The cult English band Spacemen 3 was formed in 1982 in Rugby, Warwickshire by Peter Kember and Jason Pierce. Its unique sound is characterized by guitars with strong distortion, few chord and tempo changes, creating psychedelic and hypnotic music, surrounded by dense soundscapes created by synthesizers and effect pedals.
The group's influences came from classic rock, punk, minimalist music and 1960s psychedelic rock. The 13th Floor Elevators , the Stooges , the Velvet Underground and Suicide it was the artists who sowed the elements found in the work of Spacemen 3.
The band released four albums during its nearly ten-year existence — Sound of Confusion (1986), The Perfect Prescription (1987), Playing with Fire (1989) and Recurring (1991). After Recurring , the band had a messy split due to creative and personal rivalry between two main members. Substance abuse by leaders also contributes to the strain on their relationships between the two.
After the band's breakup, Jason Pierce worked under the name J. Spaceman, releasing experimental work and collaborating with artists Primal Scream , Daniel Johnston, Yoko Ono, among others. But first, he formed the Spiritualized , a band that achieved critical and public success during the 1990s, mainly with the album Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space (1997).
Peter Kember continued his career as Sonic Boom, releasing several works under that name and also as Spectrum, following a more experimental theme. He also became an influential producer, collaborating with artists such as Panda Bear , MGMT , Beach House and Britta Phillips & Dean Wareham .
Just like artists like A. R. Kane, Loop and Galaxy 500, Spacemen 3 did not achieve great popularity in the alternative scene. But he produced relevant and influential work for independent music, laying the foundations for other musical movements, such as shoegaze.
- Origin:
