| Experimental pop | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins | |
| Cultural origins | 1950s and 1960s, United States and United Kingdom |
| Derivative forms | |
| Other topics | |
Experimental pop ispop music that cannot be categorized within traditional musical boundaries[1][2] or which attempts to push elements of existing popular forms into new areas.[3] It may incorporateexperimental techniques such asmusique concrète,aleatoric music, oreclecticism into pop contexts.[4] Often, the compositional process involves the use ofelectronic production effects to manipulate sounds and arrangements,[2] and the composer may draw the listener's attention specifically with bothtimbre andtonality, though not always simultaneously.[5]
Experimental pop music developed concurrently withexperimental jazz as a new kind ofavant-garde, with many younger musicians embracing the practice of making studio recordings along the fringes ofpopular music. In the early 1960s, it was common for producers, songwriters, and engineers to freely experiment withmusical form,orchestration,unnatural reverb, and other sound effects, and by the late 1960s, highly experimental pop music, or sounds that expanded the idea of the typical popular song, was positively received by young audiences.
AuthorBill Martin states that while the term "experimental pop" may sound "seeminglyoxymoronic", it is possible to identify three criteria for characterizing its music:
Some tendencies among artists include the incorporation of experimental techniques such asmusique concrète,aleatoric music, oreclecticism into pop contexts.[4] Often, the compositional process involves the use of electronic production effects to manipulate sounds and arrangements.[2] According to musicologistLeigh Landy, experimental pop settings combine sound-based work and note-based work, though not always simultaneously.[5] Composer Nico Muhly described the world of experimental pop as "celebrations of sonic juxtapositions".[6]
Martin writes that experimental pop developed at roughly the same time asexperimental jazz,[nb 1] and that it emerged as "a new kind of avant-garde" made possible by the historical and material circumstances of its time.[3] In the pop and rock music of the early 1960s, it was common for producers, songwriters, and engineers to freely experiment withmusical form,orchestration,unnatural reverb, and other sound effects. Some of the best known examples arePhil Spector'sWall of Sound andJoe Meek's use of homemade electronic sound effects for acts likethe Tornados.[9] According to author Mark Brend, Meek'sI Hear a New World (1960) predates better-known experimental pop by several years,[10][nb 2] whereas musicologistLeigh Landy names the American composerFrank Zappa as one of the first experimental pop musicians.[1]
MusicianDavid Grubbs writes that many younger musicians "moved out of[John] Cage's shadow by taking to a different extreme and embracing the practice of making studio recordings of works along the fringes of popular music".[13] Grubbs further explains that some of the most prominent avant-garde musicians who formed rock bands in the mid 1960s were the WelshJohn Cale (later ofthe Velvet Underground) and the AmericanJoseph Byrd (later ofthe United States of America), who both went on to create albums of experimental pop music.[13] However, a "gulf" would still exist between experimental composers and "out-there" pop musicians, partly due to the role of the recording studio. Regarding this, composerRobert Ashley is quoted in 1966;
We can't be popular musicians, where the fairly exciting things happen. [...] The one thing I like about popular music is that they record it. They record it, record it, record it, record it! The astute producer cuts out the magic from the different tapes (laughter) and puts them in a certain order and gets a whole piece. It's very beautiful, because it's really aural magic. [...] We have to invent social situations to allow that magic to happen.[14]
Music historian Lorenzo Candalaria described American rock bandthe Beach Boys as "one of the most experimental and innovative groups of the 1960s."[15] Co-founder and leaderBrian Wilson wrote and produced songs for the group that ranged from massive hits to obscure experimental pop compositions.[16][nb 3] Their 1966 single "Good Vibrations", also produced and co-written by Wilson, toppedrecord charts internationally, subsequently proliferating a wave of pop experimentation with its rush of riff changes,echo chamber effects, and intricate harmonies.[19][nb 4] It was followed bySmiley Smile (1967), an album of stripped-down recordings. In 2003,Stylus Magazine wrote that the album "embrace[d] the listener with a drugged out sincerity; a feat never accomplished by the more pretentious and heavy-handedpsychedelia of that era. It is for this reasonSmiley Smile flows so well with the more experimental pop of today".[20]
In the view of artistDuggie Fields, theSyd Barret-led incarnation ofPink Floyd exemplified experimental pop.[21] The group found their initial success playing at theUFO Club in London, anunderground venue whose objective was to provide an outlet for experimental pop groups.[22] According toThe New York Times, Barrett and his subsequent solo albums "became a touchstone for experimental pop musicians".[23]
