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36-473: Sun City Girls were an American experimental rock band, formed in 1979 in Phoenix, Arizona . From 1981, the group consisted of Alan Bishop (bass guitar, vocals), his brother Richard Bishop (guitar, piano, vocals), and Charles Gocher (drums, vocals). Their name was inspired by Sun City, Arizona , an Arizona retirement community . In 2007, Gocher died following a long battle with cancer, bringing an end to

72-533: A Lebanese oud player. According to Richard, His house also doubled as a meeting place for his fellow lodge members who were well versed in the Knights Templar doctrine and the Egyptian Rites of Memphis and Mithrais. They didn't buy into the "Christianization of Freemasonry" which took place at the "official" temples around town, so they met on their own on a regular basis. They still believed in

108-650: A form of experimental rock that drew on rock sources, such as the Velvet Underground and Frank Zappa, as well as wider avant-garde influences. Groups such as Can , Faust , Neu! , Amon Düül II , Ash Ra Tempel , Kraftwerk , Tangerine Dream , and Popol Vuh merged elements of psychedelic rock with electronic music , funk rhythms, jazz improvisation , and avant-garde and contemporary classical compositions, as well as new electronic instrumentation . The ideas of minimalism and composers such as Stockhausen would be particularly influential. The movement

144-599: A number of groups, including the Master Musicians of Bukkake, Tripod, and the New Session People. After Gocher's death, Alan and Rick Bishop announced that they would no longer perform, nor record music using the Sun City Girls name. However, they do plan to release existing archival Sun City Girls recordings as time permits. Note: The cassettes released by Cloaven c. 1987–1990 are listed in

180-620: The Soft Machine and Nico as "pioneers of avant-rock". In addition, The Quietus ' Ben Graham described duos the Silver Apples and Suicide as antecedents of avant-rock. Pitchfork cited Red Krayola as being "likely the most experimental band of the 1960s". In the opinion of Stuart Rosenberg, the first "noteworthy" experimental rock group was the Mothers of Invention, led by composer Frank Zappa. Greene recognises

216-510: The krautrock subgenre merged elements of improvisation and psychedelic rock with electronic music , avant-garde and contemporary classical pieces. Later in the 1970s, significant musical crossbreeding took place in tandem with the developments of punk and new wave , DIY experimentation, and electronic music . Funk , jazz-rock , and fusion rhythms also became integrated into experimental rock music. Early 1980s experimental rock groups had few direct precedents for their sound. Later in

252-529: The synthesizer , allowing the Beatles and the Beach Boys to become the first crop of non- classically trained musicians to create extended and complex compositions. Drawing from the influence of George Martin , the Beatles' producer, and the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson , music producers after the mid-1960s began to view the recording studio as an instrument used to aid the process of composition. When

288-693: The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds (1966) was released to a four-month chart stay in the British top 10, many British groups responded to the album by making more experimental use of recording studio techniques. In the late 1960s, groups such as the Mothers of Invention , the Velvet Underground , the Fugs , the Monks , Red Krayola , Soft Machine , Pink Floyd and the Beatles began incorporating elements of avant-garde music , sound collage , and poetry in their work. Historian David Simonelli writes that, further to

324-566: The Beatles stood at the apex of a progressive movement in musical capitalism". The musical passage recorded by the Doors in 1968, " Not to Touch the Earth ", is what critic Mick Wall described as "nearly four minutes of avant-rock." As progressive rock developed, experimental rock acquired notoriety alongside art rock . By 1970, most of the musicians which had been at the forefront of experimental rock had incapacitated themselves. From then on,

360-482: The Beatles' " Tomorrow Never Knows " ( Revolver , 1966), the band's February 1967 double A-side single, pairing " Strawberry Fields Forever " with " Penny Lane ", "establish[ed] the Beatles as the most avant-garde [rock] composers of the postwar era". Aside from the Beatles, author Doyle Greene identifies Frank Zappa , the Velvet Underground , Plastic Ono Band , Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band , Pink Floyd ,

396-791: The Jesus and Mary Chain as "avant-rock icons." According to Paul Hegarty and Martin Halliwell, some 1980s and early 1990s avant-rock acts such as the British musicians David Sylvian and Talk Talk returned to the ideas of progressive rock, which they call " post-progressive ". During the 1990s, a loose movement known as post-rock became the dominant form of experimental rock. In a reaction against traditional rock music formula, post-rock artists combined standard rock instrumentation with electronics and influences from styles such as ambient music , IDM , krautrock, minimalism , and jazz. In 2015, The Quietus ' Bryan Brussee noted uncertainty with

