The Spatial AKA Orchestra

The Spatial AKA Orchestra is a large jazz-style ensemble (up to 25 members) led by former Specials frontman and keyboard player Jerry Dammers. The ensemble originated as a tribute band to the American musician Sun Ra (1914–1993) when Dammers formed it as The Cosmic Engineers to play at a "Space"-themed event in 2006 at the newly reopened Roundhouse in London. Later he renamed it The Spatial AKA Orchestra, derived from The Special AKA (alternative name of The Specials) combined with the outer space connotations of Sun Ra's music. The band's repertoire has subsequently expanded to include compositions by Dammers from the Specials era, sometimes appropriately renamed - for example Ghost Town" becomes "Ghost Planet", "International Jet Set" becomes "Interplanetary Jet Set". Reggae, ska, big band jazz, library music and classical pieces are also featured. The band members perform in elaborate Ancient Egyptian and outer space-themed costumes (as did Sun Ra's Arkestra, pioneers of Afrofuturism), and share the stage with bizarre props such as model alien heads and mummy Sarcophagi.