Suns of Arqa

The Suns of Arqa, a world music collective, operated under the direction of its founder and guiding figure Michael Wadada. Roughly 200 musicians from around the planet moved through the group’s lineup after the appearance of its first album, the 1979 LP Revenge of the Mozabites, with many of those participants encountered by Wadada on his wide-ranging journeys and united by a shared fascination with indigenous, tribal, folk, and classical traditions. The collective supported dub legend Prince Far I on later recordings such as 1980’s Wadada Magic, 1982’s India?, and 1984’s Ark of the Arqans, and also appeared at the artist’s final concert, documented on the Live with Prince Far-I LP. Wadada launched his own Arka Sound imprint with the release of the group’s masterful Land of a Thousand Churches, after which a rapid succession of further titles emerged, including Alap-Joe-Jhala, Jaggernaut (Whirling Dub), and Shabda. Once the internet era arrived, the Suns of Arqa aesthetic gained a significant new layer as the collective’s site began inviting submissions of music, lyrics, remixes, and other creative material intended for upcoming projects, thereby broadening its worldwide circle of contributors.