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432-513: The Rig Veda , both double-CDs released in 1996, were perhaps the pinnacle of the band's aesthetic. Frequent SCG collaborators included violinist Eyvind Kang and sound engineer Scott Colburn. As of 2008, the band's remaining members reside in Seattle , Washington . Alan Bishop heads the label Sublime Frequencies and performs and releases records under the names Alvarius B and Uncle Jim. In

468-458: The album". This was reflected in other contemporary experimental rock LPs, such as the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds and Smile , the Who 's The Who Sell Out (1967) and Tommy (1969), and the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967). The Velvet Underground were a "groundbreaking group in experimental rock", according to Rosenberg, "even further out of step with popular culture than

504-417: The case of imitative painters, what came out was almost always merely derivative, whereas in the case of rock music, the result could be quite original, because assimilation, synthesis, and imitation are integral parts of the language of rock." Martin says that the advancing technology of multitrack recording and mixing boards were more influential to experimental rock than electronic instruments such as

540-462: The decade, avant-rock pursued a psychedelic aesthetic that differed from the self-consciousness and vigilance of earlier post-punk . During the 1990s, a loose movement known as post-rock became the dominant form of experimental rock. As of the 2010s, the term "experimental rock" has fallen to indiscriminate use, with many modern rock bands being categorized under prefixes such as "post-", "kraut-", "psych-", "art-", "prog-", "avant-" and "noise-". In

576-478: The early 1980s, he was in the short-lived band Paris 1942, with Maureen Tucker from the Velvet Underground . In 2005, he edited a compilation titled Crime and Dissonance of Ennio Morricone 's late 1960s and early 1970s soundtrack work. Rick Bishop performs as a solo guitarist under the name Sir Richard Bishop. Charles Gocher released a solo CD called Pint Sized Spartacus in 1997, and performed with

612-547: The early recordings of the Mothers of Invention". The band were playing experimental rock in 1965 before other significant countercultural rock scenes had developed, pioneering avant-rock through their integration of minimalist rock and avant-garde ideas. The Beatles' album Sgt. Pepper's inspired a new consideration for experimental rock as commercially viable music. Once the group released their December 1967 film Magical Mystery Tour , author Barry Faulk writes, "pop music and experimental rock were [briefly] synonymous, and

648-533: The first wave of 1980s experimental rock groups, including acts such as Material , the Work , This Heat, Ornette Coleman 's Prime Time, James Blood Ulmer , Last Exit , and Massacre , had few direct precedents for their sound. Steve Redhead noted the resuscitation of New York's avant-rock scene, including artists such as Sonic Youth and John Zorn , in the 1980s. According to journalist David Stubbs , "no other major rock group [...] has done as much to try to bridge

684-484: The gap between rock and the avant garde" as Sonic Youth, who drew on improvisation and noise as well as the Velvet Underground. In the late 1980s, avant-rock pursued a "frazzled, psychedelia -tinged, 'blissed out'" aesthetic that differed from the self-consciousness and vigilance of earlier post-punk. The UK shoegaze scene was seen by some as a continuation of an experimental rock tradition. Pitchfork described contemporary acts My Bloody Valentine , Spacemen 3 , and

720-402: The group were often wildly unpredictable, sometimes verging on performance art , with elaborate costumes, kabuki -inspired makeup, and the creation of a festive, ritualistic atmosphere with audience participation. Critic Steve Leggett writes, "Throughout its history SCG has remained a challenging, unpredictable, and eclectic musical unit, operating outside the commercially driven aspirations of

756-407: The group's debut album, Freak Out! , as marking the "emergence of the 'avant-rock' studio album" at a time when Warhol's presentation of the Velvet Underground's shows was redefining the parameters of a rock concert. According to author Kelly Fisher Lowe, Zappa "set the tone" for experimental rock with the way he incorporated "countertextural aspects ... calling attention to the very recordedness of

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792-427: The group. In a 26-year career, they produced 50 albums, 23 cassettes, 6 feature-length videos, and many other recordings. Operating in indie rock and underground music circles, Sun City Girls recorded numerous critically acclaimed albums, released in small editions by labels like Placebo, Majora, Eclipse Records, Amarillo Records , and their own Abduction Records, and has garnered a devoted cult following. Their music

828-428: The ideas and work of British artist and former Roxy Music member Brian Eno —which suggested that ideas from the art world, including those of experimental music and the avant-garde, should be deployed in the context of experimental rock—were a key innovation throughout the decade. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Germany's " krautrock " scene (also referred to as kosmische or elektronische musik) saw bands develop

864-481: The late 1960s and early 1970s, as Lou Reed put it, there were those were trying to become much better musicians, or much better players of their instruments at any rate, and those who were trying to forget what little they already knew. The presumption in the latter case was that technical skill was getting in the way of, or replacing, significance. — Bill Martin writing in his book Avant Rock (2002) Although experimentation had always existed in rock music, it

