Nik Turner's Sphynx

British space rock ensemble

British ProgRock group, led by Nik Turner, with Steve Hillage and Harry Williamson, made one album in 1978. Xitintoday was conceived inside a Pyramid, non other than the Great Pyramid and not only in the great pyramid it was recorded inside King Khufu’s tomb itself . Making it one of the strangest and most magical records of all time unleashed like a Pharaohs curse, maybe a deep connection to Lord Carnarvon is in there. The story behind the making of this came about as Turner was cast away from the Spaceship Hawkwind, he took to the hippie trail and ended up in Egypt for his sins. Turner somehow blagged his way into being left alone for three hours locked inside the King’s Chamber. Those who guarded King Khufu’s tomb, where rumoured to see in Nik Turner a gold-aura’d illuminated being who fully had the right to three hours locked in the chamber, which once held the Great Pharaoh’s earthly remains. However, Turner made it inside the chamber and, like all Egyptian tourists, who just so happened to have a flute and some state-of-the-art recording equipment on themselves, set about recording sounds. Turner utilised those precious hours in the heart of the ancient worldly aura of the tomb, to lay down the basic woodwind tracks that make up Xitintoday. ( Some of the complete session is now issued as a separate track on latter-day CD copies). In the UK he rounded up some like minded individuals including Mike Howlett, Steve Hillage, Tim Blake from Gong and Alan Powell from Hawkwind among others, to make up, Nik Turner’s Sphynx. The original tomb flute tracks were worked in one long marathon session to form the outline of the album we hear today. Those that delve into this release will have to agree its one hell of trip, showing Turners true skills in the art of psychedelic sounds. What will always remain a question is with all the punk sales going through the roof, why Charisma invested in this release?? I guess those sparkly eyes of Nik's are just so convincing