{{short description|Music genre}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2015}} {{Infobox music genre | name = Psychedelic folk | other_names = * Acid folk * freak folk<ref>{{cite web|last1=Unterberger|first1=Richie|author-link1=Richie Unterberger|title=Rough Trade Shops - Psych Folk 2010|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/rough-trade-shops-psych-folk-2010-mw0002033335|website=AllMusic}}</ref> | stylistic_origins = * Psychedelia * folk | cultural_origins = Mid to late-1960s, United States and United Kingdom | derivatives = * New Weird America * Wyrd folk<ref>{{cite book |title=The Bloomsbury Handbook of Religion and Popular Music |last=Partridge |first=Christopher |last2=Moberg |first2=Marcus |year=2017 |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |location=London |isbn=978-1474237338 |page=301 |language=en }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Reynolds |first=Simon |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Bring_the_Noise/nHxLEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22freak+folk%22+%22comus%22&pg=PA29&printsec=frontcover |title=Bring the Noise: 20 Years of Writing About Hip Rock and Hip Hop |date=24 May 2011 |publisher=Soft Skull Press |year=2011 |location=Berkeley, California |pages=29 |language=en}}</ref> | subgenres = * Freak folk<ref name="observer.com">{{cite web|last1=Zeger|first1=Eli|title=Panda Bear Releases New Album: The Evolution of Noah Lennox in 10 Songs|url=http://observer.com/2015/01/panda-bear-releases-new-album-the-evolution-of-noah-lennox-in-10-songs/|website=Observer|date=January 13, 2013}}</ref> | other_topics = * Anti-folk * neofolk * list of artists * indie folk * free folk * folk punk * folk rock * neo-psychedelia * progressive country * progressive folk * progressive rock * psychedelic pop * psychedelic soul }} {{Psychedelic sidebar}}
'''Psychedelic folk''' (also known as '''acid folk''') is a loosely defined form of psychedelic music that originated in the 1960s. It retains the largely acoustic instrumentation of folk, but adds musical elements common to psychedelia.
==Characteristics and terminology== {{Further|Psychedelic music}} Psychedelic folk generally favors acoustic instrumentation although it often incorporates other instrumentation. Chanting, early music and various non-Western folk music influences are often found in psych folk. Much like its rock counterpart, psychedelic folk is often known for a peculiar, trance-like, and atmospheric sound, often drawing on musical improvisation and Asian influences.<ref name="vanwaes">{{cite web |author=Van Waes |first=Gerald |date=February 10, 2014 |title=A Brief Overview of Psych-Folk and Acid Folk, from 60s until the present |url=https://heathenharvest.org/2014/02/10/harvest-history-month-pt-x-a-brief-overview-of-psych-folk-and-acid-folk-1960s-present |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140320052124/https://heathenharvest.org/2014/02/10/harvest-history-month-pt-x-a-brief-overview-of-psych-folk-and-acid-folk-1960s-present/ |archive-date=March 20, 2014 |access-date=October 25, 2022 |website=Heathen Harvest}}</ref>
=== Acid folk === The term ''acid folk'' was coined in late 1969 by Australian journalist Lillian Roxon to describe the music of Pearls Before Swine.{{sfn|Leech|2010|pp=72–73, 284}} In her ''Rock Encyclopedia'', she explained:{{sfn|Leech|2010|pp=72–73, 284}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Roxon |first=Lillian |title=Rock Encyclopedia |publisher=Grosset & Dunlap |year=1971 |isbn=0-448-00255-8 |edition=2nd |location=United States |pages=371 |language=en}}</ref>
{{Blockquote|text=We already know about acid rock. What the underground group called Pearls Before Swine sings is acid ''folk'', that is folk music affected by the discoveries of an LSD-influenced generation.}}In ''Seasons They Change: The Story of Acid and Psychedelic Folk'' (2010), author Jeanette Leech states that the term "acid folk" was a "perfect summation" of the music of Pearls Before Swine and similar acts:{{sfn|Leech|2010|pp=72–73, 284}} {{Blockquote|text=It wasn’t folk music made under the influence of LSD per se but folk music profoundly affected by the attitudes of exploration that also prompted the use of hallucinogens. Furthermore, Roxon’s term also held resonance for the other meanings of the word ‘acid’ in the sense of tartness or a corrosive, uncomfortable sensation.}}
