Psych folk

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Psych folk
Stylistic origins
Cultural origins
Late 1960s, early 1970s
Typical instruments
Derivative forms Neofolk

Psychedelic folk or Psych folk is a music genre that originated in the 1960s through the blending of folk music and psychedelic rock or pop.

Contents

[edit] Characteristics

Psych folk generally favors acoustic instrumentation although it often incorporates other instrumentation. Chanting, early music and world music influences are often found in psych folk. Much like its rock counterpart, psychedelic folk is known for a peculiar, trance-like, and atmospheric sound. Its lyrics are often concerned with such subjects as the natural world, love and beauty and try to evoke a state of mind associated with the effects of psychedelic drugs.

[edit] History

Early Incredible String Band, Donovan, Fairport Convention, (see electric folk), Pentangle, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Synanthesia and perhaps most prominently, Syd Barrett are all prominent early examples of psych folk artists. Notice that all of these musicians are from Britain, where psychedelic music often had a stronger folk element.[citation needed]

American bands include early Byrds, Love, Bermuda Triangle Band, and Pearls Before Swine.

New musical artists continue to draw on this tradition, although many of them would not necessarily describe their own music as psych folk (the term "Freak Folk" has gained favor). Current 93 whose new folk direction of 1988’s Earth Covers Earth rekindled the acid/freak folk styles of such groups as the Incredible String Band. Indeed the album cover is a post-punk parody of the Incredible String Band’s album, The Hangman’s Beautiful Daughter. David Tibet, the main, and most consistent performer of Current 93 has continued predominantly with this style (his variation also called Apocalyptic folk) to this day, having collaborated with folk singer Shirley Collins.

Since the 1990s, this style has included existentialist pairing Pinkie Maclure & John Wills, known as Pumajaw in Scotland. Also the Georgia-based Elephant 6 Recording Company, which includes bands like Neutral Milk Hotel, has been known to release psych folk records.

The latest generation of psych folk artists in the mid to late 2000s include Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Circulus, The Slant, Entrance, Devendra Banhart, Alela Diane, Akron/Family, Arborea, CocoRosie, Joanna Newsom, Jana Hunter, Peter and the Wolf, Espers, Vetiver, DeVotchKa, Faun Fables, Gwendolyn, Sun City Girls, Dame Darcy, Gregory Paul, Kemialliset Ystävät (Finland), William Wesley & The Tiny Sockets, Feathers, F.J.McMahon, Pothole Skinny, Deek hoi (see also New Weird America).

Michael Gira has also assisted in a sort of psych folk revival. Gira may have named his newest project Angels of Light after San Francisco hippie Hibiscus' transcendental theatre group of the same name (though another possible source of the name is the Psychic TV associated project "Thee Angels Ov Light Meet Thee Angry Love Orchestra". in interviews he says he cannot remember where he got the name from) and is responsible for guiding the career of new psych folk stars, Devendra Banhart and Akron/Family. Julien Aklei is an underground psych folk luminary, giving the genre a fresh and lighthearted color with her fairy-pastel point of view.

[edit] List of psych folk artists

[edit] Related genres

As mentioned, a related style that incorporates world music, strange sounds, and trippy lyrics is psych folk's more esoteric-oriented and hermetic-centered cousin, Apocalyptic folk. While these genres are similar, the latter's sound and history owes a debt to Gothic rock and early industrial music.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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Folk music