Psychedelic Rock to Space Rock: The Evolution of a Sound
Psychedelic rock to space rock – the evolution of a sound. How did this happen? Let’s take a look at the history of these two genres and how they’ve influenced each other.
Psychedelic Rock
Psychedelic rock, sometimes referred to as “acid rock”, is a type of rock music that emerged in the mid-1960s. The style is typically characterized by distorted guitars, trippy lyrics, and mind-bending sound effects. The genre is often seen as an extension of the earlier psychedelic music scene, and was heavily influenced by psychedelic drugs such as LSD.
Origins
Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It often uses new recording techniques and effects, and incorporates elements of other genres such as acid rock, folk, jazz, electronica, and world music.
Psychedelic rock emerged in the mid-1960s with bands such as the Beatles, the Byrds, and the Beach Boys experimenting with drugs like LSD and cannabis. These bands were soon followed by others such as Pink Floyd, the Grateful Dead, and Jefferson Airplane who began to explore the possibilities of extended improvisation and experimentation with sound. By the early 1970s, psychedelic rock had largely fallen out of fashion, but a number of influential bands continued to experiment with elements of the genre. These included David Bowie, Roxy Music, Queen, and Hawkwind who would help pioneer the related genres of space rock and glam rock.
Development
In the late 1960s, rock music was undergoing a period of profound change. Bands like the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Rolling Stones had experimented with mind-altering drugs like LSD, and this new consciousness was reflected in their music. Psychedelic rock emerged as a style of music that was dedicated to exploring these altered states of consciousness.
Psychedelic rock is characterized by extended improvisation, heavy use of feedback and distortion, unusual sound effects, and often unconventional song structures. The genre is strongly influenced by Indian classical music and South Asian culture. Psychedelic rock reached its peak of popularity in the late 1960s and early 1970s with bands like Pink Floyd, the Grateful Dead, and Led Zeppelin.
In the late 1960s, a new generation of British musicians began to experiment with electronic music and spacey sound effects. These artists were influenced by the work of American composer Terry Riley, who pioneered the use of tape loops in his 1966 composition In C. The result was a subgenre known as space rock. Bands like Hawkwind and Pink Floyd pushed the boundaries of psychedelic rock with their expansive soundscapes and wild live shows.
Space rock continued to develop in the 1970s and 1980s with bands like Kraftwerk, Can, and Neu!. These groups blended electronic music with traditional rock instrumentation to create a new kind of chart-topping pop music. In the 1990s and 2000s, space rock enjoyed a resurgence in popularity with bands like Sonic Youth, My Bloody Valentine, and Radiohead.
Space Rock
Space Rock emerged from Psychedelic Rock in the late 60s and early 70s. Psychedelic Rock had begun to experiment with sound, structure and length of songs. They were also interested in using new technologies and incorporating different instruments into their music. Space Rock took this one step further by focusing on creating an otherworldly, space-like sound.
Origins
Psychedelic rock, also referred to as acid rock, is a style of rock music that emerged in the mid-1960s. Psychedelic music is intended to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs, most notably LSD.
The first acid rock bands were The Eagles and The Byrds, who began experimenting with psychedelia in the 1966. The Beatles’ landmark album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) is often considered the first true psychedelic rock record. The album’s innovative sonic textures and themes of love, death, and time helped define psychedelia as a musical genre.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, psychedelic rock gave way to space rock, a subgenre that featured lengthy songs, extended instrumental passages, and synthesizers. Space rock bands such as Pink Floyd and Hawkwind explored themes of outer space, alien worlds, and mental illness in their music.
Today, many artists continue to experiment with sounds and textures that harken back to the golden age of psychedelia. Revered bands such as Tame Impala and MGMT are keeping the spirit of psychedelic rock alive in the 21st century.
Development
The sound of psychedelic rock developed from a combination of factors. The first was the increased interest in drug culture, particularly LSD, among young people in the late 1960s. This led to a renewed interest in Eastern religions and their associated musical traditions, which were often meditative and used unusual time signatures. The second was the popularity of American psychedelic bands such as The Doors, Jefferson Airplane, and Grateful Dead. These groups often incorporated elements of jazz and improvisation into their music, which added to the sense of freedom and experimentation associated with psychedelic rock.
The third factor was the influence of British bands like Pink Floyd and Soft Machine, who were at the forefront of the so-called “space rock” movement. Space rock was an attempt to fuse the two dominant strains of psychedelic music at the time – American psychedelia and British prog rock – into a new, more experimental sound. This new sound was typified by extended jams, electronic effects, and a general sense of sonic exploration. It was also heavily influenced by Krautrock, a German musical movement that emerged in the early 1970s.
The fourth factor was the growing popularity of electronic music. Many psychedelic bands began to experiment with synthesizers, drum machines, and other electronic instruments in an attempt to create more “trippy” sounds. This led to the development of what is known as “acid house,” a subgenre of trance music that became hugely popular in nightclubs in the late 1980s.
All these factors came together in the 1990s to create what is now known as psybient or psychedelic trance (Psytrance for short). Psytrance is characterized by pounding rhythms, acidic melodies, and mind-bending sound effects. It is often compared to acid house or techno, but with a more “cosmic” feel.