The term was nonetheless not used widely until some time after it was coined.{{sfn|Leech|2010|pp=72–73, 284}} Tom Rapp of Pearls Before Swine commented that "acid folk as a label is fine in that it implies borderlessness."{{sfn|Leech|2010|pp=72–73, 284}}
==History==
===1960s: Peak years=== {{See also|Psychedelic rock}}
[[File:Donovan (1965).jpg|thumb|Donovan in 1965]] The first musical use of the term ''psychedelic'' is thought to have been by the New York–based folk group The Holy Modal Rounders on their version of Lead Belly's "Hesitation Blues" in 1964.<ref>Hicks (2000), pp 59–60.</ref> Guitarist John Fahey recorded several songs in the early 1960s that experimented with unusual recording techniques, including backward tapes, and novel instrumental accompaniment.<ref name="Fahey"> {{cite web | last = Unterberger | first = Richie | author-link = Richie Unterberger | title = The Great San Bernardino Birthday Party & Other Excursions — Album Review | work = Allmusic | publisher = Rovi Corp. | url = http://www.allmusic.com/album/vol-4-the-great-san-bernardino-birthday-party-mw0000103865 | access-date = July 25, 2013 }}</ref> Music critic Richie Unterberger stated that the opening track to Fahey's ''The Great San Bernardino Birthday Party & Other Excursions'' (1966) "anticipated elements of psychedelia with its nervy improvisations and odd guitar tunings".<ref name="Fahey"/> Additionally, ''Pitchfork'' writer Jason Heller stated, "While the world went trippy, Fahey formed a parallel psychedelic dimension that was also manifested in his copious, semi-fictional, self-penned liner notes, which mixed serious musicology with a prankish smirk".''<ref>{{Cite web |last=Heller |first=Jason |date=2014-01-27 |title=John Fahey |url=https://pitchfork.com/features/starter/9314-john-fahey/ |access-date=2026-01-13 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}}</ref>''
Similarly, folk guitarist Sandy Bull's early work "incorporated elements of folk, jazz, and Indian and Arabic-influenced dronish modes".<ref> {{cite web | last = Unterberger | first = Richie | author-link = Richie Unterberger | title = Sandy Bull — Biography | work = Allmusic | publisher = Rovi Corp. | url = http://www.allmusic.com//artist/sandy-bull-mn0000295213/biography | access-date = July 16, 2013 }}</ref> His 1963 album ''Fantasias for Guitar and Banjo'' explores various styles and instrumentation and "could also be accurately described as one of the very first psychedelic records".<ref> {{cite web | last = Greenwald | first = Matthew | title = ''Fantasias for Guitar & Banjo'' — Album Review | work = Allmusic | publisher = Rovi Corp. | url = http://www.allmusic.com/album/fantasias-for-guitar-banjo-mw0000811015 | access-date = July 16, 2013 }}</ref> Later albums, such as 1968's ''E Pluribus Unum'' and his live album ''Still Valentine's Day 1969'', which use experimental recording techniques and extended improvisation, also have psychedelic elements.<ref> {{cite web | last = Eder | first = Bruce | title = ''E Pluribus Unum'' — Album Review | work = Allmusic | publisher = Rovi Corp. | url = http://www.allmusic.com/album/e-pluribus-unum-mw0000811016 | access-date = July 26, 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last = Westergaard | first = Sean | title = ''Still Valentine's Day 1969'' — Album Review | work = Allmusic | publisher = Rovi Corp. | url = http://www.allmusic.com/album/still-valentines-day-1969-live-at-the-matrix-san-francisco-mw0000778801 | access-date = July 26, 2013 }}</ref>
Musicians with several groups that became identified with psychedelic rock began as folk musicians, such as those with the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Country Joe and the Fish, Quicksilver Messenger Service, The Beau Brummels from San Francisco; the Byrds, Love, Kaleidoscope, and the Peanut Butter Conspiracy from Los Angeles; Pearls Before Swine from Florida; and Jake and the Family Jewels, and Cat Mother & the All Night Newsboys from New York.<ref name="Auslander 76">Auslander (2006), pp. 76.</ref><ref>Unterberger (2002), pp. 183–230.</ref> The Serpent Power was a psychedelic rock group with a strong folk influence. The Byrds was the most important American folk-rock band to incorporate psychedelia in their sound and themes.
