Биография

Cameron Stallones' work as Sun Araw incorporates many familiar influences, from psychedelia and space rock to Afro-pop and dub, but the results elude easy comparison to any artist or genre. Originally founded as an experimental solo venture while Stallones was a member of California-based psych jammers Magic Lantern, early Sun Araw recordings such as 2008's Beach Head consisted of haunting, drawn-out lo-fi drones, and were regarded as pivotal releases of the "hypnagogic pop" scene which was receiving heavy press at the time. Stallones incorporated warped dub rhythms into his work on releases like 2010's On Patrol, leading to a collaboration with Jamaican reggae legends the Congos and analog synth master M. Geddes Gengras for the well-received 2012 album Icon Give Thank. Stallones also led various band or trio configurations of Sun Araw for live improvisations, and performed with new age pioneer Laraaji, resulting in the 2016 release Professional Sunflow. Subsequent studio albums by Sun Araw, such as the country-inspired The Saddle of the Increate (2017) and the group improvisation Rock Sutra (2020), replaced psychedelic haze with refracted, knotty rhythms. Originally from Austin, Texas, Stallones is a longtime resident of Long Beach, California. He played guitar and sang in the psychedelic band Magic Lantern, who began releasing music on Los Angeles-based Not Not Fun Records in 2007. His first two albums as Sun Araw, The Phynx and Beach Head, both appeared on the label in 2008, while the EP Boat Trip was released by New York-based Woodsist the same year. He remained with NNF for the 2009 full-length Heavy Deeds and a split EP with Predator Vision, as well as 2010's On Patrol LP and Sun Ark single, which shared the name with his studio and label. Additionally, a live cassette with Matthewdavid, LIVEPHREAXXX!!!!, appeared on Leaving Records, and Off Duty arrived on Woodsist (a CD edition also contained his first EP for the label). Sun Araw's Houstron Abstros 7" was released by Austin's Monofunus Press in 2011. Later in the year, a collaboration with Eternal Tapestry titled Night Gallery came out on Thrill Jockey, and solo full-length Ancient Romans, mastered by Sonic Boom (Spacemen 3), was released through the Drag City-distributed Sun Ark. A split single with Spacemen 3 was issued by The Great Pop Supplement in 2012. Icon Give Thank, a collaboration with reggae vocal group the Congos and fellow experimental musician M. Geddes Gengras, was released as the ninth volume of RVNG Intl.'s FRKWYS series, packaged with Icon Eye, a DVD filmed in Jamaica documenting the album's recording sessions. Stallones and Gengras additionally explored abstract dancehall through their Duppy Gun Productions label. Also in 2012, he issued the first two volumes in his limited-edition cassette-only series Sun Ark Prayer Tapes, and in September released the full-length Inner Treaty. A cover of Neil Young's "Thrasher" was released as the A-side of a Monofonus-issued split single with Ralph White in 2013. Stallones participated in an experimental electronic outfit called Celebrate Music Synthesizer Group, whose self-titled double LP was also released in 2013. The following year, Sun Araw returned with Belomancie, an experimental double album, followed in 2015 by another double LP, The Gazebo Effect, credited to S. Araw "Trio" XI. In 2016, Professional Sunflow, a live double-album collaboration between Sun Araw and new age pioneer Laraaji, was released by W.25TH, an imprint of reissue label Superior Viaduct. Sun Araw released the Western-influenced The Saddle of the Increate, another lengthy effort, in 2017. Stallones' soundtrack to Fulvio Risuleo's film Guarda in Alto was issued by Italian label Goodfellas in 2018. In early 2019, NNA Tapes released Activated Clown, a set of two lengthy, whimsical improvisations by S. Araw Trio XIII. Sun Araw's Rock Sutra, a studio album recorded directly to MIDI, appeared in 2020. Fantasias for Violin and Guitar, an improvised collaboration with Estonian artist Maarja Nuut, was released later in the year. A collaboration with double bassist Tomo Jacobson, recorded at the Vinterjazz Festival in Copenhagen in 2017, formed the soundtrack to Velocity Holomatrix Warp 7, an interactive audio-visual experience designed by Stallones and Theo Triantafyllidis. The program was launched in November of 2020, and the soundtrack was issued as VHW7 in early 2021. ~ Paul Simpson, Rovi