Whether you are going on a trip soon and need some tunes to accompany you or are simply looking for new music, here is a list of the top 5 psychedelic artists you should check out!
Top 5 Psychedelic Artists to Help You Soundtrack Your Trip
1. Eola
Eola is the stage name of Orlando-native Edwin M. White, of the psychedelic rock duo Tonstartssbandht (which he fronts with his brother). Eola is a voice-only project that incorporates overdubbed vocal loops and stacked effects to create soundscapes that sound like what peaking feels like. A perfect example of this is in the opening track “And I Know” from Dang. In it, White creates a simple two-note bass line by processing his voice through effect pedals while a distorted, robotic high-pitched mantric chant acts as the foundation for the song that his falsetto voice then uses to build upon through one-off verses and loops until ultimately culminating on him passionately repeating the track’s name, as in protest and declaration, until the song finally fades away and feels like the end of a trip where you have to take a second to ask yourself, “what just happened?”
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2. The Avalanches
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTIV0bJH3uA
The Avalanches are an Australian electronic duo that specialize in creating music from hundreds, sometimes even thousands, of samples. Their first album Since I Left You, was comprised of up to 3,500 different samples. It is easily one of the early-2000s best electronic albums. The Avalanches’ newest record We Will Always Love You was the first time they brought in guest vocalists to sing on their records, since it took less time than the months it would to search for vocal samples. This newest record feels as if you were placed upon a cloud made up of stardust and light to then be shot out and have a front row seat at the edge of space to witness all the beauty that it contains.
The album has moments that demand you to look inward and reflect upon your life. In other instances, you’re just inclined to sit back and let go of your worries, at least if just for the length of a song. Any The Avalanches album you choose to listen to will be a beautifully crafted album that pairs well at any point of a trip, especially if you want to feel something, which is why they made it on our top 5 psychedelic artists list!
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3. Lyra Pramuk
There are not enough words in the English vocabulary that can fully express how much I love Lyra Pramuk’s debut album Fountain. She created the entire album using solely her voice by meticulously modulating it through hardware such as the TC-Helicon Voicelive Touch 2. She is additionally manipulating it on Ableton Live to create compositions of syncopated loops and harmonies that transcend our idea of what it means to sing and create music.
The album is a modern work of art that completely redefines the boundaries of the human voice and its relationship with technology. It is hard to pin the album to a genre, and saying it is simply electronic does not do it justice. It has some pop sensibilities, or as close as these songs can get to pop. A good example is the song “Tendril,” where Pramuk creates a composition from repeated hums and harmonies that little by little build to become a garden full of operatic sustained notes and vocalizations. There are other times where there are darker, grittier songs such as “Xeno” that feel like you are in a dark alien void surrounded by souls that are yelling out in mourning while a deep booming voice beckons you near.
On the closing track “New Moon,” you are lulled by Pramuk’s voice into a state of sad blissful joy, as contradictory as that may sound. The album is a rollercoaster of emotion that is really special to listen to while tripping but be aware that it has moments that can make you feel anxious and uneasy, but by the time you end it, you will feel cleansed and renewed, as if you were baptized in the sonic pool of Pramuk’s vocals.
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4. Raveena
I would be really surprised if Raveena has not done shrooms or made music while on them because she perfectly captures the warmth felt during a shroom trip along with the psychedelic introspective realizations through her R&B compositions. No more perfect example exists than in her second album Lucid. Listening to it feels like musical therapy. Her music makes you feel seen and heard as she tackles topics such as failed relationships, trauma, blossoming love, death, and even her mom’s life before she had her.
The first time I listened to this album on shrooms, I was left sobbing during the penultimate song, which is an interlude narrated by Raveena’s grandmother. In it, she talks about the death of her husband and son and implores us to be thankful for every moment we have and to live life without regrets, as that is the only way we will love this life more.
That hit a little too close to home and her message of living life without regrets and being thankful for every moment felt very true to what I have felt during shroom trips. This is a very special album that will make you feel empowered enough to tackle whatever might come your way after your come down.
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5. SPELLLING
Diving into the world of SPELLLING feels like you are entering a dreamlike world. Her compositions feel otherworldly and mystical, almost as if you were transported to some high fantasy renaissance-adjacent world filled with magic, witches, fairies, ego death, and anything in between.
SPELLLING creates some intricate soundscapes that range from feeling like you are casting spells under a full moon to feeling like you are walking through a magical forest that is filled with fireflies. In her latest album The Turning Wheel, SPELLLING recruited more than 20 instrumentalists to compose songs that range from champer pop to dark wave to jazz pop. It is a high concept album separated by the ideas of Above / Below that reflect on the cyclical nature of time from the fates of emperor penguins seeing a leopard seal approach to feeling like an outcast at school and having to deal with rule-breaking boys. From start to end, you are captivated by the worlds that SPELLLING creates through elaborate instrumentation, beautiful vocals, and complex lyricism.
This is a great album to listen to during a trip if you want to feel like you are living a high fantasy dream where anything can be possible. Thanks to the number of instruments, it pairs really well with a nice walk in nature. It will make you feel like everything around you is a little more magical than what you once thought it to be. SPELLLING creates new worlds and invites you to get lost in them, so why not accept her invitation?
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All in all, music can be an important, integral part of any psychedelic trip, so it is important to choose something that can help elevate your trip to greater heights. So, whether you are going to trip soon and need to listen to some trippy music, or simply just want to find new artists to listen to, here is a list of our top 5 psychedelic artists for you to enjoy.
