»RADICAL REST AND LISTENING EXPERIENCE«

»RADICAL REST AND LISTENING EXPERIENCE x ALFA MIST x SUN RA«

Dear Black Community, please join us for Volume 05 of the »Radical Rest and Listening Experience« by THE RADICALS. Lean back, find peace and relaxation and listen with us to the sounds of ALFA MIST and SUN RA.

-

THE RADICALS are a healing justice collective founded by Magda, Naledi and Andrew. We center the holistic wellness needs of the BIPoC community. We create sonic listening experiences that are a response to oppressive and demanding cultural patterns of productivity and consumption. We believe in restoring our relationship to sounds in a way that centers our healing, through restful and intentional listening. We envision a world where restful healing is culturally relevant and can happen through collective sonic experiences in a way that prioritizes sound access for all black people. Please find the latest safer spaces events on our website www.the-radicals.com

-

ALFA MIST (born Alfa Sekitoleko) is a British musician, producer, songwriter, and MC based in Newham, London. He released his first solo EP Nocturne in 2015. He also runs a music label called Sekito. His music mixes hip-hop and club styles with jazz improvisation. He collaborated with several musicians, including Jordan Rakei, Yussef Dayes and Tom Misch.

In 2021 he released an album titled Bring Backs on the American independent music label Anti-.He also performed at the 2021 „We Out Here Festival“ and was one of the MOBO Awards in 2021 nominees. Alfa Sekitoleko was born in the United Kingdom and grew up in Newham, London. He went to Langdon Academy and Newham Sixth Form College. He originally wanted to become a professional footballer, but his mother wanted him to complete two years at college first. Alfa took three A-levels plus a BTEC in music composition. He began creating music at the age of 15.

As a teenage hip-hop producer, his interest in sampling led him to discovering jazz and eventually teaching himself how to play piano, after watching his music tutor perform John Legend’s „Ordinary People“.

-

SUN RA (Le Sony‘r Ra – born Herman Poole Blount, May 22, 1914 – May 30, 1993), better known as Sun Ra, was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, „cosmic“ philosophy, prolific output, and theatrical performances. For much of his career, Ra led The Arkestra, an ensemble with an ever-changing name and flexible line-up.

Born and raised in Alabama, Blount became involved in the Chicago jazz scene during the late 1940s. He soon abandoned his birth name, taking the name Le Sony‘r Ra, shortened to Sun Ra (after Ra, the Egyptian god of the Sun). Claiming to be an Alien from Saturn on a mission to preach peace, he developed a mythical persona and an idiosyncratic credo that made him a pioneer of Afrofuturism. Throughout his life he denied ties to his prior identity

saying, „Any name that I use other than Ra is a pseudonym.“ His widely eclectic and avant-garde music echoed the entire history of jazz, from ragtime and early New Orleans hot jazz, to swing music, bebop, free jazz and fusion. His com-positions ranged from keyboard solos to works for big bands of over 30 musicians, along with electronic excursions, songs, chants, percussion pieces, and anthems.

From the mid-1950s until his death, Ra led the musical collective The Arkestra, which featured artists such as Marshall Allen, John Gilmore and June Tyson throughout its various iterations.Its performances often included dancers and musicians dressed in elaborate, futuristic costumes inspired by ancient Egyptian attire and the

Space Age. Following Ra‘s retirement in 1992 due to illness, the band remained active as The Sun Ra Arkestra, and, as of 2023, continues performing under the leadership of veteran Ra sideman Marshall Allen.

Though his mainstream success was limited, Ra was a prolific recording artist and frequent live performer, and remained influential throughout his life for his music and persona. He is now widely considered an innovator; among his distinctions are his pioneering work in free improvisation and modal jazz and his early use of electronic keyboards and synthesizers.

Over his career, he recorded dozens of singles and over 100 full-length albums, comprising well over 1,000 songs, making him one of the most prolific recording artists of the 20th century.

-

Friday, 22.11.2024 from 7:00 pm – 9:30 pm at EOTO e.V.

We're looking forward to see you soon.

Yours

EOTO x THE RADICALS

Host or Publisher EOTO e.V.