Prophet

Sun Ra on synthesizer! This is an uncovered recording from one day in August 1986, when Sun Ra entered a studio decked out with new electronic gear and sat at the Prophet "Vector Synthesizer," an advancement on the Prophet-5 synth. From the liner notes: "Created using microprocessors, a then-new technological advance, under the auspices of engineer Dave Smith in 1978, the Prophet-5 revolutionized electronic music as the first polyphonic and, most importantly, programmable synthesizer." Recommended especially to synth heads, anyone who hangs around CCRMA, and any late-night DJs (or any time really, Sun Ra is relevant 24 hours a day). Favorites: 3, 4. No FCCs detected.

1. (16:29)—Synth wobbles and bleeps and plinks, dragon-breath sounds. Settles into very pleasant organ grooves before a jumpy finish. Sun Ra is mostly if not entirely solo?
2. (1:54)—Solo hand drumming.
3. *(6:34)—Full-band free jazz workout, with the drums taking the center and augmented by synth percussion.
4. *(12:06)—Dramatic space organ, solo synth workout until about eight minutes in, when the full band shows up in equally dramatic fashion. Nice arc to this one.
5. (8:36)—A little studio banter. Mellow full-band jamming, with a little low-key singing from June Tyson near the end.
6. (5:03)—Wobbly synth, group handclaps, marching drum rhythm. Hoarse singing from June Tyson.