Life Lessons From a Man From Space

By Maia Engelbrecht
Sun Ra in Space is The Place (1974)

Roughly a century ago, when the Saturnians arrived on Earth to deliver a prophecy of human exodus to the cosmos, they selected an exceptionally disciplined young man named Herman as not only their prophet but as their protégé. Born 1914 in Birmingham, Alabama, he had always referred to a place too far beyond the capacity of human imagination as his true home. So, when the aliens from Saturn had taken him under his wing, he learned valuable lessons that would later prove to be quintessential to his path in becoming the renowned musician, philosopher and Angel we know today as Sun Ra. 

Up until his death in 1993, or rather, up until he left his terrestrial form, along with multiple of his music groups such as ‘The Space Trios’ and then with the ‘Arkestra’ he had composed and created imaginative and innovative Jazz that he carried with and believed with the utmost conviction, brought forth celestial enlightenment. He introduced the people of Earth to possibilities far beyond our literal reach, and with ‘We Travel the Spaceways’, he showed us that each person has the ability to transcend the understanding of what we previously could not have if we would believe and listen to the strange and unusual sounds of the Avant-Garde. Additionally, he gave us tastes of his single interpretation of the Sun, or what possible representation the star could have meant for him in the greater scheme of the cosmos with ‘Sound Sun Pleasure’. He had explored various mythology such as that in ancient Egyptian history and had drawn inspiration from various science fiction works, both of which had permeated throughout his music, creating an ‘Astro-Black Mythology’ as he drew parallels between the two. “The Impossible Attracts me” He once said, “Because everything possible has been done and the world didn’t change.”

Those examples, however, don’t begin to cover even a fraction of his career, spanning several decades, creating over a hundred records, and influencing artists to an immeasurable degree.

From serving as the inspiration for a space opera to going on a 25-year tour, Sun Ra’s life had always been filled with thrilling adventure and hypnotic music. He held an ethos with his art that would similarly compare to future youth and music movements later on that would go on to embrace and experiment with the unexplored sounds of obscurity, such as the indie-rock revolution that sprouted in the 80s, influencing bands such as Nirvana and Sonic Youth. 

You may take away as many lessons from his music as you will because experiencing his music will do a great deal more in helping understand his extraterrestrial nature more than any journalist could. However, the most valuable thing Sun Ra had taught us was that it isn’t impossible to believe in the impossible. So, the day we all start to believe in something greater than ourselves the same way Sun Ra had, will surely be the day we leave our earthly selves behind to knock on the door of the great cosmos to vacation beyond the stars and catch one final concert.