Could we call The 13th Floor Elevators a folktronics group? “Folk” in the rhythm&roots / folk-rock / punk-rock sense - those dudes were primitives, not educated professionals by any means, and I relate to that - and tronics in the sense of being early experimenters with volume, reverb, and of course the electric jug.

“Eye Mind” is an exhaustive book on the subject of the Elevators, written by Paul Drummond and published late in 2007. The book deals mainly with the people involved in the group, their path through space-time, what they were trying to accomplish and how they went about it. Super read.

Of course, the best way to absorb the sound and intent of any music is to listen to it. I find myself trying to suggest the sound of the electric jug when I’m building digital rhythm tracks or working with samples, sometimes even with guitar tapping techniques. “Eye Mind” does not help greatly with that kind of thing, but it is a super-clear portrait of a place in time.