Genre story · Rock
Avant-Garde Rock
Rock instrumentation used to question what a song, performance or recording can be.
Avant-Garde Rock is a broad term rather than a scene with an agreed start. The Velvet Underground's New York experiments, Captain Beefheart's disrupted blues structures and later bands influenced by free improvisation offer different ways of stepping outside Rock conventions. Guitar noise may replace recognizable chords; a voice can function as a physical sound; repeated rhythm can be more important than a verse. The term overlaps with Art Rock, Experimental Rock, Noise Rock and No Wave. The two archived articles carrying the label need review before we assign exclusive musical descendants.
Listening examples
- 1968the Velvet UndergroundWhite Light/White Heat
- 1969Captain BeefheartTrout Mask Replica
- 1981This HeatDeceit