Occultism in the Acid House Music of Psychic TV
Preternature Critical and Historical Studies on the Preternatural July 1, 2021 DOI: 10.5325/preternature.10.2.0249 (opens in new tab) via OpenAlex
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractBetween 1981 and 1991, the band Psychic TV acted as the audio-visual propaganda arm of Thee Temple ov Psychick Youth (TOPY), an international occult network designed by Genesis P-Orridge to resemble a militant youth movement. This essay examines how P-Orridge, Psychic TV, and TOPY conducted a deliberate campaign of occult research to test whether chaos magick rituals could generate the widespread belief that P-Orridge and followers pioneered the UK acid house movement. Primary sources, including Psychic TV's compilation albums with pseudonymous artist names, show that acid house's trademark psychedelia became a means of recruiting listeners into these occult experiments.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Historical analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Psychic Movement music Occult Visual arts Literature |
| Citations | 1 |
| Key finding | Argues that Genesis P-Orridge, Psychic TV, and TOPY used chaos magick rituals and acid house music to fabricate the belief that they pioneered the UK acid house movement. |
Abstract
ABSTRACT From 1981 to 1991, the band Psychic TV served as the audio-visual propaganda unit of Thee Temple ov Psychick Youth (TOPY), an international network of occultists designed by Genesis P-Orridge to resemble a subversive, militant youth movement. This essay investigates how P-Orridge, Psychic TV, and TOPY embarked on a calculated campaign of “occult research” to test whether chaos magick rituals might conjure the widespread belief that P-Orridge and h/er followers pioneered the UK acid house movement. Primary sources from this epoch, such as Psychic TV's compilation albums with pseudonymous artist names, demonstrate how acid house's trademark psychedelia became a conduit for recruiting listeners into these occult experiments.