Genre story · Rock
Space Rock
Psychedelic rock stretching into long, pulsing music that made science fiction sound physical.
Space rock took a recognizable form at the end of the 1960s and during the 1970s, as musicians joined Psychedelic Rock's expanded instrumental language with science-fiction imagery and long, repetitive performances. Hawkwind became a central British reference, using driving bass, oscillating electronics and extended live shows. Gong developed another, more playful approach, while later bands carried the music toward heavier guitars, electronic repetition and experimental rock.
The pulse underneath the journey
The sound often begins with an insistent rhythm that allows guitars and synthesizers to change around it. Effects may smear the edges of a riff or push a melody into a repeating electronic sequence. Some recordings are loosely improvised; others build tight songs that borrow the genre's effects and themes. A space-themed lyric alone is insufficient to make a rock band space rock.
Connected to several histories
Space Rock overlaps with Psychedelic Rock, Progressive Rock, Krautrock and Drone, but its music and science-fiction imagery should be read together rather than reduced to a strict offshoot of any single one. Hawkwind's theatrical stage approach is important to its history without being compulsory for every later band.
Essential recordings
- 1971HawkwindIn Search of SpaceDriving psychedelic music with science-fiction material.
- 1973HawkwindSpace Ritual1973, live album. A continuous live performance recorded in 1972 and released in 1973.
- 1973GongFlying TeapotA playful and exploratory parallel development.