AGITATION FREE Malesch - French LP Prog Krautrock Psych

	£		44
	$		58

** RECORD COLLECTOR **

AGITATION FREE

Malesch

French reissue LP released on I.R.I. Records in 1978. Reissue on French label IRI using the original Vertigo sleeve (including Vertigo label on front). Laminated sleeve. BLUE VINYL.

The German avant-garde rock band Agitation Free formed in 1967 and featured founding members bassist/keyboardist Michael Gunther and guitarist/keyboardist Lutz Ulbrich. Originally known as the Agitation -- a name picked at random from the dictionary -- the group added "free" to their name a year later, inspired by a free concert they performed. Though they began by playing covers, Agitation Free added extended improvisations into the songs, and jamming became the basis for their own works. The group also collaborated with Berlin's art students on slide-shows, projections, and multi-media performances, and played gigs at conservatories and galleries in addition to club shows.

By 1970, Agitation Free were a fixture of Berlin's art rock scene, performing with bands such as Tangerine Dream, Amon Düül and Guru Guru. The group often acted as an incubator for underground rock talent, losing guitarist Axel Genrich to Guru Guru that year, and drummer Christopher Franke to Tangerine Dream in 1971. Agitation Free's debut album, Malesch, came out in 1972 and was heavily influenced by their tour of Egypt, Greece, and Cyprus, which was sponsored by the Goethe Institute, blending the group's improvisational rock with ambient sounds from the countries they toured.

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The debut album by Agitation Free followed a somewhat different path than your average Krautrock band, veering toward the Middle East, specifically Egypt, in search of atmosphere and material.

Underneath the duelling guitars and spacey synth work, desert rhythms and taped sounds of dusky cities percolate, adding depth and spice to the otherwise smooth, Teutonic grooves. It's a tribute to the sincerity of the band that the use of these motifs does not sound at all contrived. The delicate, intricate percussion that concludes "Ala Tul," for instance, sounds as lively as anything by Steve Reich from around the same period.

Tapes of street songs emerge surprisingly and effectively toward the end of the otherwise stately march "Khan El Khalili," providing a bridge to the Terry Riley-ish organ trills that begin the title track. "Malesch," like many of the tracks, spins off into a leisurely stroll. Even when it picks up pace, there's an unhurried quality that fits in nicely with the Saharan undertones of the album.

Malesch is a solid, even inspired recording that stands apart from the usual clichés of the genre. Fans of German progressive rock from this period will certainly want to hear and enjoy it.

Tracks Are :-

Side One

You Play For Us Today

Sahara City

Ala Tul

Side Two

Pulse

Khan El Khalili

Malesch

Rucksturz

Released on 'I.R.I. Records' in 1978

Catalogue No. IRI 5001

Disc is in EX+ condition (few light surface marks)

Sleeve is in EX condition

Please contact me via Ebay Messages with any questions I will try my best to get back to you as quickly as possible.

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