In the UK, folk artists who were particularly significant included Marc Bolan, with his hippy duo Tyrannosaurus Rex, who used unusual instrumentation and tape effects, typified by the album ''Unicorn'' (1969), and Scottish performers such as Donovan, who combined influences of American artists like Bob Dylan with references to flower power, and the Incredible String Band, who from 1967 incorporated a range of influences into their acoustic-based music, including medieval and eastern instruments.<ref>DeRogatis (2003), p. 120.</ref> During the late 1960s and early 1970s, solo acts such as Syd Barrett and Nick Drake began to incorporate psychedelic influences into folk music with albums such as Barrett's ''The Madcap Laughs'' and Drake's ''Five Leaves Left''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/five-leaves-left-r106323/review|title= Five Leaves Left review|publisher= Allmusic|access-date=June 7, 2011}}</ref> Underground artists such as Simon Finn would later be referred to as "acid folk".<ref>{{cite book |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Signal_to_Noise/O24JAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%22acid+folk%22+%22simon+finn%22&dq=%22acid+folk%22+%22simon+finn%22&printsec=frontcover |title=Signal to Noise |publisher=Signal to Noise New Music Foundation |year=2005 |location=United States |language=en}}</ref>
By the late 1960s, the influence of psychedelic and acid folk could be felt in pop music.{{sfn|Leech|2010|pp=72–73, 284}} Pop records would sometimes include one or two psychedelic or acid folk tracks, like "Flowers in the Air" on Sally Eaton's ''Farewell American Tour'' (1970).{{sfn|Leech|2010|pp=72–73, 284}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Folk Horror Revival |first=Folk Horror Revival |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Folk_Horror_Revival_Harvest_Hymns_Volume/6fxjDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22acid+folk%22+%22simon+finn%22&pg=PA38&printsec=frontcover |title=Folk Horror Revival: Harvest Hymns. Volume I – Twisted Roots |date=28 May 2018 |publisher=Lulu.com |year=2018 |location= |page=38 |language=en}}</ref> ===1970s: Decline=== In the mid-1970s, psychedelia fell out of fashion and those folk groups that had not already moved into different areas had largely disbanded. In Britain, folk groups also tended to electrify, as did acoustic duo Tyrannosaurus Rex, which became the electric combo T. Rex.<ref>Sweers (2005), pp. 40.</ref> This was a continuation of a process by which progressive folk had considerable impact on mainstream rock.<ref>Macan (1997), pp. 134–5.</ref>
===Since 1990s: Revival=== {{See also|New Weird America}} Independent and underground folk artists in the late 1990s led to a revival of psychedelic folk with the New Weird America movement.<ref>[https://singout.org/2018/07/09/lady-of-carlisle/ "Lady of Carlisle" and the New, Weird America-Sing Out! New Weird America] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190421190509/https://singout.org/2018/07/09/lady-of-carlisle/ |date=April 21, 2019 }} Retrieved 13 May 2021</ref> Also, Animal Collective's early albums identify closely with freak folk as does their collaboration with veteran British folk artist Vashti Bunyan,<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.splendidezine.com/review.html?reviewid=1125311995565254 | title=Splendid Magazine reviews Animal Collective (featuring Vashti Bunyan): Prospect Hummer | publisher=Splendid | date=September 13, 2005 | access-date=June 30, 2009 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090709032002/http://www.splendidezine.com/review.html?reviewid=1125311995565254 | archive-date=July 9, 2009 | df=mdy-all }}</ref> and The Microphones/Mount Eerie,<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.splendidezine.com/reviews/oct-22-01/microphones.html | title=Splendid E-zine reviews: The Microphones | publisher=Splendid | access-date=June 30, 2009 