Life In Space Overview
Life in Space is part one of the 2015
recording session featuring
Hedersleben as Nik Turner's backing
band. Part two is slated for a 2018
release. In addition to Hedersleben
providing the base tracks, various
guests such as Paul Rudolph
(Hawkwind/Pink Fairies), Simon House,
(Hawkwind/High Tide/David Bowie), and
Jügen Engler, (Die Krupps/Male) make
cameo appearances.
Nik Turner - Vocals/Sax/Flute
Nicky Garratt - Guitars
Bryce Shelton - Bass
Kephera Moon - Keyboards/Vocals.
Jason Willar - Drums
The Reviews for Life In Space
Nachdem es
längere Jahre eher ruhig um Nik Turner,
den Co-Gründer und ehemaligen Musiker
sowie Co-Sänger von Hawkwind, gewesen ist,
tauchte er im Jahr 2013 wie Phönix aus der
Asche mit dem starken Space Rock-Album
Space Gypsy wieder auf. Nachdem er
anschließend auch auf den Bühnen wieder
sehr fleißig war, folgte 2016 das
instrumentale (aber nicht weniger
interessante) Space Fusion Odyssey und nun
liegt mit "Life In Space" bereits das
nächste Werk vor. Wie auf den gerade
genannten Vorgänger-Scheiben ließ er sich
dafür von dem Hedersleben-Chef Nicky
Garratt (auch Ex-UK Subs) sowie anderen
Ex-Musikern dieser Band unter die Arme
greifen. Weitere prominente Mitstreiter
waren der Produzent Jürgen Engler, der für
die Abmischung zuständige Chris Lietz
sowie die ehemaligen Hawkwind-Musiker
Simon House (Violine) und Paul Rudolph
(ebenso Ex-Pink Fairies).
Drei brandneue Songs hat Turner für diese
neue Platte co-komponiert, mit "Master Of
The Universe" ist ein altes Hawkwind-Stück
(Songwriting von Turner/Brock) am Start,
zwei Nummern stammen von Engler/Lietz und
bei zwei weiteren durften sich jeweils
einmal Nicky Garratt als auch Jason Willer
als Autoren einbringen. Auf dieser neuen
Scheibe wird dann auch wieder gesungen,
was meinen Geschmack doch eher trifft.
Selbst wenn der gute Nik sich zeitweise
(und vermutlich seinem Alter geschuldet)
im wahrsten Sinne des Wortes etwas zahnlos
anhört. Ist aber halb so wild, da der
Gesang selbst seine Funktion erfüllt und
mit der benötigten Power aufs Band
gezaubert wurde. Ansonsten stellt das
Album eine gelungene Fortsetzung der
beiden Vorgänger-Werke dar, das wenige
Schwächen erkennen lässt. Insgesamt ist es
etwas relaxter, etwas ruhiger geworden,
was von der Spannung aber nichts weg
nimmt. Vielmehr greift das zeitweise
verschleppte Tempo sehr effektiv als
Stilmittel, eine große Leere, einen
schwebenden Zustand, einen zeitlosen
Zustand ohne Anfang und Ende darzustellen.
Sehr ausgeprägt findet man diese Stilistik
beispielsweise bei "As You Were", wenn sie
auch wie eine Zitadelle über dem
kompletten Album zu hängen scheint.
Bereits das eröffnende "End Of The World"
(mit dem bereits erwähnten Gast Paul
Rudolph an der Gitarre) kreiert eine
melancholische und irgendwie auch vom
’normalen' Leben losgelöste Atmosphäre,
die Anfangs von Nik Turners Flöte, im
weiteren Verlauf dann von Kephera Moon's
Keyboards und nicht zu vergessen auch dem
Gesang dominiert wird. Und trotz aller
versprühten Auswegslosigkeit und Leere
stellt sich der Protagonist seinem
Schicksal trotzig mit den Worten »I’m not
scared of life…« entgegen. Musikalisch
klasse umgesetzt und umgehend
Aufmerksamkeit erregend, dazu versehen mit
einer schönen Gesangsmelodie. Vom ersten
direkt zum letzten Stück, dem Re-Make von
"Master Of The Universe" (vom
Hawkwind-Album "In Search Of Space" aus
dem Jahr 1971): Eine ganz bestimmte
Stimmung, die dazu vor mehr als 35 Jahren
kreiert wurde, kann man natürlich nicht
mehr wirklich reanimieren, was der
Engländer aber zugegebenermaßen vielleicht
auch gar nicht wollte. Ein direkter
Vergleich hinkt also von vornherein und
sollte deshalb auch verworfen werden. Das
Stück selbst macht dagegen sehr viel Spaß,
während die Band rockt und Turner seine
Saxophon-Improvisationen darüber legt.
