A new youtube channel that will be dedicated to the music of Pink Floyd co-founder Syd Barrett has been launched by the Syd Barrett estate and Syd Barrett Music Limited.
Syd Barrett Estate launches the Official Syd Barrett YouTube channelhttps://t.co/4utqmCEdlZ
Syd Barrett Music Limited and the Syd Barrett estate are launching a dedicated Syd Barrett YouTube channel. pic.twitter.com/U6FFXZY03j— Syd Barrett-Official (@TheSydBarrett) May 9, 2023
The channel will feature songs from Barrett’s solo career post Pink-Floyd, and will be accompanied by animated music videos created by Swedish animator Alex Teglbjaerg.
Taken from a press release, Peter Barrett, on behalf of the Barrett Family, explains, “There isn’t all that much filmed Syd Barrett out there. You’ve seen already seen most of the material and the few bits that pop up are quickly placed in the public domain. We want to take his quirky and poetic lyrics and translate them into images”.
Teglbjaerg, on his contribution to the project, added, “I try to take the listener into a Syd Barrett dream of sorts. Syd was a craftsman when it came to writing intriguing lyrics for his songs. Many times utilising cut-up techniques. That’s what I am attempting to do as well. I take what we take for granted, Syd in a room with painted floorboards and find a way to discover more. Not just zoom in, I try to immerse the viewer in that room by using collages and elements from multiple sources. But in the end, the focus is not on the visuals themselves. It lies in Syd’s music and lyrics”.
Watch the animated music video for “Dark Globe” below:
Barrett co-founded psychedelic and progressive rock band Pink Floyd in 1965 with Roger Walters, Nick Mason and Richard Wright, and was initially the main creative force, both lyrically and musically, driving the band forward. Regularly performing at London venue the UFO Club, the group quickly amassed a growing fan base, and released their debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, in August 1967. The album was well-received and reached number six in the UK Albums Chart.
Despite the early success, however, Barrett’s relationship with the band grew worse; his ever-increasing use of LSD distanced himself from the band and by the time the group’s second album, A Saucerful of Secrets, was released the following year, Barrett had been asked to leave. His last contribution to the band’s discography was the single “Jugband Blues“, the only song Barrett had written on the new LP, and a hauntingly self-aware portrait of Barrett being left behind by his bandmates.
Watch the 1967 promo video for “Jugband Blues” below:
Barrett subsequently embarked on a brief solo career, releasing the single “Octopus” in November 1969, the only single he ended up releasing, and followed this two months later with the album The Madcap Laughs (1970). The album was produced with the help of Pink Floyd members David Gilmour and Roger Waters, with Richard Wright helping produce his second, and final, album, Barrett (1970).
Syd Barrett’s genius has influenced and inspired a plethora of artists over the years and this new youtube channel dedicated to his music will undoubtedly prove a poignant tribute to said genius.
