The first full recording of Sun Rings, Kronos Quartet’s 2002 collaboration with composer Terry Riley for string quartet, chorus, and pre-recorded space sounds, will be released by Nonesuch Records on August 30, 2019. Sun Rings is available to pre-order from iTunes, the Nonesuch Store, and Amazon, where the album track “Beebopterismo” may be downloaded instantly, and may be streamed at Spotify and Apple Music. Listen below.

Commissioned in part by the NASA Art Program, Sun Rings premiered at University of Iowa’s Hancher Auditorium in October 2002. The fully staged multimedia production, which features visual design by Willie Williams, has since been performed by Kronos nearly 50 times in 11 countries and 18 states. The Sun Rings album was produced by Judith Sherman, recorded at Skywalker Sound with engineer Leslie Ann Jones, and includes the San Francisco-based vocal ensemble Volti, under the direction of founder and artistic director Robert Geary.

Kronos Quartet and Terry Riley with Leslie Anne Jones, Judith Sherman, and Dann Thompson at Skywalker / credit Lenny Gonzalez

One movement from the piece—“One Earth, One People, One Love”—was previously included on Sunrise of the Planetary Dream Collector: Music of Terry Riley (2015), a compilation that includes “Cry of a Lady” (originally released on 2014’s A Thousand Thoughts), “G Song” and Cadenza on the Night Plain (from 1998’s 25 Years), and previously unreleased recordings. This release, as well as Salome Dances for Peace (1989), Requiem for Adam (2001), and The Cusp of Magic (2008), were all collected into a 5-CD box set titled One Earth, One People, One Love: Kronos Plays Terry Riley.

Kronos performing Sun Rings in Krakow, Poland at the Sacrum Profanum Festivalin 2014 / credit Wojciech Wandzel

Today, Clash Magazine previewed Kronos’ reworking of múm’s “Smell Memory.” The song originally appeared on the Icelandic band’s 1999 debut LP Yesterday Was Dramatic – Today Is OK and this version will appear on Morr Music’s 20th anniversary re-issue, due out on August 30. Check it out here >

UPDATE – Listen on Bandcamp, Apple Music, Spotify and more >

Kronos previously performed with múm back in 2016 at Iceland Airwaves.