Suns of Arqa

Revenge of the Mozabites

One of the key ensembles in the history of what is now referred to as world music, Suns of Arqa began in 1979 with Revenge of the Mozabites, the brainchild of Michael Wadada. With a ground base of dub – in both aesthetic and method – made palpable by master dub rhythm sectioneers Style Scott on drums and Lizard Logan on bass, and producing in tandem with future On-U Sound maestro Adrian Sherwood, Wadada built an incredibly eclectic and imaginative program, touching on flamenco and Irish music, as well as what would become a Suns of Arqa touchstone, the intersection of Indian music and dub reggae. The results are unlike anything heretofore heard, and Revenge of the Mozabites remains one of the unsung classics of hybrid musicality to emerge from the post-punk ethos, having exerted an unexamined influence on British music in the ‘80s. Upon finding a copy of the ultra-rare original LP in 1982, for instance, Peter Gabriel promptly booked Suns of Arqa to the first WOMAD festival. This is the first time any of Suns of Arqa’s music has been released in the U.S., and Revenge of the Mozabites is restored to its original glory, with the packaging as it was in 1979, additional photos of the band, and three bonus tracks, everything remastered from original tapes.

Light Side
1. Acid Tabla (3:45)
2. World Peace, A Dream? (2:12)
3. Scully’s Reel (1:31)
4. Bali Citra (3:37)
5. Suclly’s Jig (1:51)
6. Piece of the World (1:08)
7. Acid Tabla Dub (3:05)
Dark Side
8. Ananta Snake Dance (7:22)
9. Return of the Mozabites (3:35)
10. Sanaiscara Saturn (6:32)
11. Paintings of a Cave (1:25)
Bonus Tracks
12. Asian Rebel (Hyphen Dub) (5:16)
13. Sanaiscara Saturn (Hyphen Edit) (3:54)
14. Acid Tabla (Hyphen Edit) (6:09)
Suns of Arqa: Michael Wadada, esraj and sitar; Style Scott, drums; Lizard Logan, bass; Kalu Zeria, table; Aziz Zeria, harmonium; Big Red, violin; Bubblers, piano; Mothmen, cuica and percussion; Maria Aiawa, vocals; Mark Stone, flamenco guitar; I. Green, bassoon; Tony Sullivan, banjo; Moot Beret, Chinese shawm.

Music composed and performed by Suns of Arqa.

Recorded in 1979 at Berry Street Studio, London and Cargo Studio, Rochdale.

Produced by Wadada and Adrian Sherwood.

First released in 1980 on Rocksteady Records.

Published by Rocksteady (ego) Music.

Tracks 12-14 mixed and edited by Brian Hyphen and previously unreleased.

Prepared for CD by Alex Inglezian, Experimental Sound Studio, Chicago.

CD design by David Giordano.

Publication editor, Corbett vs. Dempsey, Emily Letourneau.

CD reissue produced by John Corbett.

CVSDCD037