A tale bookended by two different types of vessel: slave-ship and space ship; removal and escape.

In between, songs of captivity and resistance; exile and return; remembrance and infection; hell on earth and heaven in mind….

Inspired by four wise men: the writer Ishmael Reed (who hypothesised that African slaves brought with them a cultural virus -he called it Jes’ Grew- transmitted via music that caused white people to sing and dance and be happy in the same ways as black folk), and the Ark-i-techs Sun Ra, Lee Perry  and George Clinton; as well as the Afro Futurism film essay The Last Angel Of History (link below)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AorKl-FmCLA&t=10s

1 BLIND WILLIE JOHNSON-DARK WAS THE NIGHT (COLD WAS THE GROUND)

2 RANDY NEWMAN-SAIL AWAY

3 THE O’JAYS-SHIP AHOY

4 BURNING SPEAR-SLAVERY DAYS

5 ISHMAEL REED-JES’GREW

6 DOCTOR ROSS-THE BOOGIE DISEASE

7 THE MONITORS-ROCK ’N’ ROLL FEVER

8 SOUNDZ AFRICANA-AFRICANA

9 MANDINGO GRIOT SOCIETY WITH DON CHERRY-SOUNDS FROM THE BUSH

10 RUSS HENDERSON-WEST INDIAN DRUMS

11 PRESTON EPPS-BONGO IN THE CONGO

12 JIMMY SMITH-BURNING SPEAR

13 DR JOHN-BABYLON

14 THE HEPTONES-SUFFERER’S TIME

15 SALAH RAGAB & CAIRO JAZZ BAND-RAMADAN IN SPACE TIME

16 JUSTIN HINDS & THE DOMINOES-THE ARK

17 PARLIAMENT-MOTHERSHIP CONNECTION (STAR CHILD)

18 NRBQ-ROCKET NUMBER 9

19 SUN RA-SPACE IS THE PLACE