Psychedelic/Space Rock

Psychedelic progressive rock music is a part of larger psychedelic cultural phenomena, which emerged in the mid 1960's. During that time British Invasion and folk-rock bands began to expand the sonic possibilities of their music. These groups abandoned the brief, concise verse-chorus-verse patterns of rock & roll, and moved towards more free-form, fluid song structures. Just as important, the groups began incorporating elements of Indian and Eastern music. The free-from principles of free jazz were adopted to the psychedelic sound, emphasising spontaneous emotions over calculated and estimated construction of music. Also experimenting with electronically altering instruments and voices within the studio using new technology was part of the style.

A music being classified as psychedelic progressive rock may contain the elements described before with varying combinations. As the psychedelic movement was a large cultural phenomena, it is difficult to fence psychedelic progressive rock into a one tight category. Therefore psychedelic progressive rock can be found also from the different sub genres of prog, and it also has interfaces with several of them.

Psychedelic prog sub genres

Early psychedelic:

These artists are mostly found from the Proto-Prog section. Among the earliest psych related bands are BEATLES, CREAM, JIMI HENDRIX, JEFFERSON AIRPLANE and also PINK FLOYD with their first album.

Psychedelic folk / Acid Folk:

These bands can be found from the Prog Folk category, earliest of them being Proto-Prog similar time. From the early psych folk acts THE BYRDS were a highly successful group, but later they moved towards country music from their psychedelic style. This band was also a big influence for YES, which first album holds some psychedelic qualities. The multi vocal harmonies stayed in their sound even as they ventured towards the symphonic prog style, a genre which is quite far from psychedelic rock. The early line-up of FAIRPORT CONVENTION with SANDY DENNY released few albums, which combined traditional folk music with psychedelic elements, and their long song "A Sailor's Life" with real interactive improvisational playing had a big influence on psychedelic folk groups like THE TREES. Some psychedelic oriented folk bands also played music outside from the Anglo-Saxon frame of reference, like Italian AKTUALA, blended Middle-Eastern folk music to their records, and British JADE WARRIOR was seeking influences form Japanese and African music. In Germany EMTIDI blended electronic sounds in their sound, and at late 70's CAROL OF HARVEST drew together the essential characteristics of the genre which had matured during the decade in the vast number of psychedelic bands. Other bands which could be mentioned here are SEDMINA from former Yugoslavia and APHRODITE'S CHILD from Greece. both of these bringing elements of their own nations traditional musical heritage to be joined with the elements of psychedelia. Groups like THE THIRD EAR BAND and QUINTESSENCE experimented with elements from eastern and Indian music, which kind of bands are found more from the genre Indo-Prog/Raga Rock. Instead of European roots these artists take their elements from raga, classical India music. During mid-60's RAVI SHANKAR brought raga to success in the Western Christian industrial countries, and it's qualities were adopted to psychedelic culture, as both raga and psychedelia focus on the state of emotional trance. Example record from this genre could be SEVENTH SONS album "Raga" from year 1964.

Space Progressive Rock:

Space rock was developed in the late 60's and early 70's by bands like HAWKWIND, PINK FLOYD and TANGERINE DREAM. These bands created a sound dominated by long synthesizer driven instrumental sequences, echo treaded electric guitars, having much space for improvisations and using science fiction themes for songs, lyrics and album arts. Hawkwind is the genre's key innovator. Examples: HAWKWIND, early PINK FLOYD and TANGERINE DREAM, ALIEN PLANETSCAPES, QUARKSPACE, AMON DÜÜL (the English lineup).


Interfaces with other prog genres

Krautrock:

Early British psychedelia influenced the German bands of the early '70s that expanded the sonic possibilities of art and progressive rock. Bands of this genre moved later to it's own electronic directions, but krautrock can also be considered as 70's "acid" rock from Germany. A majority of bands experiment long instrumental improvisations with an important use of psychedelic effects, weird electronic sounds. Some bands from early 70's resembling still the conventional psych sound are f.ex. AMON DÜÜL, ASH RA TEMPEL, early CAN, GÄA NECRONOMICON and YATHA SIDHRA.

Progressive Electronic:

This style emerged from Krautrock, and some of their most influential artists TANGERINE DREAM and KLAUS SCHULZE started with very psychedelic musical style, and also inspired the evolvement of "Space rock" sound. Influences of progressive electronic music have been adopted to the contemporary techno music scene, and some underground trance techno acts have clear relations with psychedelic music, as they have even similar visual dimensions as part of their musical performance.

Jazz Rock/Fusion:

Psychdelia's free-form improvisation was implemented from the free jazz, which was established by ORNETTE COLEMAN by his album Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation from year 1961 Some jazz rock albums may have psychedelic elements in them, for example American AZIGZA fusions middle-eastern elements in a quite psychedelic manner, and Finnish TASAVALLAN PRESIDENTTI implemented elements of psych folk and acid rock to their sound.

Prog Related:

From this genre can be found the solo albums of PINK FLOYD's SYD BARRET, and FAIRPORT CONVENTION. Other artists which might be classified as psychedelic prog related could be jam-oriented stuff like early live recordings of the ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND, and some mainstream bands influenced by classic psychdelia like KULA SHAKER.

Canterbury Scene:

An independent genre influenced by psychedelia, example bands with psychedelic tendencies are SOFT MACHINE and GONG.

Progressive Metal:

Some stoner rock orchestras' music can be either psychedelic rock or heavy metal, and the classifications will have to be done case-sensitive. PHARAOH OVERLORD is an example of psychedelic stoner rock band. Some harder stoner metal bands can be found from progressive metal band list.

http://www.progarchives.com/subgenre.asp?style=15

Psychedelic/Space Rock 20 key studio albums

4.67 PINK FLOYD Wish You Were Here (1975)	4.57 PINK FLOYD Dark Side Of The Moon (1973)	4.44 PINK FLOYD Animals (1977)	4.40 HAWKWIND Warrior on the Edge of Time (1975)
4.23 PINK FLOYD Meddle (1971)	4.38 CHROMA KEY Dead Air for Radios (1998)	4.25 ELOY Ocean (1977)	4.62 BROWN'S KINGDOM COME, ARTHUR Journey (1973)
4.39 OZRIC TENTACLES Curious Corn (1997)	4.30 OCEANSIZE Frames (2007)	4.54 MUTANTES, OS Mutantes (1969)	4.20 OCEANSIZE Everyone Into Position (2005)
4.14 NEKTAR A Tab in the Ocean (1972)	4.19 OZRIC TENTACLES Jurassic Shift (1993)	4.05 PINK FLOYD The Wall (1979)	4.41 MUTANTES, OS O 'A' E O 'Z' (1973)
4.15 OCEANSIZE Effloresce (2003)	4.25 OZRIC TENTACLES Spirals In Hyperspace (2004)	4.67 BROWN'S KINGDOM COME, ARTHUR Galactic Zoo Dossier (1971)	4.10 HAWKWIND Hall of the Mountain Grill (1974)