PSYCHEDELIA
December 30, 2012
Major newspaper review (SvD) of 'Psychedelia' book
Now Playing: Barry Levinson's bizarre, accidentally psychedelic "Toys" (1992)

The first review of Psychedelia in a major daily paper arrived the other day, and somewhat unexpectedly it is Svenska Dagbladet ('Sweden's Daily Paper') who are first at bat -- almost all our PR is international and I wasn't even aware that SvD had received a promo copy. Based in Stockholm, this is Sweden's second largest morning paper. 

So that's pretty cool, but cooler still is that it's a rather enthusiastic review, I must say. Spread out across 1.5 page in the printed version of the paper, the review describes the book as 'knowledgable and well-written', and it mentions the cross-cultural approach which is one of the central aspects behind it. Similarly well-observed by reviewer Dan Backman is the comment that Psychedelia eschews the usual acid casualty rock star stories (such as Syd Barrett) to instead delve into a much lesser known world of chemists, smugglers, advocates and artists, whose 'stories are at least as spectacular'. The chapter on early Electronica & Exotica receives special praise as a 'wonderful collector geek' piece, and I guess that's true too!

Here is a link to the review, which is written in Swedish. I'm waiting to receive a copy of the printed newspaper, which featured a bunch of psychedelic images in addition to Backman's review.

This certainly ended the year 2012 on a high note! Imagine that a few months back we figured the world wouldn't even exist today (ho-ho).

Stay high & see ya on the other side.


Posted by Patrick at Lysergia at 23:47 CET
Updated: December 30, 2012 23:49 CET
December 14, 2012
A-Z book index in new, massively expanded version
Now Playing: Infinity Project "Flying"

A second draft of an A-Z index for the Psychedelia book, at 14 pages twice as big as the first one, has now been posted as a PDF file. You can print it as a hard copy or use it for digital searches. Please note that this is still not quite version 1.0, but it's getting pretty close. This replaces the earlier 0.9 version in its entirety.

Here is the latest version.

 


Posted by Patrick at Lysergia at 00:49 CET
December 10, 2012
Sneak peek review previews

Here are some early reactions on the Psychedelia book from the learned men and women amongst us:



Clinic frontman Ade Blackburn in Magnet Magazine:
"[Psychedelia]...promises to be something special. Out through Subliminal Sounds, it looks at the many facets of psychedelia over time and not just the ’60s. Military acid tests, Philip K. Dick, Exotica, CIA research, Goa Trance, poster art, etc., all get a look in. Patrick wrote the immense Acid Archives book, which shed a light on many great but unheard private-press releases. His new book should do the same for psychedelic culture."
Thanks man. Clinic's latest album is just out, dig it!
Here is the original appearance of Blackburn's comment.


Richard Allen, music writer and founder of Freakbeat and Delerium:
"...a detailed and thorough academic study that examines psychedelia and psychedelic culture in the West. I haven't yet read anything about the rather more blood thirsty Mayan and Aztec branch of the family. What it does do is go beyond Western pop cultures brief, exciting coalescence with psychedelics and its a work that might in the future be regarded in the same way that Sir James George Fraser's The Golden Bough has become a reference point for those studying religion folklore and mythology. A stunning achievement." (a full-length review by Richard will appear in Shindig in the near future)



Posted by Patrick at Lysergia at 00:20 CET
Updated: December 10, 2012 00:26 CET
December 9, 2012
Mother Mushroom
Now Playing: Plastic Cloud LP

The Psychedelia book does not go into great detail with regards to the Greek myth of Demeter's search for her daughter Persephone, abducted by Hades. This myth bears marks of having been derived from an even older fertility-agricultural myth, in which the seasonal changes and coming harvests were focal points for deity worship and offerings. In an interesting development, this Greek goddess myth then went through another cycle of transformation, where the old paraphernalia (such as symbolic grain spikes) was retained, while the symbolic purpose of the rite now had become oriented towards the spiritual enlightenment of each participant. As described in Psychedelia, the hallucinogenic kykeon provided the psycho-active catalyst for this revelation of a higher, eternal world.

This ancient fresco of Persephone and Demeter is curious as it shows the goddesses holding up and admiring what clearly looks like mushrooms. However, the kykeon brew is today believed to have come from ergot infested barley (much like the ergot rye that led to LSD-25), from which an LSD analogue such as LSA was derived.

Except for the hallucinogenic connection, the presence of psycho-active mushrooms in the Great Mysteries is not known at all, which makes the fresco image puzzling. Carl Ruck, in his Sacred Mushrooms Of The Goddess (2009) speculates that psycho-active mushrooms may have been used in the Lesser Mysteris that preceded the night in the Great Temple by many months, and whose purpose may have been to screen out mentally unstable candidates. In any event, the image of the goddesses and shrooms provides an intriguing of another, perhaps yet unknown, hallucinogenic tradition in the old high culture of the Mediterranean.


Posted by Patrick at Lysergia at 22:55 CET
Updated: December 9, 2012 23:03 CET
December 2, 2012
Original artwork used for Psychedelia book cover
Now Playing: silence

Here is the complete "Sinfonia Shamanica" painting by Andy Debernardi that he kindly licenced for us to use for Psychedelia. As you can see, the image was cropped in order to fit the book's dimensions. The printed book cover came out slightly more green and less blue than the original work, which enhanced the rain forest feel. High quality giclee reproductions of this and other Debernardi paintings can be purchased at his website. If you're lucky, you may get a chance to buy an original piece (I happily did)!


Posted by Patrick at Lysergia at 23:22 CET
November 29, 2012
Interview about the "Psychedelia" book
Now Playing: psyradio.org

Klemen at the highly active and popular It's Psychedelic Baby website did an interview with me recently concerning the Psychedelia book and other hallucinogenic delights. Check it out here:

Interview with Patrick

On a general front, the book has definitely hit European retailers now, as I've heard from several people who have purchased it in the last week. Next week it should be available in the US as well, but I believe you can already order it from several mail-order dealers, such as Forced Exposure.


Posted by Patrick at Lysergia at 00:00 CET
November 14, 2012
Psychedelia Across America
Now Playing: Byrds "Younger Than Yesterday" mono LP
The official publishing date for the Psychedelia book in the USA has been set to 4 December 2012.

Posted by Patrick at Lysergia at 22:38 CET
November 8, 2012
Psychedelic creativity experiment in the 1950s
Now Playing: BLO "Chapter One"

The Psychedelia book is basically a text-based work, but it contains a 16-page color inlay, and some more images scattered about. Here is a full color page which didn't make it into the final manuscript. It is a late '50s magazine clipping which illustrates Oscar Janiger's famous experiment in which dozens of artists were given LSD and were asked to paint a small indian Kachina doll that Janiger had. The result was very varied and interesting, and has been followed up in recent times. Read more about this in Psychedelia, below is the original c1959 report.

 


Posted by Patrick at Lysergia at 22:07 CET
Psychedelia release date
Now Playing: Roky Erickson "The Evil One"

The official publishing date for Psychedelia-An Ancient Culture, A Modern Way Of Life has been set to 26 November 2012. The book is now printed and worldwide distribution is in progress. For wholesale and dealer inquiries, contact Subliminal Sounds .

More soon!


Posted by Patrick at Lysergia at 14:26 CET
Updated: November 8, 2012 14:31 CET
November 1, 2012

The 'Psychedelia' site is an on-line appendix to the 2012 book of the same name, written by Patrick Lundborg. Questions and comments are encouraged. Stay high!


Posted by Patrick at Lysergia at 16:51 MEST
Updated: November 11, 2012 16:11 CET

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