The Incredible String Band (sometimes abbreviated as ISB) were a psychedelic folk

Psych folk

Psychedelic folk or psych folk is a loosely defined form of psychedelic music that originated in the 1960s through the fusion of folk music and psychedelic rock...

 band formed in Scotland in 1966. The band built a considerable following, especially within British counterculture

Counterculture of the 1960s

The counterculture of the 1960s refers to a cultural movement that mainly developed in the United States and spread throughout much of the western world between 1960 and 1973. The movement gained momentum during the U.S. government's extensive military intervention in Vietnam...

, before splitting up in 1974. The group's members are musical pioneers in psych folk

Psych folk

Psychedelic folk or psych folk is a loosely defined form of psychedelic music that originated in the 1960s through the fusion of folk music and psychedelic rock...

 and, by integrating a wide variety of traditional music forms and instruments, in the development of world music

World music

World music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"...

. The group reformed in 1999 and continued to perform until 2006.
In 1963, acoustic musicians Robin Williamson

Robin Williamson

Robin Williamson is a Scottish multi-instrumentalist musician, singer, songwriter and storyteller, who first made his name as a founder member of The Incredible String Band.-Career:...

 and Clive Palmer

Clive Palmer

Clive Palmer is a British folk musician and banjoist best known as a founding member of the Incredible String Band.Born in Edmonton, North London, he first went on stage at the age of 8, and took banjo lessons from the age of 10. Around 1957 he began playing with jazz bands in Soho...

 began performing together as a traditional folk duo in Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...

, particularly at a weekly club run by Archie Fisher

Archie Fisher

Archie Fisher MBE is a Scottish folk singer and song writer.-The early years:Archie Fisher was born in Glasgow on 23 October 1939 into a large singing family. His sister Cilla Fisher is also a professional singer, as was his late sister Ray. In 1960 he moved to Edinburgh and appeared regularly at...

 in the Crown Bar which also regularly featured Bert Jansch

Bert Jansch

Herbert "Bert" Jansch was a Scottish folk musician and founding member of the band Pentangle. He was born in Glasgow and came to prominence in London in the 1960s, as an acoustic guitarist, as well as a singer-songwriter...

.