| Space rock | |
| Stylistic origins | |
|---|---|
| Cultural origins |
Late 1960s, England
|
| Typical instruments | |
| Mainstream popularity | Limited to a few groups as a specific genre, but often associated with more popular genres |
| Fusion genres | |
| Shoegazing, noise pop, post-rock, stoner rock, ambient music | |
Space rock is a style of music; the term originally referred to a group of early mostly British 1970s progressive rock and psychedelic bands like Hawkwind and Pink Floyd,[1] characterised by slow, lengthy instrumental passages dominated by synthesisers, experimental guitar work and science fiction lyrical themes, though it was later repurposed to refer to a series of late 1980s British alternative rock bands that drew from earlier influences to create a more melodic but still ambient form of pop music. Progressive rock (often shortened to " progressive " " prog " or " prog rock " is a form of Rock music that evolved Psychedelic rock is a style of Rock music that attempts to replicate the mind-altering experiences of hallucinogenic drugs. Electronic music is music that employs Electronic musical instruments and Electronic Music technology in its production The guitar is a Musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles The electric bass guitar (also called electric bass, or simply bass; ˈbeɪs as in "base" is a Stringed instrument played primarily with the A drum kit (also drum set or trap set) is a collection of Drums Cymbals and sometimes other Percussion instruments such as cowbells Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, which is often contrasted with Speech. Shoegazing (also known as shoegaze or shoegazer) is a genre of Alternative rock that emerged from the United Kingdom in the late 1980s Noise pop is a term used to loosely describe a number of Alternative rock bands that fuse Punk rock 's attitude and anger with the Atonal noise feedback Post-rock is a genre of Alternative rock characterized by the use of Musical instruments commonly associated with Rock music, but using Rhythms Stoner rock and stoner metal are interchangeable terms describing sub-genres of rock and metal music Ambient music is a Musical genre in which sound is more important than notes Music is an Art form in which the medium is Sound organized in Time. This article is about the Decade 1970-1979 For the Year 1970 see 1970. Progressive rock (often shortened to " progressive " " prog " or " prog rock " is a form of Rock music that evolved Psychedelic rock is a style of Rock music that attempts to replicate the mind-altering experiences of hallucinogenic drugs. Hawkwind are a British rock band, one of the earliest Space rock groups Pink Floyd are The 1980s was the decade spanning from January 1 1980 to December 31 1989. Alternative rock (also called alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative; known primarily in the UK as indie) is a genre of Ambient music is a Musical genre in which sound is more important than notes [2]
Contents |
History
Precursors
The probable earliest example of something like space rock is a song written in the 1940s by Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger for a BBC radio show called You're Only Young Once. The 1940s decade ran from 1940 to 1949 Events and trends The 1940s was a period between the radical 1930s and the conservative 1950s which also leads the period to be Ewan MacColl ( 25 January, 1915 - 22 October, 1989) was a British Folk singer, Songwriter, Socialist Peggy Seeger, born June 17 1935 in New York City, is an American folk singer The song is called "Space Girl" and parodies most of the major themes of 1940s science fiction. A version of the song was recorded on "The World of Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger" volume 2: Songs from the radio ballads, released in 1971 on Argo Records. A much shorter version of the same song was recorded in the 1960s by Shirley Collins. The 1960s decade refers to the years from the beginning of 1960 to the end of 1969 For the former MPP see Shirley Collins (politician Shirley Elizabeth Collins MBE (born 5 July 1935, Hastings
Emergence
Space rock emerged from the late 1960s psychedelic music scene in Britain and was closely associated with the progressive rock movement of the same time period.
