Hidden Fire

Strut Records present the official reissue of Hidden Fire Volumes 1 & 2, the final album released by Sun Ra on his El Saturn label in 1988. Recorded live over three nights at the Knitting Factory in New York City, these raw and unpredictable sessions marked the end of a 33-year journey of radical, independent music-making.

Originally issued in tiny quantities with hand-drawn artwork and handwritten labels, Hidden Fire is among the most elusive titles in Sun Ra’s vast catalogue. Musically, it diverges sharply from his other 1980s recordings. Ra plays only the Yamaha DX7 synthesiser, warping its digital palette into eerie, alien textures. The Arkestra features a rare string section—including the great Billy Bang on violin—and the ghostly vocalisations of Art Jenkins, heard here as prominently as they were in the early Choreographers Workshop era.

The music is often dense, abstract and volatile. “Retrospect / This World Is Not My Home” opens with a palindromic Ellingtonian riff before giving way to a stark spoken warning. “Hidden Fire Improvisation” hurtles through explosive solos from Marshall Allen, Billy Bang and John Gilmore, while “Hidden Fire Blues” mutates a familiar Ra motif through fuzzed-out guitar and shimmering DX7 haze. Even the quieter moments—like the haunted Ra/Jenkins duet “Hidden Fire II”—carry a sense of unease.

Remastered from the original sources and presented with archival photographs, liner notes by Paul Griffiths, and artwork referencing the original Saturn editions, this definitive edition shines a light on Sun Ra’s shadowy final phase.

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