Aber auch die sechs Tracks dazwischen
verfügen über viel Qualität. Neben dem
bereits erwähnten "As You Were" verfügt
das sehr psychedelische "Why Are You?"
über ein cooles Gitarren-Riff, jede Menge
abgefahrene Synthie- sowie Keyboard-Sounds
und obendrein einer grundsolide rockende
Rhythmus-Abteilung. Mit einer der
stärksten Titel des Albums. Einen Ausfall
gibt es nicht zu beklagen und die
komplette Scheibe wirkt wie ein großes
Ganzes. Und wenn dieses Kriterium
erfolgreich umgesetzt werden kann, dann
ist das bereits die halbe Miete.
Insgesamt ist "Life In Space" ein starkes
Album geworden, auf das man sich einlassen
sollte. Ein paar wenige Abstriche müssen
beim Gesang gemacht werden, was aber
insgesamt kaum ins Gewicht fällt.
Glückwunsch also an Nik Turner, der erneut
beeindruckend bewiesen hat, dass nach wie
vor mit ihm zu rechnen ist.
Rock Times -
Germany
I guess Nik Turner needs not special
introduction. Being one of the founding
members of Hawkwind, he will always be
regarded as one of the most pioneering
musicians of his time and not only. You
see his sax and flute have given a whole
different perspective to the so called
space/psychedelic rock movement.
Anyhow, “Life in Space” is Nik’s new solo
work, two years after his previous “Space
Fusion Odyssey”. The new album features
two very special guest appearances… one by
Paul Rudolph (Hawkwind, Pink Fairies) on
the “End of the World” and another by
violinist Simon House (Hawkwind, David
Bowie) on “Why Are You?”. Well, I’d like
to point out that “End of the World” is
one of the best tracks that Nik has
delivered over the last years… an
atmospheric space rock anthem worthy of
the Hawkwind fame! Moreover, Nik revisits
“Master of the Universe”, one of the
Hawkwind classics; quite well but nothing
can surpass the original.
The production is full and clear on the
whole. Along with Nik (vocals, flute &
sax) this album also features: Nicky
Garratt (UK Subs, Brainticket, Carcrash
International, etc.) on guitar, Jürgen
Engler (Die Krupps, ex-Doro) on Moog
synthesizer, guitar & bass, Bryce
Shelton (Bädr Vogu, Brainticket) on bass,
Jason Willer (UK Subs, Jello Biafra and
the Guantanamo School of Medicine, The
Enemies) on drums, Chris Lietz (ex-Die
Krupps, ex-Doro) on keyboards and Kephera
Moon on keyboards. If you are a Hawkwind
follower and you fancy the albums that Nik
has been releasing in the last decade then
“Life in Space” will also satisfy you for
the most part.
Grande Rock -
Greece
Hey Man…if you’ve been saying to
yourself…I haven’t heard a really good
space rock album in a long time, well your
dreams are about to be answered with Nik
Turner’s new album Life In Space. This is
everything a psychedelic space-rock album
is supposed to be in my books. Dreamy
vocals, long synthesizer sound-scapes,
echo-drenched spacey synths, trance
inducing-hypnotic rhythms, layers of long,
sustained icy Mellotron strings, throw in
some flutes, saxophone, violin and sitar
sounds and Wow, it’s all here. We’re
looking at forty-four minutes of music
packaged in eight musical-stews that cover
a fair-bit of ground musically. Of course
fans of the genre will know of Turner’s
musical pedigree as co-founder of
Hawkwind, he was the “wild-man” of the
band, and looked and lived up to every
part of that reputation. Interestingly
this is only his sixth solo effort since
1978 and his most recent since 2015. I
have to say, perhaps the music here caught
me in a trippy mood but I just love it.
It’s the kind of music that takes me back
and sends me zooming into the future. It’s
full of nostalgic sounds and riffs and yet
doesn’t come across as dated in any way.
Perhaps that’s because the music scene
today has become so full of new and old
but Life In Space seems to fit in very
nicely here in 2017. I for one am very
happy that Nik Turner is still with us all
these years later still making
interesting, fun psychedelic Space Rock
music. Prog fans really should check out
this new release it’s just so cool on so
many levels.
