Freakbeat is a loosely defined
subgenre of
rock and roll music developed mainly by harder-driving British groups during the
Swinging London
The Swinging Sixties was a youth-driven cultural revolution that took place in the United Kingdom during the mid-to-late 1960s, emphasising modernity and fun-loving hedonism, with Swinging London as its centre. It saw a flourishing in art, mus ...
period of the mid-to late 1960s. The genre bridges British Invasion
R&B,
beat and
psychedelia.
Etymology
The term was coined by English music journalist
Phil Smee. AllMusic writes that "freakbeat" is loosely defined, but generally describes the more obscure but hard-edged artists of the
British Invasion era such as
the Creation,
the Pretty Things,
The Smoke, or
Denny Laine (in his early solo work).
Compilations
Much of the material collected on
Rhino Records's 2001 box-set compilation ''
Nuggets II: Original Artyfacts from the British Empire and Beyond, 1964–1969'' can be classified as freakbeat.
The ''
English Freakbeat'' series is a group of five
compilation album
A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...
s, released in the late 1980s, that were issued by
AIP Records. The LPs featured recordings that were released in the mid-1960s by
English rock bands in
R&B and
beat genres. The series served as a follow-up to the ''
Pebbles, Volume 6'' LP, itself subtitled ''The Roots of Mod'', which was the only album in the ''
Pebbles'' series that was devoted to English music. When the ''English Freakbeat'' series was reissued as CDs in the 1990s, the ''Pebbles, Volume 6'' LP was adapted into the ''English Freakbeat, Volume 6'' CD.
References
External links
Freakbeat information"Looking Back 80 Mod, Freakbeat & Swinging London Nuggets" compilation
British rock music genres
British styles of music
Psychedelic music
Mod (subculture)
Garage rock
Beat music
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