Pink Floyd's early albums contain pioneering development of space rock on some tracks; for example "Astronomy Domine" [3] and "Interstellar Overdrive" [4] from their debut album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn are examples. Pink Floyd are " Astronomy Domine " is a song by British Psychedelic rock band Pink Floyd. " Interstellar Overdrive " is a psychedelic composition by Pink Floyd, which appears on their 1967 debut album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn The Piper at the Gates of Dawn is Pink Floyd 's debut album and the only one made under Syd Barrett 's leadership although he made some contributions to Their second album A Saucerful of Secrets contained further examples: "Let There Be More Light" and "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" with explicit science fiction themes. A Saucerful of Secrets is the second Album by rock band Pink Floyd, and marks the group's stylistic change from psychedelic to " Let There Be More Light " is the first song on Pink Floyd 's second album A Saucerful of Secrets. " Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun " is a song by British Psychedelic rock band Pink Floyd, and is featured on their second album
A major album in the history of space rock was Hawkwind's Space Ritual (1973),[5] a two-disc live album advertised as "88 minutes of brain-damage" documenting Hawkwind's successful 1972 tour of their blow-out show complete with liquid lights and lasers, nude dancers (notably the earth-mother figure Stacia), wild costumes and psychedelic imagery. The Space Ritual Alive in Liverpool and London is a 1973 live double album recorded in 1972 by UK rock band Hawkwind. Stacia (full name Stacia Blake) born 26th December 1952 in Ireland was an Exotic dancer for the English rock group Hawkwind. This hard-edged concert experience attracted a motley but dedicated collection of psychedelic drugs users, science-fiction fans and motorcycle riders. The science fiction author Michael Moorcock collaborated with Hawkwind on many occasions: for example, he wrote the lyrics for many of the spoken-word sections on Space Ritual. Michael John Moorcock (born 18 December 1939, in London) is an English writer primarily of Science fiction and fantasy who has also
1990s revival
By the early 1990s, the term "space rock" came to be used when describing numerous American and British alternative rock bands of the time. The 1990s collectively refers to the years between and including 1990 and 1999 Alternative rock (also called alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative; known primarily in the UK as indie) is a genre of Shoegazing and noise pop genres emerged into the mainstream with the explosion of bands like Slowdive, The Verve, My Bloody Valentine, Ride, The Flaming Lips, Failure, Monster Magnet and Hum. Shoegazing (also known as shoegaze or shoegazer) is a genre of Alternative rock that emerged from the United Kingdom in the late 1980s Noise pop is a term used to loosely describe a number of Alternative rock bands that fuse Punk rock 's attitude and anger with the Atonal noise feedback Slowdive were a Shoegazing band formed in 1989 lasting until 1995 The Verve (originally Verve) are an English rock band formed in Wigan, Greater Manchester in 1989 at Winstanley Sixth My Bloody Valentine are an Alternative rock band formed in Dublin Ireland in 1984 and predominantly based in London. The Flaming Lips (formed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1983 is an American rock band Failure was an influential American Rock band (often also classified as Alternative rock and/or Space rock) that was active from 1990 to Monster Magnet is an American Hard rock band Hailing from Red Bank, New Jersey, the group was founded by Dave Wyndorf (vocals Hum is an Alternative rock band from Champaign, Illinois. They have not been consistently active as a recording or touring group since 2000 The sonic experimentation and emphasis placed on texture by these bands led them to be dubbed "space rock". By 1991 (see 1991 in music), however, the original space rock bands had mostly fallen apart and the musicians had moved on to new bands or new styles. See also 1991 in music (UK Musical groups established in 1991 Record labels
In the mid 1990s, a number of bands built on the space rock styles of Hawkwind and Gong appeared in America. Gong is a progressive / Psychedelic rock band formed by Australian Musician Daevid Allen. Some of these bands (such as Pressurehed and Melting Euphoria) were signed to Cleopatra records, which then proceeded to release numerous space rock compilations.
Examples of space rock
- Ash Ra Tempel
- Codeseven
- Cosmic Jokers
- Dream Machine
- Eloy
- The Flaming Lips
- Failure
- Flying Saucer Attack
- FM
- Füxa
- Gong
- Hawkwind
- Hidria Spacefolk
- Hum
- Lothar and the Hand People
- Oceansize
- Ozric Tentacles
- Pink Floyd
- The Secret Machines
- Spacemen 3
- Spiritualized
- Star One
- Windy and Carl
- Zombi
Notes
- ^ Richie Unterberger, Pink Floyd biography Allmusic
- ^ Space Rock, Allmusic
- ^ Bruce Eder, Astronomy Domine song review, Allmusic
- ^ Richie Unterberger, Interstellar Overdrive song review, Allmusic
- ^ Wilson Neate, Space Ritual review, Allmusic
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