900-639: The late 1980s, most of the band's releases were issued on audio cassettes, which gained legendary status among cassette culture enthusiasts. But a shift to the LP format had already begun with seminal records such as Sun City Girls (1984), Grotto of Miracles (1986), Torch of the Mystics (1990), Dawn of the Devi (1991), Bright Surroundings Dark Beginnings (1993), and Kaliflower (1994). Dante's Disneyland Inferno and 330,003 Crossdressers From Beyond

936-515: The mainstream recording industry, and the group has become somewhat of a beacon to independent musicians and artists everywhere." Writing in the Village Voice , Ted Hendrickson argues, "They've never made any sense, conventionally speaking, and that's what makes them them." As children in Michigan , Richard and Alan Bishop took childhood musical inspiration from their grandfather, who was

972-581: The most part, the album’s hazy insularity (perfectly captured in a sleeve photo that pictures the trio, back to its audience, lost in the throes of an improv high) doesn’t kowtow to stylistic neatniks." Paste wrote that the album "is evidence of three very close friends who have long since mastered the art of jamming on traditional rock tunes together and decided to use their mystical interpersonal connection to aim higher and deeper and weirder." The Spin Alternative Record Guide praised

1008-486: The order they were released. The dates of the recordings appear after the album titles. Experimental rock From its inception, rock music was experimental, but it was not until the late 1960s that rock artists began creating extended and complex compositions through advancements in multitrack recording . In 1967, the genre was as commercially viable as pop music , but by 1970, most of its leading players had incapacitated themselves in some form. In Germany,

1044-468: The power and mystique of a rock vanguard by depriving it of a tradition to react against." Anderson claims that the no wave scene represented "New York's last stylistically cohesive avant-rock movement." The early 1980s would see avant-rock develop significantly following the punk and new wave , DIY experimentation, electronic music, and musical cross-breeding of the previous decade, according to Pitchfork . Dominique Leone of Pitchfork claims that

1080-544: The production methods of dub and disco . During this era, funk , jazz-rock , and fusion rhythms became integrated into experimental rock music. Some groups who were categorized as "post-punk" considered themselves part of an experimental rock trajectory, with This Heat as one of the prominent players. The late 1970s no wave scene consisted of New York experimental rock bands that aimed to break with new wave , and who, according to Village Voice writer Steve Anderson, pursued an abrasive reductionism which "undermined

1116-615: The term "experimental rock", and that "it seems like every rock band today has some kind of post-, kraut-, psych-, or noise- prefixed to their genre." Dawn of the Devi Dawn of the Devi is the fifth studio album by American experimental rock band Sun City Girls , released in 1991 by Majora Records. It was remastered and reissued in 2019. Trouser Press wrote: "There are pieces that stay on an even keel throughout — 'The Court Magicians of Agartha' puts an avant twist on kroncong (an Indonesian form of tango music) — but, for

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1152-401: The ways of the old country. There was a weird "Arabian Nights" type of magic in that house, both light and dark. My most vivid childhood dreams and experiences took place there and they were dark indeed. By the age of 10, I had an entire pantheon of different spirits catalogued in my head. But nothing about it was disturbing, it was just the way it was. It's very hard to relate what the atmosphere

1188-513: Was all about unless one has experienced similar surroundings, but suffice it to say, I couldn't have asked for a better environment. The band originated in the Arizona punk rock scene which included Meat Puppets , JFA and The Feederz , Sun City Girls quickly began to incorporate lengthy improvisations, beat poetry , surf music , jazz , tape music , and elements of South Asian , South American , Middle Eastern and African music. Until

1224-428: Was hugely eclectic and varied, spreading across genres such as spoken word , free improvisation , jazz and rock , along with a recurring interest in world music . Their records typically incorporated lyrics that rely heavily on their interests in mysticism , paranormal topics (especially UFOs ), religious cults and other esoterica , often also manifested in their song titles, lyrics and album art. Performances by

1260-454: Was not until the late 1960s that new openings were created from the aesthetic intersecting with the social. In 1966, the boundaries between pop music and the avant-garde began to blur as rock albums were conceived and executed as distinct, extended statements. Self-taught rock musicians in the middle and late 1960s drew from the work of composers such as John Cage , Karlheinz Stockhausen , and Luciano Berio . Academic Bill Martin writes: "in

1296-408: Was partly born out of the student movements of 1968 , as German youth sought a unique countercultural identity and wanted to develop a form of German music that was distinct from the mainstream music of the period. The late 1970s post-punk movement was devised as a break with rock tradition, exploring new possibilities by embracing electronics, noise , jazz and the classical avant-garde, and

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