by Daniel Colussi | From deep within tropical metropolis that is Los Angeles comes Cameron Stallones’ Sun Araw.  Over the course of a half dozen LPs and just as many micro-run cassettes, Stallones has charted a singular trajectory. Musically, he rubs shoulders with the great free jazzers, outside funkers and psychedelic avatars of years past. Aesthetically, he has constructed his own po-mo philosophy that borrows as much from West Coast hippy and new age detritus as critical theory approved by the academy. Rarely do we find a musician so self aware and so willing to explore the conceptual framework of his own music. Stallones has pushed his Sun Araw creation beyond just being the name for his music; its become something like a lens through which he views the world. I invite you into the world of Sun Araw.

What will the Sun Araw band consist of for your Vancouver appearance? Who are the players? How has your live configuration evolved over the years from a one guy thing to a three guy thing?

The current Sun Araw band is myself on guitar and synths, Alex Gray (Deep Magic, Deep Tapes) on MPC and guitar, and Barrett Avner on shahi baaja and tone generator. There have been four incarnations, starting with me and William Giacchi (Magic Lantern bandmate) using looping cassette players all the way down a long road to this version. The goal is to do everything live, but still be able to use looping in an organic way, and we’ve figured out a pretty unique setup that allows for maximum freedom and improvisation. I’m really pleased with it.

How does playing live differ from recording for Sun Araw? Do both practices aim for the same result, or does live aim for a different outcome than in the studio?

My studio practice is a completely a solo endeavor, so live is always a translation. In the studio it’s about finding the single point that can be built into a resonant field, a total surround. I don’t really think of the music I make as “songs” in the strict sense; more [like] spaces with certain properties and relationships. Playing live is about finding a way to access those spaces, hang out in there for a bit interacting in that mode, and then finding a graceful exit or transition into another space. There is always a push towards some sort of internal transcendence as there is no narrative or “point” to get across, merely an attempt to inhabit some sort of principle for a time.

The music of Sun Araw is on the one hand very referential to music from the past – free jazz, dub, funk, Afro guitar, etc – but the final sound is something unique and new. Can you elaborate a bit on your writing process? And do you think that it’s possible to create something wholly new, or is all new music necessarily just a re-phrasing of the past?

That’s very kind, man! That’s an interesting question that only becomes more relevant now that the world/consciousness has been laid bare for perusal. Every man a cultural excavator at the yard sale, what an interesting development. I believe very strongly in the ability to connect with a higher order through creativity. Whether what you retrieve and adorn with all your influences and desires is inherently “new” or not is arguable. In the cosmic sense, of course it’s not, which is a blessing. In a cultural sense, anything that bears any real connection to something beyond some re-assembling of cultural detritus will have an energized and novel quality to it, because its something primarily related to the unique human spirit that served as an entry point and its ability/desire to reach beyond what is apparent. Doesn’t have to be high-minded. In fact, it’s the opposite of that usually…

Sun Araw: Horse Steppin’

Looking at the arc of your releases, it feels like On Patrol returns to the dark/sinister vibe of your very first release, The Phynx. It’s a vibe that wasn’t totally present on any of the interim releases. Would it be fair to say that those two albums act as bookends? Or is this off point?

I’ve never thought of that! I agree that On Patrol is very sinister. To me, it always signified strategies for bright life in dark times. It was definitely the closing of a lot of chapters, and the new record is sort of blossoming in that totally new (ancient) space that lies just above what came before.

Ancient Romans feels like it might be the start of a new vibe. Visually, the album cover looks unlike any previous releases. What’s the context of the new album?

It’s a record that was made while spending a lot of time in a really fresh perspective, a lot of it due to some real revolutions of consciousness that found me around that time. Seeds that were planted long ago had started to sprout, and so I think the result is sort of floral. I was spending every day after work reading in this garden of succulents that’s deep in Griffith Park, being confronted with some very alchemical moments, where seeds were leaping up to meet these ideas about time, attainment of higher worlds, etc. Then I would go home and record all night. It’s definitely the most straightforwardly heartfelt and spiritual record thus far.

You’ve mentioned studying film. And your music – being fairly abstract and long form – definitely has a cinematic quality. Is there a strong conjunction between Sun Araw and film?  Are there any specific films or directors worth noting

Musically, I’m mostly influenced by long-take brothers: Tarkovsky, Altman, Bela Tarr, Greenaway. I’m pretty devoted to long-form, mantric music and so I’m all about straight lampin’ in deep focus: angle after angle on the melodic object. I get a lot of inspiration from that breakdown of the illusion of fixed perspective.

Sun Araw: All Night Long

How would you define psychedelic music?

My interest is mostly in second wave psychedelia; really fried stuff that genuinely breaks from traditional concepts of songwriting like early zoners Parson Sound or any of that subsequent explosion of free form freakouts in Germany/Japan/USA in the late 60’s and early 70’s.  My personal understanding of psychedelic music is music that attempts to incorporate some element of Eastern structure into Western form, some idea of mantra, transcendence through repetition, emphasis on texture rather than narrative.

What’s your fave Pharoah Sanders album?

Woah. Somewhere amidst the holy triad of Thembi, Summum Bukmun Umyun, and Village of the Pharoahs.

What’s been on your stereo at home as of late?

Right this moment it’s Henry Wolff & Nancy Hennings Tibetan Bells III.

Sun Araw plays alongside many other greats at this year’s New Forms Festival Sept 9 – 11 at the Waldorf

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Zulu Records veteran and tunage aficionado Daniel Colussi is the Music Editor of Scout Magazine.