By the late 1960s, highly experimental pop music, or sounds that expanded the idea of the typical popular song, was positively received by young audiences, which cultural essayistGerald Lyn Early credits to bands likeCream,Traffic,Blood, Sweat & Tears, and "of course",the Beatles.[24] DrummerJohn Densmore believed thatthe Doors were on the cutting edge of experimental pop music until he listened to the Beatles' albumSgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967), which he described as "[seeming] to have done it all".[25] Martin wrote that, along withthe Rolling Stones'Their Satanic Majesties Request (1967), the Beatles'Sgt. Pepper "opened a space" for experimental pop which would be later filled byJimi Hendrix,Jethro Tull, andthe Who'sTommy (1968).[26] Prior toSgt. Pepper,Gary Usher andCurt Boettcher were Los Angeles–based songwriters and producers who were interested inclassical music and the avant-garde. Later cited as fixtures ofsunshine pop, they worked together to create their debut studio album,Present Tense (1968). It was credited toSagittarius, astudio group referred to as an "experimental pop band" byThe A.V. Club's Noel Murray.[27][nb 5]
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Author Pascal Bussy wrote that Germankrautrock groups such asCan andKraftwerk successfully bridged the gap between experimental and pop music in the 1970s,[29] while according toThe New York Times, Kraftwerk refined an "experimental pop sensibility" on albums such asRadio-Activity (1976) andTrans-Europe Express (1977).[30] WriterOwen Hatherley located a "literary-experimental pop tradition" running throughout the United Kingdom during the 1970s and 1980s.[31] Embodied by artists such asRoxy Music,the Smiths,the Associates, andPet Shop Boys, this tradition "balanced sexuality and literacy, ostentatious performance and austere rectitude, raging ambition andclass resentment, translating it into records balancing experimentation with populist cohesion."[31]
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The 1970s work of ex-Roxy Music member musicianBrian Eno is cited by Leigh Landy as an archetypal example of a pop musician who "applied developments from the experimental sector while creating their own experimental pop sector."[32] Following his departure from Roxy Music in 1973, Eno began releasing a series of solo albums where he simultaneously developed hisambient, pop, and electronic styles.[33] In the belief of pop musicianScott Miller, they were the era's "most successful" experimental pop artists, explaining that the key to Eno's success "appears to have been making a science out of decision points (see 'Oblique Strategies') rather than being willfullyweird ordifferent at the usual unexamined decision points"[34][nb 6]
Eno's albumBefore and After Science (1977), according to Joshua Pickard of publicationNooga, was "experimental pop lucidity [...] the culmination of sound that Eno had been working on since the release ofHere Come the Warm Jets in 1973."[33] Members of Roxy Music,Free,Fairport Convention, Can andCluster feature on the record assession musicians in addition toPhil Collins, who performsdrums on one track.[33] Collins' own debut solo single "In the Air Tonight" (1981) was described by Gary Mills ofThe Quietus as being "at the vanguard of experimental pop" when it was released. He further called it "a rock oddity classic" which was influenced by "the unconventional studio predilections of Brian Eno andPeter Gabriel".[37] Landy noted the tendency of experimental pop artists such as Eno andDavid Byrne to build tracks aroundexisting recordings, effectively fusing different styles, a technique used on the duo's 1981 albumMy Life in the Bush of Ghosts.[38]
The New York Times' Will Hermes namesLaurie Anderson an experimental pop pioneer whose signature song "O Superman" (1981) was a "left-fieldnew wave hit" that "conflated maternal succor with the psychology of the modern corporate state using electronically processed verse."[39] Writing forThe Guardian, Jason Cowley described British singer-songwriterKate Bush as "an artist superbly articulate in the language of experimental pop music".[40]Paste Magazine creditedMy Bloody Valentine's 1988 albumIsn't Anything with showcasing an experimental pop aesthetic, which drew on "harsh, swirling guitar tones and beautifully dissonant distortion," that would eventually develop into the genre known asshoegazing.[41] Martin suggested thathip hop music, particularly released by artists such asPublic Enemy andKRS-One, emerged as a new form of experimental pop, seeing a renewed merger of artistic and political innovation.[42]
Icelandic singerBjörk, who began her solo career in the 1990s, has been called "the queen of experimental pop" byThe Guardian's Michael Cragg.[43]
The record labelHippos in Tanks, founded by Barron Machat in 2010, was associated withInternet age experimental pop that drew on disparate sources such asnew wave, avant-gardenoise,R&B, andtechno.[44] The label released projects by artists such asJames Ferraro,Autre Ne Veut,Laurel Halo,Hype Williams, andArca.[44]