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080118084957/http://www.splendidezine.com/reviews/oct-22-01/microphones.html | archive-date=January 18, 2008 | df=mdy-all }}</ref> who combine naturalistic elements with lo-fi and psychedelia. Both artists received significant exposure in the indie music scene following critical acclaim from review site ''Pitchfork Media''<ref>{{cite web | url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/191-sung-tongs/ | title=Animal Collective: Sung Tongs | publisher=Pitchfork Media | date=May 2, 2004 | access-date=June 30, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/192-prospect-hummer-ep/ | title=Animal Collective / Vashti Bunyan: Prospect Hummer EP | publisher=Pitchfork Media | date=May 15, 2005 | access-date=June 30, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/5269-the-glow-pt-2/ | title=The Microphones: The Glow, Pt. 2 | publisher=Pitchfork Media | date=September 10, 2001 | access-date=June 30, 2009}}</ref> and soon more artists began experimenting with the genre, including OCS, Quilt, Grizzly Bear,<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=505639 | title=Grizzly Bear Feeds on Psych-Folk | newspaper=The Harvard Crimson | date=February 11, 2005 | access-date=June 30, 2009 | archive-date=June 29, 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629175432/http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2005/2/11/grizzly-bear-feeds-on-psych-folk-lets/ | url-status=dead }}</ref> Devendra Banhart, Rodrigo Amarante, Ben Howard and Grouper.<ref>{{cite journal | date=December 2008 | title=Grouper – Dragging A Dead Deer Up A Hill review | journal=Mojo | url=http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/grouper/draggingadeaddeerupahill | access-date=June 30, 2009 | archive-date=May 23, 2009 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090523123704/http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/grouper/draggingadeaddeerupahill | url-status=dead }}</ref>
In 2022, ''Uncut'' magazine published a CD called ''Blackwaterside: Sounds of the New Weird Albion'',<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-02-18 |title=Inside Uncut's new visionary folk CD |url=https://www.uncut.co.uk/news/inside-uncut-february-2022-issue-free-cd-blackwaterside-137157/ |access-date=2022-07-03 |website=UNCUT |language=en-GB}}</ref> featuring artists including Jim Ghedi, Henry Parker, Jon Wilks, Sam Lee, and Cath Tyler. This led to the publication of an extensive exploration of Britain's new "weird folk" in Japanese music magazine ''Ele-King''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ele-king vol.29 |url=http://www.ele-king.net/books/008711/ |access-date=2022-07-03 |website=ele-king}}</ref> The lead article looked at artists including Nick Hart, Burd Ellen, Elspeth Anne, Frankie Archer, Shovel Dance Collective and Angeline Morrison.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hadfield |first=James |date=2022-07-03 |title=Exploring the re-emergence of 'Weird Folk' |url=https://tradfolk.co/music/writing-music/weird-folk/ |access-date=2022-07-03 |website=Tradfolk |language=en-GB}}</ref>
==Related genres==
=== Freak folk === {{Main|Freak folk}}
'''Freak folk''' is a loosely defined subgenre of psychedelic folk associated with the 2000s New Weird America movement and used to describe the work of artists such as Joanna Newsom, Devendra Banhart, Animal Collective, and Adem.<ref name="observer.com">{{cite web|last1=Zeger|first1=Eli|title=Panda Bear Releases New Album: The Evolution of Noah Lennox in 10 Songs|url=http://observer.com/2015/01/panda-bear-releases-new-album-the-evolution-of-noah-lennox-in-10-songs/|website=Observer|date=January 13, 2013}}</ref>{{Sfn|Leech|2010|pp=72–73, 284}}<ref name=":42">{{Cite web |last=Boisvert |first=Lauren |date=2024-11-22 |title=Microgenres 101: The Pioneers of Freak Folk and New Weird America |url=https://americansongwriter.com/microgenres-101-the-pioneers-of-freak-folk-and-new-weird-america/ |access-date=2026-01-13 |website=American Songwriter |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":9">{{Cite web |last=Petrusich |first=Amanda |title=Espers: II |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/9008-ii/ |access-date=2026-01-18 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}}</ref>
