'psychedelic' ?

ichabod

ichabod

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What exactly does the term 'Psychedelic' mean when applied to music?

In another thread on this board a lot of people were saying they liked their trance psychedelic. What makes some music more psychadelic than other music? Is it purely in the complexity or is it in the types of sounds used? I guess a lot of peoples idea of very psychedelic psytrance is stuff with lots of squelches etc. Why is this? Is there something inately psychadelic about squelchy sounds? If so... why?

For me, psychedelia is in the eye of the beholder and it is pretty meaningless to apply the term to music.

Any thoughts?
 
Psychedelic music is simply music which expresses or enhances the psychedlic experience.

To me, early pink Floyd, or space rock like Hawkwind, or seventies krautrock, is a great deal more psychedlic than a lot of the "squelchy" psytrance stuff that passes for psychedlic, currently.

My psychedlic experiences are far better expressed with some pretty tunes, and sparkly twitters and chirps, than by grating machine noises.
There was psychedelic music long before psy-trance, a lot of which seems to be mis-named, to me...
:runsmile:
 
I would say that psychedelia is in the MIND of the beholder, what is psychedelic for one person may not be for another and vice versa. I'm lucky in the sense that an old 60's or 70's psy tune will do the same thing to my brain as some of the latest twisted night time psy trance. All a matter of taste. :Wink3: And agree with Whitedog, some Psy-trance is not really that psychedelic imho, although some people will say it is. I agree with Whitedog about the following statement:

Psychedelic music is simply music which expresses or enhances the psychedlic experience.
Click to expand...
 
ichabod, I agree with you that "psychedelic music" is subjectivly. and I think that's why it causes a bit for stir sometimes when discuessed. whenever I talk about an album I consider psychedelic I hope ppl realize this is just my interperation of it. that applies to other ppl as well, whatever is psychedelic to them is their personal interperation.

my definition is = music that alters the perception of time and space.

which means, it's a VERY broad genre.

but in a sense, there are bands that are psychedelic. if you see how certian bands obviously are trying to create a mind-altering/mystical effect by certain techniques.

like: minimalism, soundscapes, subtle changes....(the list goes on). I'm not a musician myself so there are likely other ppl out there who can point out more accuretly how certain bands are puckin with yer mind.

my 2 euros!
 
Full Lotus said:
I would say that psychedelia is in the MIND of the beholder, what is psychedelic for one person may not be for another and vice versa. I'm lucky in the sense that an old 60's or 70's psy tune will do the same thing to my brain as some of the latest twisted night time psy trance. All a matter of taste. :Wink3: And agree with Whitedog, some Psy-trance is not really that psychedelic imho, although some people will say it is. I agree with Whitedog about the following statement:
Click to expand...
so it is in the mind of the beholder, but some music is not psychedelic even though some people say it is?
fishy
to me, something that allows me to travel without my physical body moving is psychedelic, sadly not much trance has this effect on me, ambient music does though
 
whitedog said:
Psychedelic music is simply music which expresses or enhances the psychedlic experience.
Click to expand...

thatz an entirly personal perseption tho, for me a bit of Euphoria enhances a trip allot better than some of the fluffiests squelchiest psy trance.....I find Psy Trance expresses the Psy Experience nicly, but I dont find it enhances it, for me anyway, actually I prefer chillout lol
 
No it isn't, imho, it is correct use of English language! :Wink3:
If a piece of music doesn't meet those criteria, then it isn't psychedelic, imho.

Also imho, the use of the term "psy", assuming it is shorthand for the word psychedelic, is often a misnomer, these days...
 
To me, everything whitedog said is spot on.

I find that, at the parties I go to, most of the music (main rig and chill) is very psychedelic, as is the party as a whole.
 
whitedog said:
Also imho, the use of the term "psy", assuming it is shorthand for the word psychedelic, is often a misnomer, these days...
Click to expand...

This is somthing I hear allot, but I dont understand.......Psy IS short for Psykadelik...
 
Psychedelic to me is when you witness a moment that defies all that you hade previously learned and assumed about your world or reality. This may be through the use of drugs or by taking the time to see things in a new way. Of course with drugs these new perceptions are thrust upon you. Psychedelic music for me is and exempt to convey these experiences to others. In turn the music may enhance someone else’s perceptions of thing at the time of listening or remind them not so much of a specific psychedelic experience but of that mode of perception they were in at the time. Kind of like a smell taking you back to a long forgotten moment from your childhood. What I find really psychedelic in music is when you have a "normal" expected sound that is the morphed in to something completely alien. I.e. the normal isn't normal anymore. And hopefully you realise how un-normal normal always was. So be it a squelch sound that you brain translates as the kind of sound you chemical engine brain would make when a new thought was born or you not listening to the sounds but rather looking at the shapes they make in the air The psychedelic experience is different for everyone but strangely graspable for those who have experienced it even just once. Funny how new things can be learnt so fast? Hope I haven’t waffled to much.
Of course this isn't the only function of Psytrance it also has to live up to the trance part of it's name and make you want to dance and have a good old groovy joy joy time. Oh yeah baby do the funky gibbon with me.
 
surely psy means head/mind music, not neccesarily music for the feet/dancefloor.psytrance is a way of 'taming' the psychedelica into a dancefloor 4/4 format.

on the other hand psy just means weird!! in that case electronica is psy ooofff!!!
 
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