Suns Of Arqa

Suns of Arqa is an epic sonic mission led by luminary Michael Wadada, who formed the band in 1979 after receiving higher guidance during a trip to Kingston, Jamaica while working with the legendary roots reggae chanter Prince Far I. Over 200 artists have collaborated with the eclectic Suns of Arqa creating some of the most sublime Dub - World - Dance - Raga - Reggae Music in the world today. Suns of Arqa creator and mentor Michael Wadada began his collaborative recordings with cult classic album 'Revenge of the Mozabites', together with On-U Sound creator Adrian Sherwood, and were subsequently invited by Peter Gabriel to perform at the very first WOMAD Festival.

Over the years, Suns of Arqa have included musicians from around the globe, interpreting the various indigenous, tribal and classical folk traditions, performing at many of the major music festivals including Glastonbury, Big Chill, Telerama Dub Festival, WOMAD, Transmusicales, Glade, Sziget, Ozora, & Roskilde, to name but a few.

They have a phenomenal legacy of music having released over 40 albums on Virgin, EMI, Interchill Records, Antler Subway, Red Rhino and their own label Arka Sound. They are a prolific and seminal influence on the World Beat sound with some of the world's most renowned talents contributing to this collective including:

Guy Called Gerald, UK producers Youth and John Leckie, Greg Hunter, 808 State's Graham Massey, Finley Quaye, Sounds From the Ground, Bryn Jones aka MuslimGauze, Adrian Sherwood, John Cooper-Clarke, the late great Professor Stanley Unwin, Eric Random, new age guru Tim Wheater, Astralasia, Kopeikin, Prince Far-I, The Orb's Alex Patterson, Zion Train, and Gaudi.

British music has been richly embellished by an ever expanding number of World-Dub-Dance acts, each with their own ways of exploring the same cultural commotions that have so gloriously distinguished Michael Wadada's work. All these groups owe a debt to the pioneering music of Suns of Arqa who undoubtedly are one of the originators of the whole global groove dance scene.

Wadada's mission is to combine the ancient Hindustani raga systems with Piobaireachd and Nyabinghi roots drumming, creating his very own unique Suns of Arqa materialising as a global musical collective, who continue to make special appearances at the seasonal festivals and sacred ritual spaces, where they are a vehicle for the positive raising of vibration, connecting with both the sensory and infinite worlds, for the ongoing evolution of all sentient beings, as Wadada states:

'Before language became a formation of words, music was, and still is in other spheres, the means of communication between souls'.

Suns of Arqa transmit a deeply spiritual vibration that merges cultures, faiths and musical genres. For further details/bookings please contact sunsofarqa@hotmail.co.uk

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