When The Incredible String Band released their self-titled debut album in 1966, few could have predicted the lasting impact it would have—not just on British folk music, but on the psychedelic and experimental music scenes that followed. The trio of Robin Williamson, Clive Palmer, and Mike Heron crafted something uniquely raw, poetic, and boundary-pushing at a time when the folk revival was beginning to splinter into new directions.
Now, decades later, the band members have reflected on the journey that led to their groundbreaking debut, revealing a mix of youthful curiosity, global influences, and a fierce desire to create something entirely their own.
“At the time, we weren’t thinking about changing music,” said Robin Williamson. “We were just following what felt honest. Traditional folk was a starting point, but we wanted to go beyond the old forms—we wanted to feel something new.”
The album was recorded in a matter of days at Sound Techniques studio in London, produced by the now-legendary Joe Boyd, who had recently begun managing and recording folk acts like Nick Drake and Fairport Convention. But while many folk musicians of the era stuck closely to traditional arrangements, The Incredible String Band were already veering off the path.
Clive Palmer brought a love of banjo and traditional Celtic influences; Mike Heron was drawn to blues and pop; and Williamson, often seen as the spiritual core of the group, brought a deep poetic sensibility. The result was a record that felt both ancient and otherworldly—rooted in folk traditions but delivered with a strange, mesmerizing originality.
“We were pulling from everywhere,” Heron explained. “American blues, Indian ragas, Scottish ballads, Eastern philosophy, poetry, mythology… We weren’t trying to fuse it in a calculated way. It just happened through playing together.”
Songs like “October Song,” “Empty Pocket Blues,” and “When the Music Starts to Play” revealed a band unconcerned with radio hits and far more focused on expressing truth, mystery, and emotional depth. The album’s sparse arrangements—often just voice, guitar, and minimal accompaniment—gave the lyrics room to breathe, and the sincerity of their delivery struck a chord with the growing counterculture.
Looking back, the band sees their first album not just as a debut, but as the birth of their own musical universe. “That record was us finding our voice,” Williamson said. “It was imperfect, but it was real. And it opened the door to everything we’d explore afterward.”
From humble beginnings, The Incredible String Band laid the groundwork for a movement—one that proved folk music could be as strange, spiritual, and boundless as the imagination itself.
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