Jerry Luck CD
Reviews - USA
Charged with cosmic energy, restless
reedman soldiers on to chain the rage of
the greatest enigma.
“It’s not a rut if it’s in space” could be
Nik Turner’s motto had it not been a
concept for rolling down the route mapped
out by 2013’s "Space Gypsy" and "Space
Fusion Odyssey" from 2015. Intrepid and
exhilarating, the veteran’s trip finds him
shedding skin and shifting mood time after
time, and this time there’s unexpected
mellowness in his delivery of pieces that
form a microcosm of the larger idea where
bringing on a dance-like update of
HAWKWIND’s anthem “Master Of The Universe”
for a finale is a way out of our mortal
coil rather than a return to base.
With Simon House on board and Paul Rudolph
guesting on the acoustically driven opener
“End Of The World” to give the album a
delicate gloom which would be dispersed
further down the line, Turner is
transporting the listener to the
“Astounding Sounds, Amazing Music” era
before taking them on a vertiginous
trajectory through a well-trodden
continuum. Nik’s attempt to look at it all
from a different angle is stoked on the
intense, though very varied in tempo,
“Approaching The Unknown” and “Secrets Of
The Galaxy” by Nicky Garratt and Jürgen
Engler’s songwriting that evokes classic
prog period and fills it with a punk vim,
while the funky riffs of the playful “Why
Are You?” and the pounding “As You Were”
ruffle the feathers of art rock discipline
with a sax-spiked madness.
The flute-painted pastorale “Back To
Earth” may be married to otherworldly
synthesizers, yet they complement a guitar
strum that anchors such a fantasy – like
the gravitational wave mentioned a little
later – and “Universal Mind” has its
poetry recital set to a serene sort of
jive for an even more heady effect. That’s
why, less experimental than this series
earlier installments, “Life In Space” is
more accessible – and worth living, albeit
maybe it’s time to move on from the rut.
Let It Rock -
Canada
Space noise, as is Nik Turner's wont,
pervades every aspect of this record. And
yet after a minute of such introductory
interstellar vibrations, track one, Nik
Turner's arrangement of Graham Turner and
Steve "Smiley" Barnard's "End of the
World," emerges as a ballad of such
gorgeous English melodic melancholy that
you can bet if Oasis had recorded it, the
song would be a Top 10 single the world
over. Never one for pessimism though,
juxtaposed against this musical setting,
Turner's deliverly is fearless and
hopeful, with a soft joy in his voice.
Knowing Turner's penchant for the harder
rock we'll soon be getting with the rest
of the record, "End of the World" is that
most rare occasion in music—a genuine, and
lovely, surprise. Former Hawkwind cohort
Paul Rudolph joins in for what is one of
the songs of the year.
Next up, "Why Are You?" brings us to the
juggernaut we more associate with Turner's
sound as Nicky Garret's wah'd guitar
thrashes forward and this time it's Simon
House from Turner's old band who joins in
the assault. "Secrets of the Galaxy" is a
continuation of this procession, the tempo
pulled back opens a more all-encompassing
sound, jubilant and triumphant. This
triptych culminates in the album closer, a
2017 update of Hawkwind classic "Master of
the Universe," one of Turner's personal
all-time favorites. Two minutes in and his
horn sound warps and weaves, pouring forth
sounds unrecognizable. Reworking your own
classic material can be tricky but once
this version is blasting through your
speakers, its existence seems necessary,
capturing the power of Turner's current
live show. But there's a dreamy side to
the album too. Nicky Garrett's "Back to
Earth" has guitars and flutes swirling in
hazy psychedelia. "Universal Mind" picks
up this flow and plugs it in, the electric
guitars and drums giving it lift and
focus. Life In Space is a strong record
showcasing some of Turner's best material
and performed with a powerhouse of a band
behind him. (www.nikturner.com)
Under The Radar -
USA
Whilst many of his contemporaries are
struggling – creatively – Nik Turner’s
best work may still to be done. The
one-time Hawkwind space cadet has been
working consistently if quietly over the
last couple of decades sometimes immersed
in the more obscure free jazz but always
passionately executed.
More recently he’s released ‘Space Fusion
Odyssey’ which demonstrated in amongst the
sax parpings and flute excursions there
was always a good tune ready to reveal
itself. Part of the trick is to
surround yourself with fellow journeymen
of a certain stellar standing. On
the previous album, Steve Hillage and John
Etheridge amongst others, on this latest
offering Paul Rudolph and Simon House from
Hawkwind days.
