Psychedelic Folk

Psychedelic folk is a wide category of acoustic song forms that capture an aesthetic similar to that of other Psychedelia-based genres, with an atmosphere that is at turns dream-like, “spaced-out”, whimsical, haunting, mystical and melancholic. This is achieved using methods such as studio effects, tunings (including detuned instruments), affected vocal styles and discordant melodies. Inspiration is sometimes drawn from various Regional Music traditions like Hindustani Classical Music and medieval music, as well as light avant-garde influences from Drone and American Primitivism. Initially emerging in the mid-1960s alongside Psychedelic Rock, Psychedelic Pop and Folk Rock, the genre developed from the British and American folk revival of the 1960s, presenting a warped version of the acoustic “folk troubadour” Singer-Songwriter boom of the time. This is exemplified on releases such as The 5000 Spirits or the Layers of the Onion and Sunshine Superman; early pioneers The Incredible String Band, Donovan, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Tim Buckley and Pearls Before Swine saw the style reach its peak of popularity between 1967 and 1970. The earliest recorded use of the term “psychedelic” in musical context is thought to be on The Holy Modal Rounders' version of "Hesitation Blues" from their 1964 debut, a group who began as Old-Time-revivalists and later went on to produce music in the psychedelic folk mould. As part of the 1960s psychedelic subculture, psych folk was associated with “mind-altering” experiences and hallucinatory drug use, especially LSD, which gave rise to the alternate term “acid folk”. Lyrics of the “flower power” era and hippie subculture emphasized nature, love, peace, mysticism and spirituality.