BLACK SUN ENSEMBLE ST- "ABSOLUTELY stunning psych "LION LP

Their first album, reissued for the very first time with the tracks exactly as they were on the original 1985 issue on Pyknotic.

"It is difficult to think of a band that has ever produced psychedelic music that sounded even remotely like the original Black Sun's" —Byron Coley

"ABSOLUTELY stunning psych LP, first released in limited edition in 1985 on Pyknotic label and reissued on CD in 2000 by Camera Obscura (instantly sold out). Stunning fuzzy guitar, Eastern tunes, chanting, some horns here and there.... absolutely spacey psychedelic music." —Mutant Sounds

"Black Sun Ensemble offers sensual, aerial, sonic magic carpet rides laced with the steady flavor of India that will take you high above the Himalayas in your head. But this isn't plinky, incense-burning, catatonic hammock music, nor does it smell of hippie backwash and flashbacks (thought the music can be hypnotic and psychedelic). You can see forever with the Black Sun Ensemble." -CMJ New Music Report

"Jesus Acedo was the quixotic leader of Black Sun Ensemble who, on the basis of his enigmatic recordings, has been hailed by critics as one of the most innovative guitarists of our time. Born on Christmas Eve, 1962 in Tucson, Arizona, to Mexican immigrant parents, Acedo was one of eight children, the only one with an interest in music. After the death of his father in 1975, Acedo grieved by immersing himself in music. He spent most of his early adolescence at the Tucson public library listening to Ravi Shankar and Led Zeppelin records. At this time, Acedo bought a guitar. In high school, he began experimenting with the unique tunings of his guitar that give his music what one reviewer reverently called "peculiarly mystical, twangy, meditative, Middle Eastern rock sound". Muze, in describing his style, said he can "spit blasts of dragon fire or conjure the exotic, iridescent mystique of peacock feathers with a single stroke."A self-titled debut album was released by Tucson's Pyknotic Records in 1985. Its extraordinary qualities led Acedo to sign a five-year contract with England's Reckless Records, and in 1988 the label released "Black Sun Ensemble" (1988), "Lambent Flame" (1989) and "Elemental Forces" (1991). These records were a critical and commercial success. At the time, Offbeat exclaimed that BSE was "possibly, the world's coolest band.”

"Documenting the first incarnation of the Black Sun Ensemble and the only album with the group as a trio, the music hovers like buzzards in the desert over the dehydrated body of psychedelic rock, encircling their prey, waiting to feed on the corpse and draw new strength. A resulting mergence of melodic acoustic/Latin folk, Middle Eastern, raga, acid rock, and woolly feedback is given propulsion by a steady backbeat of rock bass and drums… A solemn peace envelops the mind, like peering out at the warm glow of the morning sun, heavy lidded, after a peyote-soaked night in the sweatlodge which invoked Shamanic visions and healing revelations… Solo electric guitar pyrotechnics, Arabian scorched landscapes, iridescent ragas on just electric or acoustic guitar and hand drums, and solo acoustic guitar rapture are all spices used in a tremendously savory trans-global stew." — Chris Scofield, fakeJazz website

A second BSE volume will come out in 2023 with alternate versions, which for the most part comprised the CD release of the first album when that format/edition materialized in 2000.

•Comes with a 8-page booklet, with notes by Byron Coley, BSE bassist Mike Glidewell, Rich Hopkins (songwriter, Sidewinder, and founder of San Jacinto Records), and a reproduction of a poetry volume by BSE’s Jesus Acedo.