==List of artists== {{Main|List of psychedelic folk artists}}
==See also== *Ptolemaic Terrascope – a psychedelic folk & rock magazine *Jam bands *Freak scene *Neil Young
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
==Bibliography== *{{Cite book | last=Auslander | first=Philip | title=Performing Glam Rock: Gender and Theatricality in Popular Music | year=2006 | publisher=University of Michigan Press | location=Ann Arbor | isbn=978-0-472-06868-5 }} *{{Cite book | last=DeRogatis | first=Jim | author-link=Jim DeRogatis | title=Turn On Your Mind: Four Decades of Great Psychedelic Rock | year=2003 | publisher=Hal Leonard | location=Milwaukee, WI | isbn=978-0-634-05548-5 }} *{{cite news|last=Hermes|first=Will|title=Summer of Love Redux|newspaper=The New York Times|date=2006-06-18|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/18/arts/music/18herm.html?pagewanted=all}} *{{Cite book |last=Hicks | first=Michael | title=Sixties Rock: Garage, Psychedelic, and Other Satisfactions | year=2000 | publisher=University of Illinois Press | isbn=978-0-252-06915-4 }} *{{Cite book | last=Leech | first=Jeanette | title=Seasons They Change: The Story of Acid and Psychedelic Folk | year=2010 | publisher=Jawbone Press | location=London | isbn=978-1-906002-32-9 | url=https://archive.org/details/seasonstheychang00leec }} *{{Cite book | last=Macan | first=Edward | title=Rocking the Classics: English Progressive Rock and the Counterculture | year=1997 | publisher=Oxford University Press | location=New York | isbn=978-0-19-509888-4 | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/rockingclassicse0000maca }} *{{Cite book | last=Sweers | first=Britta | title=Electric Folk: The Changing Face of English Traditional Music | year=2005 | publisher=Oxford University Press | location=New York | isbn=978-0-19-515878-6 }} *{{Cite book | last=Unterberger | first=Richie | author-link=Richie Unterberger | title=Turn! Turn! Turn!: The '60s Folk-rock Revolution | year=2002 | publisher=Backbeat Books | location=San Francisco | isbn=978-0-87930-703-5 | url=https://archive.org/details/turnturnturn00rich }}
==External links== *[https://web.archive.org/web/20160503102111/http://www.psychedelicfolk.com/Psychedelicfolk.html PsychedelicFolk.com, by Gerald Van Waes] *[http://www.progarchives.com/ Prog Archives: resource for psych folk and all other types of psychedelic music] *[http://www.terrascope.co.uk/ Ptolemaic Terrascope: resource for psych folk and all other types of psychedelic music] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20111227102029/http://www.dreamgeo.com/ Dream Magazine: resource for psych folk and all other types of psychedelic music] *[http://www.zeek.net/606music Contemporary Psychedelia: From Transcendence to Immanence – An essay on psych folk and spirituality] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20120208140802/http://www.dirtylinen.com/linen/131/131psych.html Dirty Linen Magazine feature article on New Psych Folk] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20060428030303/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/gate/archive/2005/04/14/derk.DTL Freak Folk Flies High] by Derek Richardson at SFGate.com *Poecke, N. van. [http://www.metamodernism.com/2011/01/06/the-new-weird-generation-ii/ The New Weird Generation] *[http://altmusic.about.com/od/genres/a/freak-folk.htm Freak-Folk Genre] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120225050646/http://altmusic.about.com/od/genres/a/freak-folk.htm |date=February 25, 2012 }}
{{psychedelic music}} {{Folk music}} {{hippies}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Psychedelic folk Category:Contemporary folk genres Category:Psychedelic music Category:American styles of music