ABSTRACT
“Occulture” is a theoretical concept that names the interchange of esoteric meanings across underground and mainstream culture. Academics from diverse fields have utilised occulture to argue their cases, and its adaptability is a hallmark. But occulture’s breadth leads to imprecise framing and misleading rhetoric, most notably, the temptation to draw its equivalency with psychedelia. This chapter problematises the discourse that joins psychedelia to occulture and focuses on the electronic dance music genre of acid house as a site for investigation. Acid house demonstrates how occulture and psychedelia work along different mechanics and through separate agendas, particularly so among a cohort of artists who began their careers in the early 1980s post-punk and industrial scenes before transitioning to dance music. Psychic TV, Coil and The KLF are three exemplars, who curated portrayals of psychedelia and occulture in the public eye to advance their specific artistic and spiritual projects. This chapter explores the dovetailing of occulture and psychedelia in scholarly conversations; connects their convergence to the allure of acid house for many industrial and post-punk acts; describes key insights revealed by the respective strategies of Psychic TV, Coil and The KLF and proposes new avenues for future examination of these theories.
