Afrofuturism and Brazilianness appear together in “Solar: Sun Ra in Brasil”

“I have many names. Names of mystery. Names of splendor. Names of shame. I have many names. Some call me Mr. Ra. Some call me Mr. Re. You can call me Mr. Mystery.” Packed by the drums of the drums of Afrosymphonic Orchestra, Sun Ra presents himself in person. And then a rift opens, uniting spirituality, ancestry, Afrofuturism, climate justice, Brazil and Saturn in the project Solar: Sun Ra in Brazil.

Second part of the series Red Hot + Ra: A Tribute to Sun Ralaunched last March by, always excellent, Red Hot Organization, Solarwins the world this Friday (27). Xênia França, Tiganá Santana, Max de Castro, Metá Metá, Edgar, Munir Hossn, Hamilton de Holanda, Fabrício Boliveira, BNegão and the Afronsymphonic Orchestra are some of the names chosen to reinterpret the work of the visionary American musician and philosopher Sun Ra, considered one of the fathers of Afrofuturism.

Behind each of the eight tracks that make up the album, the producer Marcos “Xuxa” Levy was responsible for the extensive research, which included more than a hundred records of Sun Ra. Invited by the project’s artistic director, Beco Dranofffrom Red Hot, it was up to Xuxa to draw the parallels that connect the American musician’s vision to Brazilian music:

“I always found Sun Ra’s music very interesting, but I was afraid. Because the Afrofuturist discourse is very cool, it brings the message of diaspora and the victory of black people, but the guy’s music is so complex that, for those who are not musicians, Maybe it won’t work. So my idea was that any young Brazilian would hear and understand the message, Sun Ra’s poetry.”

The poems were the starting point for the work, which had a general message behind it – if, in the first part of the project, Nuclear War, the Red Hot Organization was right to launch its sharp political commentary in the context of the war between Russia and Ukraine, the new album expands Sun Ra’s look at the imminent scenario of climate emergency. Added to this is the fact that Brazil, which owns the largest portion of the Amazon biome, also has the largest diasporic population, with an estimated 86 million people of African descent.

From Bahia, where he moved during the pandemic, Xuxa had already worked with names like Russo Passapusso, BaianaSystem, Afrocidade, ATTOXXXA and Luedji Luna – which opened up a universe of possibilities for artists with whom he would like to work on the project. By the end of 2022, however, many of the desired artists were involved in their own work, compensating for the period away from the public in previous years. Without difficulty, he ended up closing in on the talents that make up the project, but not before guaranteeing: “We can do about 3 volumes of Brazilian Afrofuturism with these guys.”

Based on Sun Ra’s records, the producer ended up narrowing down 50 songs that he saw as having the most potential in the reading proposed by the Red Hot Organization. Of them, he focused on eight tracks, forming individual playlists as audiophonic portraits for each artist to delve into the musical and conceptual complexity of the North American honoree – an extensive musical research, which undermined the opposition between improvisation, one of Ra’s hallmarks, and technical rigor:

“You start to notice that he’s not that free, he’s an extremely rigorous, methodical guy, and he comes from the big band language.”

With this in mind, names emerged that ended up participating and expanding Sun Ra’s vision, in versions that reinterpret his work from a Brazilian perspective.

The result comes in tracks like “Astroblack Orunmilá”, the fusion between the futurism of Ra and the ancestry of the Afrosinfônica Orchestra; or Fabrício Boliveira’s two appearances in the narration of “Eu Sou Um Instrumento” and “O Code (Black Prince Charming)”.

“One of them Tiganá Santana did in English. He wanted to do it in French – he even speaks Creole! -, but he did it in English, which is Sun Ra explaining the complexity of his poetry, the rhythm and the counter-rhythm, the harmony against the harmony “, recalls the producer.

In another, Xuxa invited the ogãs of Aguidavi do Jêjethe centenary terreiro in Salvador, for a version of “Nature’s God”, by Sun Ra, with Meshell Ndegeocello It is Munir Hossn. Thus, he achieved the final version “Nature’s God (Sun Ra Sam Ba)” – another union of the clavinet of the original track, surrounded by the essential Brazilianness of the new project.

Solar: Sun Ra in Brazil marks the second stage of the project, which also includes new editions in the United States, England and South Africa. On the 17th, it will be released in a limited edition on vinyl. And it has been celebrated, including internationally, with the right to be shown at an event at Columbia University, with the presence of Margareth Menezes. But for Xuxa, the idea is to present and connect the project – and Sun Ra’s visionary legacy – to young black Brazilians. Or, in the words of BNegão in the excellent track “Brainville Dazidéia”:

“In the timeline, I add: information and street culture for those who want to stay up to date. May the light illuminate our planet. A salute to all communities.”