“...featuring everything from answering machine tapes...to Arkestral rehearsal snippets to recordings of a Southern-style preacher incanting.”
— Byron Coley, The Wire

“Brian Harnetty is well-schooled in the music of old...but these days he converts archives into futuristic sounds.”
— Columbus Alive

Tracks:
1. The Sociophonic Key (0:50)
2. “Hamm, are you there?” (2:32)
3. We Want to Invite, We Do Invite You (4:11)


When I was commissioned to work with the Sun Ra/El Saturn archives in Chicago, my goal was to develop a series of conversations with Sun Ra through the many recordings in the collection. On one level, the resulting pieces combine these diverse materials to create a sonic collage. On another level, I use these elements to reveal multi-layered stories, drawing out the many connections and complexities of the Sun Ra archives.

For this 7" single, entitled "The Sociophonic Key," I created a stand-alone work drawn from "The Star Faced One," a 2013 album and sound installation at the Experimental Sound Studio in Chicago. Despite the variety of samples used many subtle relationships are heard––both literal and fantastic––from Sun Ra rehearsing a group of children fading into an answering machine, to the intensity of a gospel preacher alongside the Arkestra’s invitation to join them in outer space.

released June 19, 2012

This project originated as an Interpretive Commission from the Creative Audio Archive at Experimental Sound Studio, Chicago in 2011. The original recordings are from the Sun Ra/El Saturn Collection in CAA; ESS licenses the use of the original recordings and protects their copyright. For more information and access to CAA online catalogs, please visit www.experimentalsoundstudio.org