Over the years musicologists have been able to track the evolution of music, and even classify musical cultures and styles into genres or movements year by year. For the most part there is a fairly clear map of modern music history, but as of now there is still no clear label on the brief period between British Beat and British Psychedelia.
The solution to identifying this gap in music history may be termed as “Freakbeat:” a combination of Britsh Beat and the idea of a “Freak out” that has come from British Psychedelia and its guitar solos along with its drug influence. This interstice between Beat and Psychedelia has been so difficult to identify, as the period was quite transitional and both genres shared certain qualities. Using the CRT model (Connections, Relationships, and Traits), which I’ve discussed in previous blogs, it is easy to discover these many similarities between the two major genres that are found in “Freakbeat.”
These unclassified few years did not have a true identity then either. It may have been considered “progressive” or even “underground,” but one cannot use these terms as they have been used for many different types of music to label what at the time was newer and less traditional music. But more importantly, we can look at where this period got its influence from, a combination of R&B, Blues, and Jazz that led to British Beat, and begin to connect the dots on what really encompasses this era of music. What is most difficult is drawing the lines between British Beat, the interstitial unclassified space we could call “Freakbeat,” and the resulting Psychedelia.
The solution to identifying this gap in music history may be termed as “Freakbeat:” a combination of Britsh Beat and the idea of a “Freak out” that has come from British Psychedelia and its guitar solos along with its drug influence. This interstice between Beat and Psychedelia has been so difficult to identify, as the period was quite transitional and both genres shared certain qualities. Using the CRT model (Connections, Relationships, and Traits), which I’ve discussed in previous blogs, it is easy to discover these many similarities between the two major genres that are found in “Freakbeat.”
These unclassified few years did not have a true identity then either. It may have been considered “progressive” or even “underground,” but one cannot use these terms as they have been used for many different types of music to label what at the time was newer and less traditional music. But more importantly, we can look at where this period got its influence from, a combination of R&B, Blues, and Jazz that led to British Beat, and begin to connect the dots on what really encompasses this era of music. What is most difficult is drawing the lines between British Beat, the interstitial unclassified space we could call “Freakbeat,” and the resulting Psychedelia.