Utter Trash--Nik Turner

Master of the Universe

An interview with Nik Turner

By Bob Ignizio

Nik Turner is a founding member of legendary British “space rock” band Hawkwind. From 1970 to 1976 he sang, played saxophone and flute, and wrote or co-wrote some of the band’s best known songs like “Master of the Universe”, “Brainstorm”, “You Shouldn’t Do That’, and “D-Rider”. After leaving Hawkwind, Nik put out several albums with the band Inner City Unit in the seventies and eighties, and has continued making music both as a solo artist and as a member of several projects right up to the present. Nik is currently involved with the British band Space Ritual (made up entirely of former Hawkwind members) and the American group Spaceseed, who will be backing him up on his current U.S. tour.

Utter Trash: So what sort of projects are you working on lately? I’ve heard you're working with a new American band and may be doing some recording in the near future.
Nik Turner: My current projects are 'Space Ritual', which is all original members of Hawkwind. We’re recording an album, doing DVDs, and performing live around Britain, and in the New Year, Europe. Also an album from Nik Turner’s Galaktikos, which is funky/latin/jazzy/ravey/punk/cabaret/dance grooves, is in the pipeline. In the U.S. I’m working with the band Spaceseed, producing their and my music.

UT: On some of your past visits to America, you've brought along other ex-Hawkwind members as part of your band. Anybody fellow Hawks coming along for this tour?
NT: I haven't actually arranged any ex-Hawks, but may do something with Harvey Bainbridge, I think. in Cleveland at Jim Lascko’s Strange Daze fest.

UT: The last show I remember seeing you do, you had a broken leg. Plenty of younger artists would have cancelled, but you still came out in your full space suit get up, and then proceeded to play for over 2 hours. Where does a guy your age get the energy?
NT: I’m charged with cosmic energy, only 10,000,000 years old so far on terra.

UT: Aside from the other Hawkwind members you've played with in recent years, most members of your backing bands have been from the U.S. Ever thought of just moving here?
NT: This thought has crossed my mind on several occasions, [like Lemmy or Alan Powell]. If it were simple I think I just might.

UT: You've put out quite a bit of music since leaving Hawkwind, from Inner City Unit to Anubian Lights, etc. What's you're favorite post-Hawkwind album you've done?
NT: I like Allstars Kubanno Kickasso, but I’ve even moved on from there. I guess I like best whatever I happen to be doing currently. Everything has it's good points. I like ICU's ‘New Anatomy’ for the songs, but the drum machine spoils it. But I think I really like everything I’ve done. I suppose ultimately I like albums where I have a lot of input. Like the new Spaceritual album, I’ve written some songs for it somewhat loosely inspired by Celtic mythology and sci-fi. That’s yet to be completed, though.

UT: As much as I enjoyed seeing you play with other Hawkwind members on some tours, I thought the best show you did was the aforementioned one where you had the broken leg and Farflung was your backing band. Do you stay in touch with Tommy Grenas and the rest of those guys, and do you think you'll work with them in the future?
NT: I do keep in touch with Tommy and the L.A. crew, and will work with them again when it's logistically and financially viable, or coincidentally convenient. I’d like to do some more recording with them.

UT: The Hawkwind/Nik Turner image has always been associated with science fiction. Are you still a fan of sci-fi, and if so, what recent books or movies in the genre have impressed you?
NT: I do read a lot. Mostly sci-fi, mythology, books about the great pyramids, Mayan pyramids, etc. Current books I’m reading are ‘100 years of solitude’ by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and a series by Zachariah Sitchin. Plus other sci-fi books, the names of which escape me. Some recent movies I’ve liked are ‘I Robot’, the ‘Lord of the Rings’ series, ‘The Matrix’, and ‘Day After Tomorrow’.

UT: Do you think your work with Hawkwind has had a big influence on today's music? How much of what the electronic musicians do these days do you think is inspired by what Hawkwind and other bands like them were doing in the seventies?
NT: I do think that my work with Hawkwind has had loads of influence on music today. Whilst in Hawkwind, I was informed by the manager of Rose Morris, a large London musical instrument shop, that 90% of kids that were buying saxes from him wanted to play like me, believe it or not. But I think we were doing something new. I can't think of anything like it previously. We were using simple electronic effects in a new and dynamic way, and playing simple, rather bizarre, seemingly drug-oriented music in a new and exciting way, which was accessible. In turn, I think it inspired lots of young people to play. Recently I heard a young kid playing “Master of the Universe” on guitar on the beach. He didn't know who I was, he was just playing it. I hear lots of our influence today. Punk was influenced by it, and acid house, trance. I guess the imagery can be inspiring also; the ultimately awesome, [analog, manual] lighting effects have also had their influence visually.

UT: What kind of impact do you think the various social and political movements you and Hawkwind were involved in during the sixties and seventies have had, if any? Is the world today better or worse than you expected it to be back then?
NT: I think the world is a better place due to the positive energy that the band projected into their music and their social attitude. The band gave its support for many worthwhile social and political causes, and found ways to make it all fun. And we had support from many creative beings like Barney Bubbles and all at Frendz, Mike Moorcock, Liquid Len [John Smeeton], Robert Calvert, Doug Smith, Andrew Lauder, all given with love. This was during the period when I was playing as a member of the band. It’s probably very different from Lemmy's slant, which was that of a speed machine.

UT: Although admittedly the audience for space rock and Hawkwind isn't as big as it was in the seventies, it's still there. People in the US still want to see you play. Are you surprised the music has endured as well as it has?
NT: No, not really surprised. The music and the experience was an anomaly. It’s timeless, so it's more like the spirit of the music which has endured, and this spirit is what I feel for it. Music is a healing force, and if you play music from the heart and you enjoy it, if you harmonize, you touch people. You get people to enjoy themselves, you are helping to heal them, raise their spirits, and get high together. We are all at different levels of spiritual evolution and conscious awareness, so we need to help each other. We play to live and live to play.