Kaleidoscope Eyes: Psychedelic Rock to Electronica, 1960

Kaleidoscope Eyes is a blog dedicated to the history and evolution of psychedelic rock music from the 1960’s to the present day.

Psychedelic Rock- Origins

Psychedelic rock, also referred to as “psychedelia”, is a style of rock music that emerged in the 1960s. The term is often used interchangeably with “acid rock”. Psychedelic rock is characterized by a distorted, “trippy” sound, often created by electric guitars, keyboards, and drums.

San Francisco Sound

In the mid-’60s, the San Francisco Sound emerged as a hippie-influenced variant of folk rock, featuring long improvised jams and lyrics glorifying the counterculture and blending elements of rock, blues, pop, jazz and world music. The San Francisco bands were organically connected to the community and lifestyle of their region (the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood in particular) and shared a similar DIY ethic; they also experimented with psychedelic drugs.

British Invasion

The Beatles were not the only British Invasion band to embrace psychedelia. The Rolling Stones, The Who, and the Animals all experimented with the genre, although none did so as successfully as the Fab Four. The Kinks, too, would later dabble in psychedelia with their 1968 concept album “The Village Green Preservation Society.”

In 1965, the Rolling Stones released “Satisfaction,” which contained the now-famous lyric “I can’t get no satisfaction.” The song was a huge hit, and it established the Stones as one of the premier rock bands of the 1960s. But it would be their next single that would cement their place in music history.

Released in 1966, “Paint It Black” was a dark and ominous song that featured sitar accompaniment by Brian Jones. The song was a huge hit, reaching #1 on both the US and UK charts, and it became one of the defining songs of the psychedelic era.

Psychedelic Rock- Key Figures

It is difficult to overstate the importance of The Beatles in the development of psychedelic rock; their Rubber Soul album (1965) is often regarded as the first psychedelic rock album. George Harrison’s use of the sitar on the song “Norwegian Wood” was a key factor in the emergence of psychedelic rock.

Jimi Hendrix

Arguably the most important electric guitarist in rock history, Jimi Hendrix’s career was cut short when he died of suffocation at the age of 27. His life was a blur of sex, drugs and rock & roll, but through it all he managed to produce some of the most influential and groundbreaking music of the late ’60s. His posthumous reputation has only grown in the ensuing decades, as his records have become timeless touchstones of psychedelic guitar-rock.

The Grateful Dead

The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band is known for its long-term live performances, which often featured lengthy jams and improvisation over conventional material. The Grateful Dead’s sound mixed elements of folk, blues, country, jazz, bluegrass and rock. They are considered pioneers of the psychedelic rock genre and were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. The band was ranked 57th on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the “100 Greatest Artists of All Time”.

The Grateful Dead released 13 studio albums and 18 live albums between 1967 and 1995. Their eponymous debut album (1967), with its fusion of folk music and blues influences, was both musically groundbreaking for its time and an accurate reflection of the band’s live sound. Live/Dead (1969), their first live album, is considered one of the greatest concert recordings ever made. American Beauty (1970) and Workingman’s Dead (1970) were two instant classics that expanded the band’s sonic breadth while still remaining firmly grounded in their rootsy playing style. These albums introduced a more acoustic sound that featured less drug-related lyrics.

With 1974’s From The Mars Hotel, the Dead returned to a more experimental feel similar to that of their early years, albeit with better production values. Blues for Allah (1975), a partially experimental album recorded during a brief hiatus from touring, was not as well received by fans or critics. After another hiatus in 1976–1977 caused by keyboardist Keith Godchaux’s dismissal from the band, the Dead returned to touring with new keyboardist Brent Mydland. The remainder of their career saw periodic lineup changes—vocalist Donna Godchaux left in 1979; Mydland died in 1990; percussionist Mickey Hart took another extended break from 1980 to 1995—and continued experimentation with their musical style. The dead released Built to Last in 1989; this would be Jerry Garcia’s last studio album before his death in August 1995 at age 53 from complications arising from a heart attack suffered nine months earlier while drug rehabilitation

Pink Floyd

Formed in 1965, Pink Floyd initially built their reputation playing lengthy blues-based jams in the underground clubs of London. They released their debut album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn in 1967. The album was a critical and commercial success, reaching number six on the UK album chart.

