https://youtu.be/sKAAhjcRxvM

A1. Retrospect - This World Is Not My Home
A2. Hidden Fire Improvisation
B1/B2. Hidden Fire Blues
C1/C2. My Brothers The Wind And Son #9
D1. Hidden Fire I
D2. Hidden Fire II


+ INSERT

- The last album on Ra’s El Saturn label, ending a 33-year run of radical, DIY, Black-owned musicmaking.
- Hidden Fire reissued for the first time across two LPs.
- Features insert with liner notes from Ra expert Paul Griffiths.
- Remastered from original tapes.

Strut Records proudly presents the official reissue of Hidden Fire Volumes 1 & 2, the final album released by Sun Ra on his El Saturn label in 1988.

Captured live over three nights at the Knitting Factory in New York City, these performances mark the closing chapter of a 33-year odyssey of radical, independent music-making. Originally issued in tiny quantities with minimal packaging and cryptic artwork—often featuring hand-written labels or Ra’s own handmade designs—Hidden Fire was among the most elusive entries in Sun Ra’s vast discography.

Musically, these recordings stand apart from Ra’s other '80s compositions. Here, Hidden Fire plunges into darker, more dissonant territory. Ra performs exclusively on the Yamaha DX7 synthesiser, pushing its digital sound palette into alien dimensions. The Arkestra lineup is uniquely configured, featuring a rare and heavy string section with three violins, including the legendary Billy Bang, and the singular space vocalist Art Jenkins, whose eerie textures and vocalisations had not been heard so prominently since the early 1960s Choreographers Workshop sessions. The music is raw, unsettled, and often overwhelming.

“Retrospect / This World Is Not My Home” opens with a palindromic riff that evokes Ellington before unraveling into a stark sermon from Ra, warning of death’s dominion over Ea.......
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