Space rock is a subgenre of rock music; the term originally referred to a group of early mostly British 1970s progressive rock and psychedelic bands such as 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.^[2] For the Swedish political music movement, see progg. ... Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that attempts to replicate the mind-altering experiences of hallucinogenic drugs. ... For other uses, see Electronic music (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Guitar (disambiguation). ... Synth redirects here. ... A sunburst-colored Fender Precision Bass The electric bass guitar (or electric bass[1][2]; pronounced , as in base) is a bass stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers (either by plucking, slapping, popping, or tapping) or using a pick. ... A drum kit (or drum set or trap set) is a collection of drums, cymbals and sometimes other percussion instruments, such as a cowbell, wood block, chimes or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single drummer. ... In music a singer or vocalist is a type of musician who sings, i. ... Shoegazing was a generalized tag given to some alternative rock bands 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 rocks attitude and anger with the atonal noise, feedback, and free song structures of noise music, presented in a decidedly pop context. ... The term post-rock was coined by Simon Reynolds in issue 123 of The Wire (May 1994) to describe a sort of music using rock instrumentation for non-rock purposes, using guitars as facilitators of timbres and textures rather than riffs and powerchords. ... 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. ... This article is about the genre. ... For the Swedish political music movement, see progg. ... Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that attempts to replicate the mind-altering experiences of hallucinogenic drugs. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Pink Floyd are an English rock band that initially earned recognition for their psychedelic or space rock music, and, as they evolved, for their progressive rock music. ... Synth redirects here. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... Alternative music redirects here. ... Ambient music is a musical genre in which sound is more important than notes. ...

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 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. Ewan MacColl (25 January 1915 - 22 October 1989) was a British folk singer, songwriter, socialist, actor, poet, playwright, and record producer. ... Peggy Seeger (New York City, New York, June 17, 1935 -) is an American folk singer who also achieved renown in Britain, where she lived for more than 30 years as the wife of songwriter Ewan MacColl. ... For other uses, see BBC (disambiguation). ... Shirley and Dolly Collinss 1974 album Love, Death and the Lady Shirley Elizabeth Collins MBE (born 5 July 1935, Hastings, Sussex, England) was a significant contributor to the English folk revival of the 1950s and 1960s. ...

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. 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. Pink Floyd are an English rock band that initially earned recognition for their psychedelic or space rock music, and, as they evolved, for their progressive rock music. ... Astronomy Domine is a song by British Psychedelic rock band Pink Floyd. ... Interstellar Overdrive is a psychedelic music composition by Pink Floyd, which appears on their 1967 debut album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn at almost ten minutes in length. ... The Piper at the Gates of Dawn is Pink Floyds debut album and the only one made under Syd Barretts leadership, although he made some contributions to the follow-up, A Saucerful of Secrets. ... A Saucerful of Secrets is the second album by rock band Pink Floyd, and arguably one of the first progressive rock albums. ... Let There Be More Light is the first song on Pink Floyds second album, A Saucerful of Secrets and describes a close encounter with an alien spacecraft. ... 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 Saucerful of Secrets (1968). ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ...

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. 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. The Space Ritual Alive in Liverpool and London is a 1973 live double album recorded in 1972 by UK rock band Hawkwind. ... Stacia Page was a dancer for the English rock group Hawkwind. ... Michael John Moorcock (born December 18, 1939, in London, England) is a prolific English writer primarily of science fiction and fantasy who has also published a number of literary novels. ...

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. 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. 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. Alternative music redirects here. ... Shoegazing was a generalized tag given to some alternative rock bands 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 rocks attitude and anger with the atonal noise, feedback, and free song structures of noise music, presented in a decidedly pop context. ... Slowdive // 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 Form College, by vocalist Richard Ashcroft, guitarist Nick McCabe, bassist Simon Jones, and drummer Peter Salisbury. ... This article is about the music group. ... Look up ride in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... 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 1997, during which they recorded and released three critically-acclaimed albums. ... Monster Magnet is an American rock band. ... Hum are a space rock/Alternative Rock band from Champaign, Illinois. ... See also: 1991 in music (UK) Musical groups established in 1991 Record labels established in 1991 // 1991 was the year that grunge music made its popular breakthrough. ...

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 (such as Pressurehed and Melting Euphoria) were signed to Cleopatra records, which then proceeded to release numerous space rock compilations. Gong is a progressive/psychedelic rock band formed by Australian musician Daevid Allen. ...

Examples of space rock

Before adding a band to this section, its article must include the term "space rock" with link to this article in its introductory paragraph(s), and again in the "genre" list in its infobox, if it has one. Bands will be removed from the list if they do not meet this criteria.

• Ash Ra Tempel
• Bardo Pond
• Codeseven
• Cosmic Jokers
• Dream Machine
• Eloy
• The Flaming Lips
• Failure
• Flying Saucer Attack
• FM
• Füxa
• Gong
• Hawkwind
• Hidria Spacefolk
• Lothar and the Hand People
• Oceansize
• Ozric Tentacles
• Pink Floyd
• The Secret Machines
• Spacemen 3
• Spiritualized
• Star One
• Windy and Carl
• Zombi

Ash Ra Tempel were one of the more notable German Krautrock groups of the 70s and 80s. ... Bardo Pond are an American psychedelic rock band formed in 1991. ... Codeseven was formed in 1995 as a melodic hardcore band in Winston-Salem North Carolina. ... Cosmic Jokers was a German krautrock supergroup. ... Eloy is a German progressive rock band, whose musical style includes symphonic and space rock, the latter theme being more prevalent on earlier albums. ... 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 1997, during which they recorded and released three critically-acclaimed albums. ... Flying Saucer Attack was an experimental indie rock band that formed in Bristol, England in 1992. ... FM is a Canadian progressive rock band. ... Füxa (pronounced Fyoo-sha, or like the color fuchsia) was started in late 1994 by Detroit musicians Ryan Anderson of Asha Vida and Randall Nieman of Windy & Carl. ... Gong is a progressive/psychedelic rock band formed by Australian musician Daevid Allen. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Hidria Spacefolk is a Finnish folk-influenced progressive / psychedelic rock band. ... Lothar and the Hand People was a psychedelic rock band of the late 1960s. ... Oceansize are a five-piece progressive rock group based in Manchester, England. ... The Ozric Tentacles (commonly known as the Ozrics) are an instrumental band from Somerset, England, whose music can loosely be described as psychedelic. ... Pink Floyd are an English rock band that initially earned recognition for their psychedelic or space rock music, and, as they evolved, for their progressive rock music. ... The Secret Machines are a two-piece American rock band originally from Dallas, Texas, before moving to New York City. ... Spacemen 3 were an English rock band who formed in 1982 and whose career spanned from the post-punk to acid house eras. ... Spiritualized are an English rock band formed in 1990 in Rugby, Warwickshire by Jason Pierce (who often goes by the alias J. Spaceman) after the demise of his previous outfit, space-rockers Spacemen 3. ... STAR One features the next generation of Hindi entertainment with an innovative, diverse mix of programming and cutting edge production values that appeal to urban, upwardly mobile Indian audiences. ... // Windy & Carl are an ambient space rock group based in Dearborn, Michigan. ... Zombi are a progressive duo from Pittsburgh, consisting of Steve Moore on bass and synthesizers and A.E. Paterra on drums. ...

Notes