Space rock is a music genre characterized by loose and lengthy song structures centered on instrumental textures that typically produce a hypnotic, otherworldly sound.[1] It may feature distorted and reverberation-laden guitars, minimal drumming, languid vocals, synthesizers, and lyrical themes of outer space and science fiction.

The genre emerged in late 1960s psychedelia and progressive rock bands such as Pink Floyd, Hawkwind,[1] and Gong[2] who explored a "cosmic" sound. Similar sounds were pursued in the early 1970s' West German kosmische Musik ("cosmic music") scene. Later, the style was taken up in the mid-1980s by Spacemen 3, whose "drone-heavy" sound was avowedly inspired by and intended to accommodate drug use. By the 1990s, space rock developed into shoegaze, stoner rock and post-rock[1] with bands such as the Verve, Flying Saucer Attack, and Orange Goblin.

History

Origins: 1950s-1960s

Humanity's entry into outer space provided ample subject matter for rock and roll and R&B songs from the mid-1950s through the early 1960s. It also inspired new sounds and sound effects to be used in the music itself. A prominent early example of space rock is the 1959 concept album I Hear a New World by British producer and songwriter Joe Meek. The album was inspired by the space race and concerned human's first close encounter with alien life forms.[3] Meek then went on to have a UK and US No 1 success in 1961 with "Telstar", named after the newly launched communications satellite and thus intended to commemorate the new space age. Its main instrument was a clavioline, an electronic forerunner of the synthesizers.

The Beatles' song "Flying" (1967), originally titled "Aerial Tour Instrumental", was a psychedelic instrumental about the sensation of flying, whether in a craft or in your own head space.[4] Jimi Hendrix is also an early innovator of the genre, with such tracks as "Third Stone from the Sun", "1983... (A Merman I Should Turn to Be)" and "The Stars That Play with Laughing Sam's Dice".

Pink Floyd's early albums contain pioneering examples of space rock: "Lucifer Sam",[5] "Astronomy Domine",[6] "Pow R. Toc H."[7] and "Interstellar Overdrive"[8] from their 1967 debut album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn are examples. 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, and their third, More (1969) had "Cirrus Minor".

Hawkwind, an influential space rock band

Peak: 1970s-1980s

In the early 1970s, West Germany's kosmische Musik ("cosmic music") scene developed among artists who explored "spacy", ambient instrumental soundscapes.[9] The term is frequently used as a synonym of krautrock,[10] but may also be used as a German analogue to the English term "space rock".[11] These artists often explored electronic music, synthesizers, and themes related to space or otherworldliness.[12][9] Examples included artists like Ash Ra Tempel, Tangerine Dream, Popol Vuh, and Klaus Schulze.[11]

In early 1971, Pink Floyd began writing the song that would become known as "Echoes", from the 1971 album Meddle. The song was performed from April until September 1971, with an alternative set of lyrics, written about two planets meeting in space.

A major album in the history of space rock was Hawkwind's Space Ritual (1973),[13] a two-disc live album advertised as "88 minutes of brain-damage" documenting Hawkwind's 1972 tour that included a liquid light show and lasers, nude dancers (notably the earth-mother figure Stacia), wild costumes and psychedelic imagery. This hard-edged concert experience attracted a motley but dedicated collection of psychedelic drug users, science-fiction fans and motorcycle riders. The science fiction author Michael Moorcock collaborated with Hawkwind on many occasions and wrote the lyrics for many of the spoken-word sections on Space Ritual. In Europe, Hungarian band Omega was the biggest space rock band with albums Time Robber (1976), Skyrover (1978), and Gammapolis (1979). Other European bands include the progressive rock groups Eloy and Nektar. Nektar, who were known for having a rhythmic liquid/slide light show at their concerts, released their album Journey to the Centre of the Eye in 1971.

From 1980s to 1990s, Magic Mushroom Band and Ozric Tentacles released space rock albums.[14]

1990s revival

British group Spacemen 3 spearheaded space rock revival.[1]

Shoegaze, dream pop and crusty genres emerged in the mainstream with the explosion of bands such as Swervedriver, Slowdive, the Verve, My Bloody Valentine, The Boo Radleys, Richard Ashcroft, Flying Saucer Attack, Klaus Schulze, Ride, the Flaming Lips, Orange Goblin, Spacemen 3, Spiritualized, Mercury Rev,[15] crusty band Magic Mushroom Band,[16] and Ozric Tentacles.[17] The sonic experimentation by these bands had something in common with "space rock".

