Music Feature Monday: Psychedelic Music
psychedelic - adjectiveDefinition of psychedelic by the Merriam Webster dictionary:of, relating to, or being drugs (such as LSD) capable of producing abnormal psychic effects (such as hallucinations) and sometimes psychotic states
After drugs were normalised in the late 1950s by some of the Beat Generation movement writers, psychedelics were more widespread and advocated by the 1960s. It was popular mainly among the folk and rock bands in the USA and the UK. It declined again in the late 1970s but not before creating its subgenres of psychedelic folk, psychedelic rock, acid rock and psychedelic pop. Following its recession, multiple revivals of the genre came along including -but not limited to- psychedelic funk, neo-psychedelia, stoner rock and psychedelic hip hop.
But, what exactly is psychedelic music?
"To understand what makes music stylistically psychedelic, one should consider three fundamental effects of LSD: dechronicization, depersonalization, and dynamization. Dechronicization permits the drug user to move outside of conventional perceptions of time. Depersonalization allows the user to lose the self and gain an awareness of undifferentiated unity. Dynamization, as [Timothy] Leary wrote, makes everything from floors to lamps seem to bend, as 'familiar forms dissolve into moving, dancing structures'... Music that is truly psychedelic mimics these three effects."
- Sixties Rock: Garage, Psychedelic, and Other Satisfactions by Michael Hicks.
What many people think, though, is that psychedelic music is way too "western," but it actually relies, to an extent, on exotic instruments, like the sitar and tabla! Another thing, that's widely known about psychedelic music and is believed by a lot of people to be the reason behind the drug-like effect it has, is that dynamic studio effects are used to distribute the soundwaves by a pan control setting from one stereo track to the other. To put it simply, if you're using your earphones while listening to a psychedelic track, you might notice different sounds emphasised on each side of your earphones. This, one way or another, grouped with more complex studio effects, results in the ethereal and calming effect this genre has. Paired with this music is typically as ethereal and as calming lyrics, often describes as whimsical and literary-inspired.
Some of the most well-known psychedelic musical act are:
1. The Beatles
2. The Rolling Stone
3. Pink Floyd
4. Led Zeppelin
5. Tame Impala
These are all artists that not only we but our parents too, all know. And although psychedelic music is frowned upon for being drug-like, sometimes even considered haram, our society continues to fail to see that it gives drug-like sensations but it is not a literal drug. As a result, there aren't many -or even any- Egyptian artists in the psychedelic music scene that sing purely in Arabic, and this needs to change.
Imagining Arabic psychedelic is not only exciting, as it breaks the societal taboo surrounding psychedelic music, but also quite beautiful. Arabic is a very descriptive language that has words that English speakers cannot even fathom, with a genre like psychedelic it could produce heavenly masterpieces that we didn't know we need!
That being said, we can't wait to witness the next generation of local Egyptian musical artists and anticipate what they have in store of psychedelics because it is a genre that is truly underrepresented in the Egyptian music scene and this needs to change.