The Star-Faced One at 10 Years

 In 2010, I talked with Lou Mallozi at Experimental Sound Studio (ESS) in Chicago about the possibility of doing an archival project there. I had already worked with ESS on mastering two previous projects — American Winter (2007) and Silent City (2009) — both released on Chicago’s Atavistic label. Lou was generous and engaging, and offered me the chance to work with the Sun Ra / El Saturn Collection housed at ESS. The collection has over 500 audiotapes from the 1950s to 1993 of the experimental composer and bandleader Sun Ra. Along with several other artists, filmmakers, musicians, and writers, I was to create a new sound installation mixing archival recordings and my own ensemble. I was beside myself with excitement.

A few weeks later, an iPod arrived in the mail, along with a three-ringed binder. The iPod contained the entire Sun Ra / El Saturn collection, over 500 tapes and miscellaneous recordings. It was, to say the least, overwhelming. I remember the anxiety this small object produced. There was no systematic way to listen to everything in the short amount of time that the recordings were available to me. So, remembering the lessons I had already learned with other archival collections, I gave up and dove in.