Pink Floyd’s 'A Saucerful of Secrets' — How Drums Built Pandemonium and a Hymn Came from Space

The middle section of “A Saucerful of Secrets” — officially called “Syncopated Pandemonium” — was performed live with nothing but drums and a gong, no other instruments. Nick Mason and, for a time, drummer-turned-bassist Roger Waters would simply bash out chaotic, unmeasured rhythms, sometimes using mallets on the drum rims and stands, while the band’s light show and slide projections created the visual equivalent. The section was pure noise and texture, designed to disorient the audience before the release.

The finale, “Celestial Voices,” was the opposite: a slow, wordless organ-and-choir passage that sought to evoke a feeling of floating in deep space. The inspiration came from a malfunctioning Hammond organ that produced a strange, ethereal drone during a 1967 show at the UFO Club. Richard Wright leaned into the sound, and the band realized they could build an entire section around that cold, devotional atmosphere. The piece was later given lyrics for the live version, but the album keeps it wordless, letting the reverb and the icy organ carry the sense of cosmic awe.