Whether or not you hunt down exotic states of mind through chemical means, psychedelic music is there for you. Since the 1960’s, bands, artists, and composers have been working together to evoke the weird and the wonderful aspects of their favorite altered states of mind. In 2016, these vibes have trickled down into the mainstream, making modern music some of the most varied and intense the world has ever seen.
If you’re into weird music and want something more recent than the garage rock experimentation of the 60’s and 70’s, here are three suggestions of recent vintage for you to enjoy. Grab your swisher sweets, put on your best pair of headphones, and journey to a land of rhythm and pleasure.
Dungen – “Allas Sak”: Dungen is from Sweden. For more than a decade now, they’ve been floating through ethereal spaces made with the instruments of the psychedelic seventies. Even though the textures of rhodes pianos, distorted guitars, and splattery drum fills will evoke a time gone by, the detail of the arrangements and recording perfection are something you won’t come across in older records. Dungen records have a feel. It seems like no matter how loud you turn up the speakers, the sound never feels anything but comfortable and warm. Dungen can get really far out, but they never run out of good vibes. They let you chill out without insulting your intelligence. Every player in this band is a virtuoso, but their effect is light as a feather.
Death Grips – “Eh” (Video): This music video is NSFW…we think. Suffice to say, the animation style achieved in this brief single is nothing like we’ve ever seen before. It’s trippy and abstract, but it definitely evokes skeezy vibes and behaviors that the gleefully crass Death Grips are happy to punt past the censors. Death Grips are one of the biggest acts in a new wave of abstracted, abrasive hiphop. It deconstructs and decomposes musical elements from a hundred sources and creates tense, spastic musical textures never before rapped upon. It’s intense and punishing, but Death Grips continues to find their audience. This visual pairing is one of the most successful artistic achievements of their career thus far, and an interesting entryway into one of the world’s most singular bands.
Giant Claw Vs. Gorilla Toss – “S/T”: Giant Claw is one of the electronic weirdos from Orange Milk, one of the internet’s most influential taste-making tape labels. Gorilla Toss is a female-fronted, lyrically-dense art punk band from DFA, the keepers of all things noisily danceable. These remixes from Giant Claw are a kaleidoscope of ideas, swirling with novelty and inspiration.
There is loads of interesting music happening in 2016. Much of it is mind-altering, and many artists are pushing boundaries beyond anything the world has ever heard before. You’ve got to dig to find some of this stuff, but it’s there, and it’s influencing even the most conventional tones you hear on the radio. We hope you have a trippy time with these artists, and any more you find.