The Turner trade-marks are present
and correct; a funky undertow and
repetitive musical mantra (‘Why Are You?’)
with mellotron-esque keys and spacey sax,
whilst ‘Back To Earth’ features Turner’s
vocal against an attractive acoustic
ground and House’s violin melody.
‘Universal Mind’, ‘Approaching The
Unknown’ and ‘As You Were’ continue the
overall space rock vibe.
Turner is touring in the States this
autumn and we can only hope he brings his
band to the UK sooner than later as we all
want an excuse to wear great coat and
patchouli oil.
‘Secrets Of The Galaxy’ is straight out of
the Hawkwind songbook c.1972/3 and to keep
us further in touch with former times
there is even an authentic version of
‘Master Of The Universe’. Evocative
and energising.
Get Ready To Rock
- UK
The former Hawkwind legend, Nik Turner,
returns with a brand new album of space
rock and jazzy mayhem, titled Life in
Space. Featuring some familiar faces, such
as steady band members Nicky Garratt
(guitars), Kephera Moon (keyboards), Bryce
Shelton (bass), Jason Willer (drums),
Jurgan Engler (keyboards, guitar, bass),
and Chris Lietz (keyboards), Turner is
also joined here by former Hawkwind/Pink
Fairies guitarist Paul Rudolph on one
track, as well as former Hawkwind/David
Bowie violinist Simon House.
Life in Space kicks off with the dreamy,
jazzy "End of the World", which features
Rudolph on guitar and some gentle vocals
and reeds from Turner. Bubbling synths,
Mellotron, and wah-wah laced funk rock
guitar riffs permeate the upbeat "Why Are
You?", easily one of the most exciting
cuts here and also highlighted by some
screaming sax courtesy of Turner. Gorgeous
flute hovers over acoustic guitars,
synths, soaring violin from House, and
Turner's haunting vocals on "Back to
Earth", while "Secrets of the Galaxy" is,
as you would expect, a rousing heavy space
rock piece in the grand Hawkwind
tradition. Fuzz & wah-wah laden guitar
riffs, Mellotron, fluttering synths,
violin, flute, sax, meditative rhythms,
and Turner's hypnotic vocals swirl around
the arrangement, creating an intoxicating
miasma of sounds that will instantly
appeal to any fan who has followed Turner
since the early '70s. "Universal Mind" has
more of a breezy, jazzy feel to it,
Turner's vocals and flute leading the
charge with clean electric guitar strains
and Mellotron also finding some room to
breathe, and the brooding "Approaching the
Unknown" offers an instrumental take on
ominous space rock, the flute fleeting,
the synths percolating, and the guitars
menacing yet holding back somewhat. Creepy
stuff, that reminds of Pink Floyd's early
material. "As You Were" takes a similar
approach, a moody slow builder with
booming bass & drums that slowly pick
up the pace amid a wash of synths, sax,
and heavy rock riffs. Not sure if Nik was
short on material for this album, but we
once again have another version of the
Hawkwind classic "Master of the Universe",
which, of course, is great, but I think
another new track would have been more
appropriate.
If you love vintage space rock, it doesn't
get much better than this folks. Though in
a perfect world, it would be great if Nik
Turner and Dave Brock would kiss and make
up and present just one Hawkwind faction,
but I guess we are lucky to have both
Hawkwind and Turner out doing their thing
and keeping this great musical art form
alive. Nik Turner is set to tour the US in
2018, so make sure you check him out at a
concert venue near you.
Sea Of Tranquility
- USA
The British reedman, vocalist, and former
member of the legendary space rock band
Hawkwind navigates the cosmos once again.
For some, Life in Space may equate to
solitude and awe, but Nik Turner's festive
approach may be more conducive to
joyriding on Comets. Indeed, the artist's
vocals take on an air of innocence, often
mixed evenly among the sprinkling and
streaming electronics effects atop
sprawling grooves and drummer Jason
Willer's thrusting backbeats. Whereas,
many of these works contain memorable
riffs and hooks, contrasted by Turner's
blissful flute passages and adventurous
sax phrasings that often skirt the free
jazz realm.
Keyboardist Kephera Moon employs an
arsenal of synths to instill a sense of
prog rock antiquity. But guitarist Nicky
Garratt's crunchy wah-wah lines on "Why
Are You?" ride above a firm pulse with
bristling electronics treatments and the
leader's mellow-toned vocals. Here, the
band sports a big sound. Moreover, former
Hawkwind members violinist Simon House and
guitarist Jim Rudolph lend their wares on
various tracks.
