by RUPERT BOTTENBERG

Is the lineup for the party celebrating the 15th anniversary of CKUT 90.3FM (McGill Radio) a result of pure cosmic coincidence, chaotic particles falling into alignment in a Big Bang stylee? Or is it the machinations of some strange alien intelligence, pushing us bald-assed monkeys to a higher level of evolution? The Mirror contacted Suhrid Manchanda, of CKUT’s annual funding drive, via deep-space com-link for the truth - which turns out to be pretty out there.

“The freakout was indeed planned,” confesses Manchanda, “albeit in a flurry of everyday spontaneities by CKUT staffers, aka the Committee for Preservation and Development of Sonic Life. The idea is this: CKUT is 15 years old, we’ve grown and changed tremendously over the years and hell, we’ve just passed puberty. Got the skills, some rickety gear that’s jammied to work, rep with the people - we’re finally ready to begin our mission. The party is the official launch as the CKUT spaceship blasts off to chart the final frontiers of radiophonic perception. Party-goers will merely be molecules in the plasma-fuel that powers the CKUT turbo-turbines as they jiggle and wiggle around, colliding with each other, setting off violent techno-chemical reactions.”

At the centre of the party’s vortex is the Plutonium Nights Arkestra, an appropriate 15 locals on the avant tip (Sam Shalabi, Thierry Amar, Chris Burns, Gabe Levine etc.) tipping their visors to space-jazz pioneer Sun Ra. “As the dangers and risks of our mission became clear, ” says Manchanda, “the Committee was convinced that it would need the guidance and wisdom of an intergalactic traveller of supernatural abilities to protect and preserve us through the perils pirouetting around our mission. The Committee decided to summon Sun Ra. The search began for a sorcerer capable of conjuring the cryptic cacophony that could draw the omniscience of the legendary Sun Ra, Lord of the Veils of Venus, Composer of Serenades for Saturn, Placer of Space.”

It was cellist Nicholas Caloia who heard the clarion call and decoded the verses of Sun Ra. “No one can be sure what to expect at the exact moment when the psychic phone call to Sun Ra is placed,” notes Manchanda. “People familiar with the other works of above-mentioned musical radicals will know that Sun Ra himself would be at least intrigued. Instrumentalists more associated with grey and dark musics, combined in this particular form, reveal a mosaic of bright, violent fluoro-neons and, of course, white light that, we hope, will indeed travel through this place called space to be reflected off Sun Ra’s shiniest tooth.”

Orbiting around this supergroup are numerous sonic satellites such as spacey Moog-meisters the Unireverse, dub lord Mossman manipulating One Speed Bike live, extra-freakular activities by dance droids K-Sauce and Gorgeous Fon the Dapper Don and a variety of pangalactic platter people. “Once through the stratosphere, how are we to increase momentum to hyper-cruise (approximately 90.3 frillion miles per ‘CosmiK Unit Time’)? Enter turntable technicians Luv, J Robot and Rich Williams, trained in the cut-selector camps of Ninja Tune and c0c0s0l1dc1t1.

“These boys are party physicists, basically. They don’t get paid to watch the speedometer, they get paid to blow it to bits with their sci-fi vinyl ninja stars.” :

At la Sala Rossa tonight, Thursday, Dec. 12, 9pm, $5

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