However, it was their next album, 1968’s A Saucerful of Secrets, that saw them begin to develop their distinctive sound. The album included the track “Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun”, which featured heavily orchestrated passages and sound effects. The following year, they released the seminal album Ummagumma, which was a double LP featuring one live disc and one studio disc.

Ummagumma is widely regarded as one of Pink Floyd’s best albums, and includes the track “Careful With That Axe, Eugene”, which features a famous scream by guitarist/singer Roger Waters.

Pink Floyd continued to experiment with their sound on subsequent albums, 1970’s Atom Heart Mother and 1971’s Meddle. On both albums they made use of electronic instruments and tape loops to create atmospheric soundscapes. Meddle also featured the 23-minute track “Echoes”, which displayed their growing interest in extended instrumental pieces.

In 1972, they released another classic album in The Dark Side of the Moon. The album became a huge commercial success, reaching number one in several countries and staying on the charts for 741 weeks (a record that still stands today). It features some of Pink Floyd’s best-known tracks, including “Money”, “Time”, and “Us and Them”.

The following year they released another successful album, Wish You Were Here. The album includes the track “Shine On You Crazy Diamond”, which was written as a tribute to former band member Syd Barrett (who had left the band in 1968 due to mental health issues).

Electronica- Origins

It is generally accepted that the first electronic music was produced by French composer Pierre Schaeffer in the late 1940s with the help of several collaborators. The first commercial release of electronic music was a recording by Italian-American composer and bandleader Gino Marinacci, entitled “Musique Électronique duBeginning of the World”, released in 1957 on the audio magazine Omni.

Kraftwerk

Kraftwerk is a German band formed in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered as innovators and pioneers of electronic music, they were integral in the development of synthesizers, samplers and computer-generated sounds. Kraftwerk’s signature sound combines hypnotic rhythms with catchy melodies, often featuring vocoded vocals. The group’s motto is “Musique Non Stop”.

The band was highly influential in the creation of electro, techno, house and EDM. Kraftwerk’s influence extends beyond music, into fashion, art and design. The group has been awarded several prestigious prizes, including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Award.

Yellow Magic Orchestra

Yellow Magic Orchestra is a Japanese electronic music band formed in Tokyo in 1970, consisting of composer Ryuichi Sakamoto, bassist Haruomi Hosono and drummer Yukihiro Takahashi. They are often credited with pioneering the electonica genre and their influence can still be felt today. The group began as an avant-garde jazz-fusion outfit, but later moved into more electronic territory, incorporating synths, drum machines and sampling into their sound. They were hugely successful in Japan and also gained a following in the West, particularly with their 1978 album ” Solid State Survivor”, which featured the single ” Computer Game / Firecracker”. YMO’s music has been used extensively in video games and they have also been sampled by a number of hip-hop and electronica artists.

Electronica- Key Figures

In the late 1970s, Kraftwerk, a German band, released “Autobahn,” an electronic pop song that would inspire a new genre of music: electronica. This song would go on to be one of the most influential songs of all time, and would spawn a whole new genre of music.

Daft Punk

Daft Punk is a French electronic music duo formed in 1993 by Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter. The duo achieved significant popularity in the late 1990s as part of the French house movement and had continuous success in the years following, combining elements of house with synth-pop. They are also known for their visual stylization and disguises associated with their music. The duo became one of the most commercially successful electronic music acts of all time, both in album sales and concert attendance. Daft Punk’s work has also been sampled or covered by other artists. They released four studio albums: Homework (1997), Discovery (2001), Human After All (2005), and Random Access Memories (2013).

Discovery was certified seven times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and is one of the best-selling albums of all time;[8][9] it spawned four singles: “One More Time”, “Aerodynamic”, “Digital Love”, and “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger”. The album peaked at number two in France,[10] where it was eventually certified diamond.[11] Random Access Memories won five Grammy Awards in 2014, including Album of the Year,[12] making Daft Punk the first French act to win that award.[13]

Aphex Twin

Aphex Twin is the stage name of British electronic musician Richard D. James. He is best known for his influential and idiosyncratic work in styles such as techno and ambient music in the 1990s. He is also a respected DJ and has been nominated for Grammy Awards.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Kaleidoscope Eyes: Psychedelic Rock to Electronica, 1960 is a great documentary film that chronicles the history of psychedelic rock and electronic music. It features interviews with some of the most influential musicians and producers of the genre, as well as footage of live performances and studio sessions. If you’re a fan of either genre, or just want to learn more about the history of popular music, this film is definitely worth checking out.