"Back to Earth" is an up-tempo celestial
ballad featuring Garratt's harmonious
acoustic guitar parts and an endearing
melody, spiced with whispery melodic
content and Bryce Shelton's steely bass
lines that anchor the ensemble's
propulsive momentum. Other works are
dappled with Turner's mystical and echoing
flute phrasings via layered backdrops
constructed on existential implications
and simple ostinatos. However, "As You
Were" pronounces a doomsday metal outlook,
seemingly executed in a remote galaxy
where old stars die, and planets collide,
due to the musicians' fiercely wrought
connotations and accelerating pace.
Turner closes out the program with the
Hawkwind classic "Masters of Reality," as
Bryce dishes out the prominent bass groove
and Turner's swirling sax solo generate a
bit of high heat to round out this
archetypal space rock delight. For nearly
50-years the artist has been applying his
craft and continues his plight of
transmitting good cheer back to earth
during his treks into fringes of time and
space.
Track Listing: End Of The World; Why Are
You?; Back To Earth; Secrets Of The
Galaxy; Universal Mind; Approaching The
Unknown; As You Were; Master Of The
Universe.
Personnel: Nik Turner: vocals, sax, flute;
Nicky Garratt: guitar; Kephera Moon:
keyboards; Bryce Shelton: bass; Jason
Willer: drums; Simon House: violin; Jurgen
Engler: Moog Synthesizer; guitar, bass;
Chris Lietz: keyboards; Paul Rudolph:
guitar (1).
All About Jazz -
International
Sometime back in the mists of psychedelia,
Nik Turner embarked upon a journey into
outer space, via a psychotropic journey
into inner space, from which he’s never
quite returned. Countless acid-fuelled
excursions into the interstellar void,
grooving free jazz in the engine room of
the good ship Hawkwind, marked the man.
Dave Brock might rage impotently in the
face of Turner’s continuing mission to
explore strange new worlds, but while the
stately, 77-year old saxophonist might be
just as comfortable improvising alongside
post-punk sonic explorers Jah Wobble and
Youth or extemporising jazz rock fusion
with Billy Cobham or Flame Tree, Brock’s
got as much chance of keeping the Thunder
Rider away from space rock as Canute had
with keeping waves off the beach.
It’s also damnably hard to own the
Hawkwind brand in the eyes of their
bedazzled fanbase. As with Floyd there was
never any single identifiable focal point.
Squinting into the spiralling maelstrom of
the live ’Wind experience at their Space
Ritual peak, who’s the frontman? Bob
Calvert? Lemmy? Stacia? Hawkwind were a
collective force, Brock and Turner mere
elements in a tumultuous audio-visual
mind-fuck. Who owned it? Who cared? It was
a beautiful thing, and to scrap over its
legacy only seems petty. The antithesis of
all that it was. Turner, meanwhile, isn’t
without charm. He’s an accommodating,
approachable, cool dude, indeed. He busks,
hangs out after shows, works social media
without even appearing to try. It’s
clearly a charm that extends to the
studio, for there are Hawkwind alumni more
than willing to hitch a ride on Turner’s
latest sonic excursion into space.
Introspective introductory track End Of
The World (touched by an engaging
fin-de-siècle fragility) features
Astounding Sounds-era ex-Hawkwind and Pink
Fairies guitarist Paul Rudolph, while
wah-wah-driven Why Are You? irresistibly
recalls Warrior On The Edge Of Time being
the first selection to feature Simon
House’s evocative violin. Back To Earth
chimes acoustically, rich with a
flute-accentuated melancholia peculiar to
so many first-person sky pilots in
Hawkwind lore, before Secrets Of The
Galaxy hurtles the listener into the
swirling blackness of a downer-driven
sci-fi riff-storm. As Universal Mind
unfolds it’s all too easy to slip down the
back of the sofa into 1972, such is the
accuracy of its period trippiness before
Approaching The Unknown and As You Were
intensify the otherwordly ambience in
preparation for a triumphal closing
assault on Turner’s classic Master Of The
Universe which, while brilliant, is
surplus to requirements in such excellent,
career-topping company.
Louder - UK
Funny how some geezers are told they sound
dated and some geezers are championed for
being keepers of the flame. Original
Hawkwind player Turner comes back from
space to lift all the fans of space rock
back to his home planet with the help of
some geezers that still want to chart the
cosmos. Space rock from the masters of
that universe, it’s a sure bet progressive
tastes with cotton to this outing.
Midwest Records -
USA
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