Space-Age

Space-age on vinyl: music from the space age

In short: Space-age is the name for the playful music of the late fifties and sixties, when space travel and new technology fired the imagination: stereo effects, exotic percussion, early synthesizers and the Moog. Here the label also covers cosmic jazz such as Sun Ra’s. The Vinyl Room currently has 31 space-age records.

What is space-age?

Sounds meant to sound like the future: Dick Hyman played one of the early synthesizers on “Moog – The Electric Eclectics Of Dick Hyman”, Pat Prilly on “Moog Sensations”. Shelly Manne and Jack Marshall experimented with unusual sound sources on “Sounds Unheard Of!”, composer Sven Libaek wrote “Solar Flares”.

Sun Ra went further out with his Arkestra – here with “It's After The End Of The World” and “In Egypt”, a collection of recordings from Cairo featuring Egyptian musician Salah Ragab.

What to look for

Stereo effects are part of the concept on many of these recordings, and some albums came out in both mono and stereo; label, catalogue number and year of release help you tell which edition you have – it’s noted with each copy.

From our stock

First pressings

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→ Easy listening · Exotica · Spiritual jazz · Jazz on vinyl · How to spot a first pressing · Grading explained

FAQ

What is space-age? Playful music of the late fifties and sixties with stereo effects, exotic sounds and early synthesizers.

What is a Moog? One of the first synthesizers, named after its inventor Robert Moog.

Why is Sun Ra here? Because he combined jazz with images of space and new sounds – here under the space-age label.

Are there new records too? Yes – for example Carlos Niño & Friends, who carry the cosmic sound forward today.