fan.

"Some of the records are just too fucking out there to get your head around, but live it makes wonderfully bizarre sense," is the Holmsian verdict. "That night in New York was the inspiration for a lot of the madness on Bow Down To The Exit Sign, and I imagine that the Red Box will be just as good."

Touring for only the second time since Sun Ra's death, the Arkestra currently runs to 14 members who are aged between 30 and, well, let's just say that they don't have to pay full whack on public transport anymore. David Holmes isn't a man who gets evangelical about bands for no reason, so miss them at your peril!

The Sun Ra Arkestra play the Red Box, Dublin on April 7th and The Savoy, Cork on the 8th.