Hawkwind - Space Rock Roadside America Fans Page
Hawkwind were the first cyberpunks. Even today, after many personnel changes, this '70s British "space rock" band continues to feed devoted fans a steady diet of Lost-In-Space lyrics, guitar feedback and synth noodling.
Hawkwind: The Popular Tunes.
The band was founded by Dave Brock and Nik Turner (legendary in our minds as the guy who recorded the flute sections of his 1978 solo album Sphynx in an Egyptian sarcophagus). Brock had been at the core of any Hawkwind lineup for decades.
D R I V I N G
C H A R A C T E R I S T I C S
We found that Hawkwind music, while not the most hummable or well-crafted, is ideal for long stretches of hypertouring. Sub-sonics appear to be embedded in every tune (except perhaps, the ballads) that establish a resonance with highway topology and standard car frame vibrations.
The effect is extremely hypnotic, triggering an autonomic state -- hindbrain "cruise control." The fugue typically ends when a trademark explosion sound effect finishes the song -- quickly reestablishing normal space-time relationships and saving many lives in the other lane.
We continue the search for other "cruise control" triggers. Similar genre bands -- Gong, Steve Hillage, Camel, Ozric Tentacles -- tend to include too much melody and variety.
A L L E G E D . J E O P A R D Y
In our early road trip adventures, one of us insisted there was a correlation between playing the Hawkwind tapes and being pulled over for speeding by law enforcement officers. Subsequent tests have been inconclusive. We caution against using Hawkwind music strictly for enhancing your driving performance.
D I S C O G R A P H Y . O F . F A V O R I T E S
Droney, Acid-dazed period -- earlier albums are too much even for us...
- Space Ritual (1973) - live, Orgone Accumulator, Brainstorm Doom-laden, heavy science fiction influence. Competing at the time with the fairy landscapes of Yes
- Hall of the Mountain Grill (1974) - Psychedelic Warlords
- Warrior on the Edge of Time (1975) - Magnu, Assault & Battery
Robert Calvert Period -- writer-poet who lent fairly decent vocals to Hawkwind oeuvre and collaborated with many other progressive weirdos.
- Astounding Sounds, Amazing Music (1976) - Kadu Flyer
- Quark, Strangeness and Charm (1977) - Spirit of the Age
- PXR5 (1978) - High-rise, Robot
- Hawklords (1978) - PSI Power, Flying Doctor
Post-Calvert Sci-fi Drone -- the band reborn, making astral grind an art form.
- Hawkwind Live '79
- Levitation (1980) - Space Race
- Sonic Attack (1981) Angels of Death
- Church of Hawkwind (1982)
- Chronicle of the Black Sword (1985) - Sea King, Chaos Army
- Xenon Codex (1988) - Sword of the East, Good Evening
- Space Bandits (1990)
Droney acid-hazed techno ambiance -- long, sequenced noodling
- Electric Teepee (1992)
- It is the Business of the Future to be Dangerous (1993)
- Alien 4 -- ET's in the tradition of the Stranglers "Men in Black," the standard droning, a new singer...
Hawkwind's Extended Family: For the desperately addicted...
- Nik Turner Space Ritual: Sphynx sax/flute noodler assembles a ragtag former Hawkwind army and makes a really long 2-cd live set featuring classics.
- Anubian Nights: Another Nik project, with Simon House. A variant called "Anubian Lights" is not very Hawkwind-like, but enjoyable Desert Lounge Psychedelia.
- Spiral Realms: Simon House ambient space project.
O T H E R . H A W K W I N D. S I T E S
- Hawkwind Mission Control (official band site)
- Hawkwind discography
[Page originally posted ~2000]
