‘Astronomy Dominé’: Syd Barrett and the roots of Pink Floyd’s intergalactic sound
Humanity has always looked to the stars in wonderment, and countless artists, writers, and musicians have used the inky blackness of outer space for inspiration over the centuries. Back in 1967, though, it was the psychedelic offerings of Syd Barrett that brought the cosmos into view, introducing the musical realm to Pink Floyd in the process.
Space was unavoidable back in the 1960s, as the Cold War accelerated the race to leave the Earth’s atmosphere. For the most part, though, this extraterrestrial exploration was presented either in the form of nationalist propaganda or as some kitsch sci-fi B movie. In the visionary mind of Syd Barrett, though, the idea of space offered an expansive escape from the grim realities of post-war Britain, and so the seeds were sown for ‘Astronomy Dominé’.
Taking inspiration from the unlikely realm of Gregorian chants – as all great rock songs should – along with Barrett’s increasing exploration of LSD, ‘Astronomy Dominé’ was unlike anything else around at that time; ironically, it might as well have arrived on a comet from the cosmos.
With a multi-layered composition, composed of various voices reading out the names of planets and various space facts, and somewhat haunting vocals provided both by Barrett and Richard Wright, the song wasted no time in setting Pink Floyd apart from every other group in Britain.
Forming the opening track of their debut album, The Piper At The Gates of Dawn, this bizarre masterpiece also acted as many listeners’ first introduction to the world of Pink Floyd, and it certainly set the standard going forwards. Barrett, of course, continued his progenitive psychedelic explorations throughout his time with the group, and even kept the space-theming of the album going with later efforts like ‘Interstellar Overdrive’ later on in the tracklisting.
Perhaps more importantly, though, that opening track and its outer space inspiration stuck with the band throughout the rest of their extensive tenure, even after Barrett was out of the picture.
Less than a year after ‘Astronomy Dominé’ hit the airwaves, blowing minds and transforming the musical landscape in its wake, the songwriter’s dependence on psychedelic substances had taken a heavy toll on his mental health, and the rest of the group made the decision to remove him from the line-up.
In hindsight, it is difficult to truly excuse the band’s excommunication of Barrett. After all, he wrote the vast majority of their material, particularly the likes of ‘See Emily Play’, which first established them on the scene. Aside from all of that, the songwriter was abandoned by his comrades when he needed them most, leaving him to eventually become a recluse while they became one of the most prominent rock bands of all time.
Barrett’s dismissal aside, though, Pink Floyd – under the new leadership of Roger Waters – continued the legacy of space exploration that he had begun with ‘Astronomy Dominé’. Not only did that track remain a fixture of their live performances (notably appearing on Ummagumma a few years after Barrett’s departure), but it predicted their later flurries into intergalactic psychedelia on records like The Dark Side of the Moon, which thrust them firmly into the light of mainstream attention, too.
In many cases, Pink Floyd’s legions of devotees like to split the band into a few distinct eras, with Syd Barrett’s tenure viewed almost as an entirely different band from the one which emerged under Waters’ leadership. Ultimately, though, tracks like ‘Astronomy Dominé’ prove the link between those two distinct eras.
Whether Waters was merely drawing inspiration from the same realm as his former bandmate or continuing the artistic exploration that Barrett had begun years prior, Pink Floyd’s exploration of space started with that opening debut album track in 1967.
