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The Sonic Explorer of the Psychedelic Frontier
Doug McKechnie is an unsung pioneer of electronic music, a visionary who traversed the fringes of sound and consciousness at a time when technology, art, and radical thought were colliding to reshape culture.
Emerging from the explosive counterculture scene of San Francisco in the late 1960s, Doug was one of the first musicians to experiment extensively, and the very first to play live, with the Moog synthesiser, using it not merely as an instrument but as a portal into new dimensions of experience.
"I wasn’t interested in playing melodies. I wanted to find out what electricity sounded like when it told the truth.”
He didn’t just make music—he made experiences. He played marathon sets in warehouses, at acid-fueled happenings, art galleries, planetariums, and with The Grateful Dead.
His performances were long-form, trance-like explorations of voltage, feedback, and consciousness—music as transformation.
“Those shows weren’t performances. They were portals”
His music lay largely hidden for decades until re-released by VG+Records
Doug's Music:
The Complete San Francisco Moog: 1968-72
San Francisco Moog: 1968-72 Vol. 2
With Thanks to Lee Gardner at VG+
#DougMcKechnie #BureauOfLostCulture #lighshows #sanfrancisco #thegratefuldead #frankoppenheimer #goldengatebridge #ElectronicMusicHistory #ModularSynths #MoogMusic #Psychedelic60s #VintageSynthesizers #UndergroundSounds #modularFrequencies #alanwatts
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By Stephen Coates
5
2222 ratings
Doug McKechnie is an unsung pioneer of electronic music, a visionary who traversed the fringes of sound and consciousness at a time when technology, art, and radical thought were colliding to reshape culture.
Emerging from the explosive counterculture scene of San Francisco in the late 1960s, Doug was one of the first musicians to experiment extensively, and the very first to play live, with the Moog synthesiser, using it not merely as an instrument but as a portal into new dimensions of experience.
"I wasn’t interested in playing melodies. I wanted to find out what electricity sounded like when it told the truth.”
He didn’t just make music—he made experiences. He played marathon sets in warehouses, at acid-fueled happenings, art galleries, planetariums, and with The Grateful Dead.
His performances were long-form, trance-like explorations of voltage, feedback, and consciousness—music as transformation.
“Those shows weren’t performances. They were portals”
His music lay largely hidden for decades until re-released by VG+Records
Doug's Music:
The Complete San Francisco Moog: 1968-72
San Francisco Moog: 1968-72 Vol. 2
With Thanks to Lee Gardner at VG+
#DougMcKechnie #BureauOfLostCulture #lighshows #sanfrancisco #thegratefuldead #frankoppenheimer #goldengatebridge #ElectronicMusicHistory #ModularSynths #MoogMusic #Psychedelic60s #VintageSynthesizers #UndergroundSounds #modularFrequencies #alanwatts
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