Dark Side of the Moon

In the early sixties, students with academic backgrounds in Cambridge University formed a band now known as Pink Floyd. Roger ‘Syd’ Barrett, Roger Waters and David Gilmour had earned their spot in the rock and roll hall of fame with their album sales hitting more than 250 million dollars. Dark Side of the Moon is an album released in 1973 and won nominations such as the Brit Award for Mastercard British Album of the Year and both NME Award for World Album and British Album. It was the eighth official album released by the group.  

I personally think that the album presents a lot of unique aspects which have influenced a new generation of music. Each song seems like it was written for one another and has a smooth transition, although having a different vibe, makes it feel like stages of a trip. With features such as echo delay and creating trance-like soundscapes, the band easily achieved success with the release of the album.  

The first song ‘Speak to Me’ introduces the album with an out of body experience, kicking off with a heartbeat and several voices panning around your head, slowly drifting into a state of insanity. With the 1 minute introductory song, we smoothly transition into the second song ‘Breathe (In the Air)’ a chorused guitar solo which pulls the audience in for a calming experience. The chords were seen to have been inspired by Miles Davis explained by Rick Wright, keyboardist of the group (Levitin, 2012). During my research I had found that the band had equipped the EMS Sythi AKS synthesizer for this album to make a specific psychedelic blur. The group have also taken inspiration and borrowing techniques from Pierre Schaeffer and Pierre Henry’s Music Concrète, where bands such as the Beatles have also done so with albums ‘Sgt. Pepper’ and ‘White Album’ (Levitin, 2012). 

Citations

Admin. “Electronic Music Studios (EMS) Synthi A.” Home Page, Vintagesynth, 12 Aug. 2022, www.vintagesynth.com/misc/synthi.php.

Gorshin, Mawr. “Analysis of ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’.” Infinite Ocean, 9 Dec. 2018, mawrgorshin.com/2018/12/08/analysis-of-the-dark-side-of-the-moon/.

Music-and-Art-45. “The Meaning of Pink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side of the Moon.’” Spinditty, Spinditty, 21 Feb. 2013, spinditty.com/genres/The-Meaning-of-Pink-Floyds-Dark-Side-of-the-Moon#:~:text=Dark%20Side%20of%20the%20Moon%20is%20a%20concept%20album%20that,a%20life%20that%20goes%20unfulfilled.

N/A. “Pink Floyd: The Official Site.” Pink Floyd | The Official Site, www.pinkfloyd.com/history/biography.php.