Flame Tree - Flame Tree Featuring Nik Turner
SKU
28-CLE298.2
"Hawkwind alum Nik Turner brings his spacey sax and freakout flute playing to this experimental jazz fusion ensemble."
The following is a review of the group's appearance at SeaProg 2015 from Expose:
"The final set of the weekend was no less than the Mighty Thunder Rider Nik Turner, one of the founding fathers of psychedelic space rock as a founder-member of Hawkwind, playing saxes, flute, and singing on all those classic albums we know and love, as well as his later bands Space Ritual, Sphynx, Space Fusion Odyssey, and Inner City Unit; material culled from all of these bands and projects would be played during this mammoth 100 minute set. He was accompanied by Flame Tree, a collective of Seattle-area musicians formed by drummer Jack Gold-Molina (of Spectral Waves) and guitarist Dennis Rea (of Moraine) several years ago; also in the band are guitarist and producer Jack Endino, Mellotronist Steve Fisk, synthesist Ffej, violinist Alicia DeJoie (also of Moraine), and bassist Paul Kemmish. This night’s performance was the culmination of a couple weeks of rehearsals together.
Nick was in fine form, as he always tends to be, full of energy and magic. Three tunes in, he performed the title cut from the Space Ritual album Otherworld, following “Watching the Grass Grow” from the debut Inner City Unit LP. Most of the Hawkwind material performed throughout his set seemed to be from around the Space Ritual period. The audience was completely spellbound, the thick wall of sound emanating from the stage end of the hall was hypnotic and filled with force, the band serving Nik very well. A high point for me came when Turner performed the lengthy flute piece “Anubis,” from his album with Sphynx, Xitintoday, a very mellow and magical piece based on material he originally recorded inside the great pyramid of Giza in 1976, but not released until the 90s when he re-recorded the Sphinx album. Slowly the mellow mood would pick up and transform the set back into high energy space rock, as he pulled more Hawkwind and Space Ritual classics out of his magic satchel.
Following a generous encore and an update on Nik’s current endeavors (including his Hawkwind autobiography), perhaps only a few informed people in the audience knew what we all found out at the conclusion of the set, that it was soon to be his 75th birthday! A birthday cake was brought out and the whole audience joined in singing “Happy Birthday.” Lord, I can only hope that I still have as much energy when I reach that age. A crowning end to a great festival!"
- LabelPurple Pyramid
- UPC889466029820