Gilles Peterson Presents Sun Ra And His Arkestra: To Those of Earth... And Other Worlds

Following Strut's essential 2014 Sun Ra compendium In the Orbit of Ra, curated by longtime Arkestra leader/musician Marshall Allen, the U.K.-based label tapped influential BBC disc jockey Gilles Peterson to mix a follow-up volume. To Those of Earth... and Other Worlds is a double-CD montage of nearly three-dozen selections from numerous lineups of the Arkestra, including a handful of unreleased live cuts and several more rarities. As with In the Orbit of Ra, this isn't meant as a definitive survey or a greatest-hits anthology (there's no way to boil down the essence of any artist with over a hundred albums to a single release, let alone an artist whose discography is as vast and mythical as Sun Ra's). Instead, it's another dense, thrilling journey into the daunting catalog of the most intergalactic musician of all time. The continuous mix format provides immediacy, sometimes excerpting only a minute or two from much longer pieces, swiftly segueing between active, busy passages of music rather than extended atonal jams or freakouts. (Don't expect anything from, say, Strange Strings or Atlantis on this one.) The emphasis is placed on vocal-driven cuts, so it's an accessible entry point for Sun Ra novices. Even the most out-there selections (such as the echo-drenched "Adventure-Equation") are generally melodic and grounded in rhythm, even if it's loose and abstract. The set ends with a few of the best examples of Sun Ra's cosmic philosophy ("you made a mistake, you did something wrong, now make another mistake, and do something right!"; a stripped-down live version of signature tune "Space Is the Place"), spreading his eternal messages of universal love and harmony.