A psychedelic folk record that treats the studio like a stage and the world’s instruments like props — vivid, unstable, and utterly unconcerned with coherence.
The Hangman’s Beautiful Daughter is a 1968 psychedelic folk album by The Incredible String Band, recorded in December 1967 at Sound Techniques in Chelsea, London. It uses multitrack recording to recreate live performance energy, layers exotic instruments including sitar, gimbri, shenai, oud, harpsichord, panpipes and kazoo, and features contributions from Licorice McKechnie (vocals, finger cymbals), Dolly Collins (flute organ, piano) and David Snell (harp). Robin Williamson contributes dreamlike, surreal songs such as 'The Minotaur’s Song', while Mike Heron’s 'A Very Cellular Song' — a 13-minute centrepiece — integrates the Bahamian spiritual 'I Bid You Goodnight'. Lyrically, it explores life, mythology and religious properties in a free musical structure, with esotericism as a consistent anchor. It departs from earlier work through layered production and expands on themes first developed on The 5000 Spirits or the Layers of the Onion.
Recorded in December 1967 at Sound Techniques in Chelsea, it used multitrack techniques to simulate live spontaneity.
2:39
Instruments Without Borders
Sitar, gimbri, shenai, oud, harpsichord, panpipes and kazoo sit alongside finger cymbals, flute organ, piano and harp.
4:24
Two Songwriters, One Dream
Robin Williamson’s surrealism and Mike Heron’s 13-minute cellular meditation anchor the album’s two poles.
6:36
Esotericism as Architecture
Esotericism is structural: mythology, life, religion and amoebas share the same free musical grammar.
1 more chapterFewer chapters
Running order10
01
Koeeoaddi There4:41
02
The Minotaur’s Song3:18
03
Witches Hat2:30
04
A Very Cellular Song12:55
05
Mercy I Cry City2:40
06
Waltz of the New Moon5:01
07
The Water Song2:41
08
Three Is a Green Crown7:40
09
Swift as the Wind4:50
10
Nightfall2:29
Worth your time?
Yes. Hear the whole thing.
3.5/ 5
What works
The Minotaur’s Song
A Very Cellular Song
Three Is a Green Crown
What does not
Mercy I Cry City
Nightfall
Hear it if
people who value instrumental curiosity over songcraft
people who need clear metre, consistent tempo or lyrical directness
Skip it if
people who need clear metre, consistent tempo or lyrical directness
Who should hear it, and who should skipHide who it is for
The written brief1 min read
What the record is and where it came from
The Hangman’s Beautiful Daughter is The Incredible String Band’s 1968 album, completed in December 1967 at Sound Techniques in Chelsea, London. It departs from their earlier work through layered, multitrack production and expands on psychedelic folk themes begun on The 5000 Spirits or the Layers of the Onion.
How it sounds, and how it was made
It sounds like a live performance recreated in a London studio using multitrack recording. The room is Sound Techniques in Chelsea. Instruments include sitar, gimbri, shenai, oud, harpsichord, panpipes and kazoo. Licorice McKechnie plays finger cymbals and sings. Dolly Collins plays flute organ and piano. David Snell plays harp.
What lands
Robin Williamson’s ‘The Minotaur’s Song’ lands as a surreal music-hall parody. Mike Heron’s ‘A Very Cellular Song’ lands as a structurally complex 13-minute centrepiece. The layered multitrack production lands as the band’s most experimental album to date.
What does not
It does not sustain momentum across all ten tracks. ‘Mercy I Cry City’ and ‘Nightfall’ feel like interludes rather than statements. The dreamlike logic never resolves into narrative or emotional payoff.
The ideas inside it
Life, mythology and religious properties unfold in a free musical structure. Esotericism anchors the lyrics. The Minotaur sings from his own point of view. A Very Cellular Song links amoebas, love and a Bahamian spiritual.
Who should hear it, and who should not
People who value instrumental curiosity over songcraft should hear it. People who need clear metre, consistent tempo or lyrical directness should not.
Is it worth your time
Yes — if you want to hear psychedelic folk built from layered acoustic textures, surreal vocal delivery, and global instruments deployed with deliberate, unpolished intimacy.
