Silver Apples

Silver Apples

Silver Apples are an electronic and psychedelic rock group from New York, United States. The group forms in 1967 and remains active until 2020. Its sound draws on art pop, avant-garde pop, electronic, experimental electronic, experimental rock and psychedelic rock.

Formation and early line-up

The original group consists of Simeon Coxe III and Danny Taylor. Coxe plays a custom homemade synthesiser called the “Simeon”, while Taylor plays drums. The pair split in 1970.

Reformation and later activity

The group reforms in 1996 with Simeon and new drummer Xian Hawkins. Taylor returns in 1998, and the band tours as a trio until 1999, when Simeon is injured in a car accident. The group returns to making music in 2006 without Taylor, who dies in 2005.

Style and significance

Silver Apples build an avant-garde sound from the homemade synthesiser and an extended drum kit. Their minimal style features a pulsing, driving beat and often discordant harmonies. They are among the first groups to use electronic music techniques extensively within a rock setting, and their approach anticipates later experimental electronic music, krautrock, underground dance music and indie rock.

Recordings and reissues

Rotorelief Records reissues the group’s first two albums in 2017: Silver Apples and Contact.