having just left Hawkwind, Nik Turner found himself with the enviable opportunity of playing and recording his flute in the King’s Chamber of the Great Pyramid at Giza. For someone long fascinated with Egyptology, it was a golden moment: a haunting capture of music gently echoing around the age-old walls and permeating their ancient history.
The resulting LP, originally released by Charisma, featured additional contributions from various Gong members, including Hawkwind’s Alan Powell, and Steve Hillage, who also produced the album. It’s an ambient exploration, quite removed from Turner’s previous work, but harking back to his love of the free jazz that he had discovered in Berlin the previous decade.
In the 90s, Turner allowed Cleopatra Records to use his flute recordings for a new interpretation of Xitintoday (co-produced by Helios Creed and the Anubian Lights’ Tommy Grenas) and re-read his lyrics for the project. They brought a heavier space-rock vibe to an album that, at the time, had been neglected, lingering out of print. At last, the original is available again, in a handsome package with extensive liner notes and previously unreleased material. A delightful and welcome reissue.
