''Wadada Magic'' is the second studio

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by the band

Suns of Arqa Suns of Arqa are a world music collective founded in 1979 by Michael Wadada. Since the group's formation, over 200 people from around the world have played and recorded with them, and in many cases these were like-minded musicians Wadada met ...

, recorded and released in 1983 by Antler Records. The album was produced by

founder Michael Wadada. The spine of the LP reads "Suns of Arqa Vol III Wadada Magic". The style on this album is quite different from their debut album '' Revenge of the Mozabites'', and the tracks are more dance-oriented. Some of the tracks from this album (A1-A3, B1, B2, B4) were made available on CD in 1992 on the compilation ''Arqaology'', released on Arka Sound. On ''Arqaology'', tracks A1, A2 here are combined as one, as are tracks B1, B2. Track B3 appears on ''Arqaology'' in truncated form (just 22 seconds!), however, it appears in full on their later album ''Magiczna Miłość''. The sleevenotes for this LP includes a dedication to Alice and Harry Ward, presumably relatives of Michael Ward (Wadada).

Track listing

Side A

# "Brujo Magic" – 2:29 # "Magic Version" – 3:50 # "Hasheesh" – 4:26 # "City of Nine Gates" – 5:27 # "The Lesson" – 3:47

Side B

# "Steppin' To The Music" – 6:21 # "A Lesson in Trancedance" – 8:11 # "The Step" – 4:09 # "The Heat" – 3:03

Personnel

Founder Michael Wadada performs on this album with koto, piano, acoustic guitar, temple blocks, percussion and vocals. The band also comprises Pulse & Chris Joyce on drums, Spliff on bass, Aziz Zeria on harmonium, swar mandal and vocals, Kalu & Papu Zeria on tablas, Big Red on fiddle, banjo and mandolin, Helen Watson on vocals, Mustaphafakir on dilruba, electric Spanish and Hawaiian guitars, marimba, Jew's harp and vocals. Guest musicians appearing on the album are

Prince Far-I Prince Far I (23 March 1945 – 15 September 1983) was a Jamaican reggae deejay and producer, and a Rastafarian. He was known for his gruff voice and critical assessment of the Jamaican government. His track "Heavy Manners" used lyrics about ...

on vocals (Tracks A2 and A4),

Prince Hammer Beris Simpson, better known as Prince Hammer, is a Jamaican reggae deejay, singer, and record producer. Biography Simpson was born at the Jubilee Hospital in Kingston and grew up in a Christian family in Kingston.Peter I (2005)Prince Hammer: ...

on vocals (Track B4), Keith 'Lizard' Logan on bass (Track A4), John Scott on Chinese Shawm (Tracks A3 and B2), Amar Singh on sitar and tanpura (Track A5), RM on sitar (Track A4), The Legendary Leperds as 'rthydin section' (Track B4), John 'JJ' Slater on percussion (Track A3) and Steve Cyclepath (credited as 'Magician and Guru') ! Sleevenotes of the LP

References

{{Authority control 1983 albums Suns of Arqa albums