Huck’s intergalactic sounds playlist
- Text by Michael Fordham
- Photography by Nasa
Is it just coincidence that whitey first went to the moon around the same time as he was laying waste to the jungles of Indochina – and when CIA-stash blotter was mopping up the minds of kids from Haight-Ashbury to Kabul? As our own multinational version of whitey does a spectacular fly-by of Pluto at the outer reaches of the Solar System – space is still the place, baby.
Sun Ra
Sun Ra was an intergalactic Afro-centric alien who reckoned the black race was from Saturn rather than Africa. Prophet of Freedom or Acid Casualty numero UNO? You decide.
Gil Scott-Heron
The original commentator on what it is being what it is.
Rah Band
Straight up pound for pound boogie with a lashing of ripe eighties cheese. The Rah band did it in spandex and diamante.
Modern Jazz Quartet
If Sun Ra was the universe’s hipster freak, the Modern Jazz Quartet evoked the Mercury programme and standup guys with The Right Stuff.
Asha Puthli
Bombay dancefloor diva Asha Puthli created some awesome spaced out grooves. This is the most intergalactic.
US69
In July 1969, Neil Armstrong was doing his lunar two-step. Meanwhile in the Berkeley Quad, these kids were necking heroic amounts of acid and ditching their gravitational shackles.
Nasa on Soundcloud
Complete with sonic transmissions beamed from the nether regions of our galaxy, communications between astronauts and earth from old missions, and JFK moon race speeches, Nasa’s soundcloud is a great sampling source for some interstellar beatmaking. The sound waves generated by Saturn’s largest moon, Cassini, are a particular highlight.
Jeff Mills
Techno titan Jeff Mills is traveling the globe this year with his 2001: A Space Odyssey-inspired show. Following 2001: The Midnight Zone’s debut at Paris’ Cite de la Musique, little has seeped onto the interweb but Mills has been on the intergalactic tip for a long time. Back in 2000 he created one helluva score for Fritz Lang’s opus Metropolis. Think Blade Runner goes to Berghain on a Sunday morning.
Enjoyed this article? Like Huck on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
You might like
In photos: Black Texas life since emancipation
Kinship & Community — A new photobook and exhibition showcases the rich culture, history and community of African American folks in the Lone Star State, whose existence in the region predates colonial Britain.
Written by: Miss Rosen
American Football: The One With The Feelings
Many moons — The Midwest emo architects transformed a college experiment into a coming-of-age soundtrack. 25 years on, their latest iteration sees them bottle the same magic for the ups and downs of middle life.
Written by: Tracy Kawalik
Youthful joy & end-of-era poignancy at a London school prom
Leavers — For several years, Lewis Khan documented young people as they celebrated the last of their school days and the completion of their exams. The series is now collated in a new self-published photobook and short film.
Written by: Zoe Whitfield
Harry Gruyaert’s vintage, kaleidoscopic scenes of New York
A Sense of Place — For 50 years, the Belgian photographer and Magnum Photos member has been capturing NYC’s colourful chaos. A new photobook and exhibition showcase his unique, technicolour view of the city.
Written by: Miss Rosen
In the pit at one of the UK’s last stock car & banger speedways
Stock Car Racing Isn’t Dead — Photographer Liam McCarthy spent time in and around the Arlington Raceway’s circuit, capturing the diehard community that keeps the sport alive.
Written by: Isaac Muk
Inside Lower Duck Pond, the nicest town on the internet
/r/HaveWeMet — With a population of 2,500 and no fixed location, the subreddit is a space for roleplaying citizens to solve mysteries, host fictional events and ultimately connect. In an internet that’s often divided and toxic, Vicky Jessop hangs out in one of its most wholesome corners.
Written by: Vicky Jessop
