Psychedelic music

Psychedelic Music
Stylistic origins	rock and roll, jazz, folk music
Cultural origins	Psychedelic drug use
Typical instruments	drums, guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, tape loops, found objects, various Indian instruments
Subgenres
Psychedelic rock - Psychedelic folk - Psychedelic pop - Psychedelic soul - Psychedelic ambient - Psychedelic trance - Psychedelic techno - Psychedelic breakbeat

Psychedelia in music (or also psychedelic music, less formally) is a term that refers to a broad set of popular music styles, genres and scenes, that may include psychedelic rock, psychedelic folk, psychedelic pop, psychedelic soul, psychedelic ambient, psychedelic trance, psychedelic techno, and others. Psychedelic rock is also commonly called acid rock.

Background

During the mid to late 1960s music of the psychedelic genre, in the basic sense of the word, was incorporated by many bands/recording artists at that time (which makes psychedelia a very broad style). However, psychedelia as a strict genre of musics is difficult to identify/label because of the many contrasting musical groups that interpreted then demonstrated this concept as their own form of music. It is easy to identify/stereotype music as being "psychedelic" by its potential use of elaborate studio effects (heavy reverb), exotic instrumentation (sitar), and surreal lyrics, but to strictly apply these and other elements as a basis for musical classification is almost irrelevant. Even the heavier and more aggressive bands of the late 60's (MC5, The Litter, Iron Butterfly), implemented typical psychedelic techniques into their songs, but psychedelia was also strongly associated with the lighter or sometimes more mainstream acts of the era (The Beatles, Strawberry Alarm Clock, Pink Floyd, Sopwith Camel).

It is important to note that few of the works described as "psychedelic" actually had relation to any of the various effects associated with the psychedelic experience. The few works that sought, in some way, to translate this experience into musical form -- Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band among very few others -- utilized various "tricks" of the recording medium to create an aural vocabulary that helped evoke the psychedelic "trip" itself. The hallucinogenic effects of time dilation (represented by slowing down or speeding up the recording tape), curious echoes (represented by tape delays of various kinds), and other assorted perceptual variations found expression through techniques such as tape played backward, new utilization of panning (sound placement in the stereo field) and reverb. As few works delved into the difficulties of trying to portray what is often described as an ineffable experience, the term "psychedelic" lost this original meaning and became much more generalized.

The first apparitions of psychedelic music date back to the 1960s. Some of the first great psychedelic bands were The Doors (often called the Kings of Acid Rock, Psychedelic Rock, and as Jim Morrison once put it, "orgasmic rock"), Jefferson Airplane, Kevin Ayers era Soft Machine, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Big Brother and the Holding Company, Country Joe And The Fish, Grateful Dead, The Yardbirds (with Jeff Beck), and Syd Barrett era Pink Floyd. Texas' 13th Floor Elevators are often called the "inventors" of psychedelic rock; their debut album (The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators) was most likely the earliest use of the word "psychedelic" in a rock context. There are some rare examples of more obscure or unknown bands which even predate the "commmonly accepted" early practitioners of psychedelia, such as The Magic Mushrooms, The Human Expression, The Holy Modal Rounders, and The Charlatans. The music generated by bands such as these was based widely on the use of the psychedelic drug LSD and the herb Marijuana (which lead to a vast variety of interpretations).

Among the many different bands of the 1960s there was clearly a certain amount of psychedelic aura, or a level of musical coherency, that varied for each one. Some albums and individual songs in particular were less coherent than others, meaning they used supposedly more "psychedelics" in their recordings. Based on these recordings, it is obvious that some bands experimented/embraced psychedelia more than others. Albums such as Electric Music for the Mind and Body (Country Joe And The Fish), Angel's Egg (Gong), The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (Pink Floyd) and the Soft Machine eponymous first album are all good examples of deep, original, and non-commercial psychedelic music.

Psychedelia could also be interpreted as simply a "surreal and dreamy feeling" in a particular song, instead of a specific genre with rules to follow. In some cases this simply requires writing one coherent song, then to experiment recording that song in the studio while under "psychedelic influence", yielding very surreal musical results. A classic example of this method is "Bass Strings", by Country Joe And The Fish. This early track, written and recorded by Country Joe and the rest of his band in 1966, was obviously an upbeat, hasty, and offensive song of protest in a raw jug band influenced style. In 1967 this song changed dramatically, not to meet more contemporary commercial standards, but rather to re-record it as an experimental track while under the influence of LSD. The new psychedelic result was clearly self-evident in Country Joe's first studio album ("Electric Music For The Mind And Body") when "Bass Strings" featured a much slower tempo, delayed vocals, added reverb, studio reversed cymbals, electric organ, desert traveler lyrics, and a continuous blues guitar solo which together make this song a very, in the true sense of the word, "psychedelic" track.

Much psychedelic rock was performed at the Woodstock Music And Arts Festival in 1969.

Neo-psychedelic music

Main article: Neo-psychedelia

Neo-psychedelic is a broad term used to describe groups with overt psychedelic influences. Much like traditional psychedelia, neo-psychedelia is associated with experimental and jam-oriented music.Many modern bands incorporate elements of traditional psychedelia into their music, such as the Comets on Fire. In addition, many jam bands, like Umphrey's McGee, Phish, and Rusted Root, play psychedelia-influenced music. Other bands, like Kwisp, create a new unique psychedelic sound. Bands such as Porcupine Tree, Spock's Beard, and Ayreon touch upon Neo-psychedelic music, while applying it to progressive music. However, the art-rock band Tool leads the pack commercially in the neo-psychedelic genre, maintaining number one albums and sold out stadium shows. Much like Pink Floyd, they have over the top psychedelic shows, but with a darker edge.

Modern Jazz groups such as Medeski Martin and Wood are a good example of Neo-psychedelia. Live performances are altered dramatically by large sections of improvisation.

Related musical genres

• Acid breaks
• Acid house
• Acid jazz
• Acid rap and trip hop
• Acid rock and stoner rock
• Acid techno
• Acid trance
• Psychedelic Trance
• Psytrance

See also

• Psychedelic
• Psychedelic art
• Psychedelic drug
• Psychedelic era
• Psychedelic literature

Bibliography

• Joynson, Vernon (1984). The Acid Trip: A Complete Guide to Psychedelic Music. Babylon Books. pp. pp. ISBN 0-9071-8824-9. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
• Sculatti, Gene (1985). San Francisco Nights: The Psychedelic Music Trip, 1965-1968. St Martins Pr. pp. pp. 192. ISBN 0-3126-9903-4. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)

External links

• Lysergia reviews, inverviews, and psychedelic history and information