In the mid-1990s, a number of bands built on the space rock styles of Hawkwind and Gong appeared in America. Some of these bands were signed to Cleopatra Records, which then proceeded to release numerous space rock compilations. Starting in 1997, Daevid Allen of Gong, along with members of Hawkwind, Clearlight, and Blue Oyster Cult, started to perform with Spirits Burning, a studio project created to celebrate space rock.[18]

The Strange Daze festivals from 1997 to 2001 showcased the American space rock scene in three-day outdoor festivals. A Michigan-based space rock scene included Burnt Hair Records, Darla Records, and bands such as Windy & Carl, Mahogany, Sweet Trip, Füxa and Auburn Lull. This was a modern movement of the traditional "space rock" sound and was pinned Detroit Space Rock.

French band Air released albums Moon Safari, 10,000 Hz Legend and Le voyage dans la lune.


21st century

In 2005, Tom DeLonge formed the rock supergroup Angels & Airwaves, who are known for having space rock influences in both its music and lyrics, in addition to having space-themed imagery and artwork.

In 2006 the British rock band Muse released the song Knights of Cydonia which is heavily inspired by the song Telstar from the Tornados a band that frontman Matt Bellamy's father was a member of.[19]

In 2009 an off-duty NASA worker from the shuttle program synchronised footage of a Discovery launch with the Flowers of Hell's "Sympathy for Vengeance" in an online video which became popular amongst staff at the Kennedy Space Center.[20][21]

The progressive rock band Starset is heavily influenced by space and astronomy, and many of their songs reference themes commonly associated with space.

In 2018, British rock band Arctic Monkeys released their sixth studio album, Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino, based on frontman Alex Turner's concept of a luxury resort on the moon for rockstars. The album centres around topics of interstellar travel, consumerism, science fiction and technology, and features several characters such as an unnamed retired rockstar who serves as the narrator for several tracks, 'Mark', the titular hotel's receptionist, and the fictional 'Martini Police' mentioned in the track 'Star Treatment'.

In 2021, Coldplay released the single Coloratura, a song that pays homage to space rock and has been compared to the works of Pink Floyd, drawing particular comparisons to The Dark Side of the Moon and Astronomy Domine.[22][23]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Space rock". AllMusic. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
  2. ↑ Nickson, Chris. "Shapeshifter – Gong | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  3. ↑ "Joe Meek: The RGM Legacy". Archived from the original on 8 October 2012. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  4. ↑ AllMusic Review by Richie Unterberger
  5. ↑ A.Robbins "The Trouser Press record guide" (Collier Books, 1991), ISBN 0-02-036361-3
  6. ↑ Bruce Eder, Astronomy Domine song review, AllMusic
  7. ↑ Nicholas Schaffner, "Saucerful of secrets: the Pink Floyd odyssey", (Dell, 1992), ISBN 0-385-30684-9, p.66.
  8. ↑ Richie Unterberger, Interstellar Overdrive song review, AllMusic
  9. 1 2 Adelt 2016.
  10. ↑ Seabrook, Thomas Jerome (2008). Bowie in Berlin: A New Career in a New Town. Jawbone Press. p. 85. ISBN 978-1-906002-08-4. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
  11. 1 2 Horn, David; Shepherd, John, eds. (2017). Bloomsbury Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World, Volume 11. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 177.
  12. ↑ Harden, Alexander C (31 December 2016). "Kosmische Musik and its Techno-Social Context". IASPM Journal. 6 (2): 154–173. doi:10.5429/2079-3871(2016)v6i2.9en. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
  13. ↑ Wilson Neate, Space Ritual review, AllMusic
  14. ↑ "Ozric Tentacles – Freakbeat 1990". Ozrics.elementfx.com. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  15. ↑ Shoegaze Allmusic.com Retrieved 29 November 2023
  16. ↑ Magic Mushroom Band Allmusic.com Retrieved 29 March 2022
  17. ↑ "Space rock". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  18. ↑ [https://spiritsburning.bandcamp.com/album/the-roadmap-in-your-head Spirits Burning] bandcamp.com Retrieved 29 November 2023
  19. ↑ Crossan, Jamie (2013-05-27). "Muse's Matt Bellamy: 'My dad's bankruptcy drove me to be successful'". NME. Retrieved 2022-12-31.
  20. ↑
  21. ↑ "Archive of Sympathy for Vengeance + Space Shuttle Discovery mashup". Smg.photobucket.com. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  22. ↑ Robinson, Ellie (2021-07-23). "Coldplay shoot for the stars with their cinematic new track 'Coloratura'". NME. Retrieved 2023-08-23.
  23. ↑ updated, Louder last (2021-07-23). "Coldplay discover Pink Floyd, share 10 minute prog rock single Coloratura". louder. Retrieved 2023-08-23.
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