Agitation Free
Encyclopedia
Agitation Free was a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 experimental krautrock
Krautrock
Krautrock is a generic name for the experimental music scenes that appeared in Germany in the late 1960s and gained popularity throughout the 1970s, especially in Britain. The term is a result of the English-speaking world's reception of the music at the time and not a reference to any one...

 band. The band was formed in 1967 with Michael "Fame" Günther (bass), Lutz "Lüül" Ulbrich (guitar), Lutz Ludwig Kramer (guitar) and Christopher Franke
Christopher Franke
Christopher Franke is a German musician and composer. From 1971 to 1988 he was a member of the electronic group Tangerine Dream. Initially a drummer with The Agitation, later renamed Agitation Free, his primary focus eventually shifted to keyboards and synthesizers as the group moved away from its...

 (drums). They were initially called Agitation, a name they chose at random from a dictionary. The name later changed to Agitation Free as the result of a panel before a free show played in the early 1970s where it was written "Agitation Free" (meaning "free concert"). The other reason for the band to change their name was that another band with the same name already existed.

After losing guitarist Axel Genrich to Guru Guru
Guru Guru
Guru Guru is a German Krautrock band formed in 1968 as The Guru Guru Groove by Mani Neumeier , Uli Trepte and Eddy Naegeli later replaced by American Jim Kennedy...

 in 1970 and drummer Christopher Franke to Tangerine Dream
Tangerine Dream
Tangerine Dream is a German electronic music group founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The band has undergone many personnel changes over the years, with Froese being the only continuous member...

 in 1971, the band recruited Jörg "Joshi" Schwenke (guitar), Burghard Rausch (drums), and Michael Hoenig
Michael Hoenig
Michael Hoenig is a German composer who has composed music for several movies and games, in addition to two solo albums...

 (keyboards). They released their debut album, Malesch
Malesch
Malesch is an album by German rock group Agitation Free. It was released in 1972 on the Music Factory label, and later on the Vertigo Records label. It was reissued on CD in 1992 by the Spalax label and in 2001 by the Garden of delights label and again in 2008 by Revisited Records...

in 1972 on the Music Factory label. The album was inspired by their tour through Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

, and Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...

, sponsored by the German Goethe Institute. Later that year, they performed at the 1972 Munich Olympics.

A second album was released in 1973, but the band disbanded in 1974. Agitation Free reunited in 1998 and released River Of Return in 1999.

The band is included on the Nurse With Wound list
Nurse with Wound list
The Nurse with Wound list is a list of 291 musicians and bands that accompanied Chance Meeting on a Dissecting Table of a Sewing Machine and an Umbrella , the first album by Nurse With Wound...

.

Musical style and sound

Agitation Free's music is psychedelic, experimental krautrock with elements of spaced-out ambient, experimental electronic, and drone. Their music for the most part consists of driving organ-patterned drone-like rock; seamless psychedelic cosmic musical textures with intricate musicianship and musical variety; hard, driving rock similar to Amon Duul II
Amon Düül II
-Studio Albums:-Live Albums:-Compilations:-Singles:-External links:*...

 but more compelling, refined, and developed; and jamming that occasionally invokes the interplay and styles of Garcia, Weir and Lesh of The Grateful Dead and hints at a blues rock base not unlike The Allman Brothers Band
The Allman Brothers Band
The Allman Brothers Band is an American rock/blues band once based in Macon, Georgia. The band was formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1969 by brothers Duane Allman and Gregg Allman , who were supported by Dickey Betts , Berry Oakley , Butch Trucks , and Jai Johanny "Jaimoe"...

. Their music features frequently great musical interplay and great playing, great textures, melodies and grooves. Many of their songs have a trance-inducing, psychedelic feel with sections of driving rock fueled by fiery and melodic moving guitar lines and solid, propelling and intricate drumming and a prominent bass. All of Agitation Free's Songs are instrumental apart from some recitation on "Haunted Island".

Their first album Malesch
Malesch
Malesch is an album by German rock group Agitation Free. It was released in 1972 on the Music Factory label, and later on the Vertigo Records label. It was reissued on CD in 1992 by the Spalax label and in 2001 by the Garden of delights label and again in 2008 by Revisited Records...

is much more cosmic, aggressive, psychedelic, creative, ethnically flavored (mainly by short interludes of recordings from Egypt), mysterious and densely packed with ideas whereas their second, titled 2nd is more laid-back and upbeat, with longer structure, much more of an emphasis on traditional styled jamming à la The Grateful Dead and a warmer and more straightforward sound. On Malesch
Malesch
Malesch is an album by German rock group Agitation Free. It was released in 1972 on the Music Factory label, and later on the Vertigo Records label. It was reissued on CD in 1992 by the Spalax label and in 2001 by the Garden of delights label and again in 2008 by Revisited Records...

the songs blend together to make a seamlessly flowing, tangential and uninterrupted musical journey, whereas on 2nd songs are more predictably structured, more varied in their sound, and stand more as independent works.

Their sound is similar to, but fairly distinguishable from, other contemporary Krautrock
Krautrock
Krautrock is a generic name for the experimental music scenes that appeared in Germany in the late 1960s and gained popularity throughout the 1970s, especially in Britain. The term is a result of the English-speaking world's reception of the music at the time and not a reference to any one...

 bands such as Ash Ra Tempel
Ash Ra Tempel
Ash Ra Tempel are a German krautrock group of the 1970s, and are an example of cosmic or space rock.-History:The group was originally founded by guitarist Manuel Göttsching, keyboardist/drummer Klaus Schulze, and bassist Hartmut Enke in 1971. All three founding members had previously played...

, Amon Düül II
Amon Düül II
-Studio Albums:-Live Albums:-Compilations:-Singles:-External links:*...

, Guru Guru
Guru Guru
Guru Guru is a German Krautrock band formed in 1968 as The Guru Guru Groove by Mani Neumeier , Uli Trepte and Eddy Naegeli later replaced by American Jim Kennedy...

, Brainticket
Brainticket
Brainticket is a little-known experimental krautrock band.-History:Brainticket originally formed in 1968, consisting of members of Belgian, Swiss, and German descent...

, Yatha Sidhra, and Kalacakra, as well as the mixed-influence blues-based jam rock of The Grateful Dead and the The Allman Brothers noticeable on 2nd, and slightly later and more symphonic bands like Asia Minor
Asia Minor
Asia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...

 and Anyone's Daughter
Anyone's Daughter
Anyone's Daughter is a German progressive rock band founded in 1972 in Stuttgart by Uwe Karpa und Matthias Ulmer. The band started out playing covers of Deep Purple and others, and named themselves after the Deep Purple song released in 1971....

.

Former members

  • Michael Gunther - bass
  • Lutz Ulbrich - guitars
  • Christopher Franke - drums
  • Lutz Ludwig Kramer - guitars
  • Axel Genrich - guitars
  • Burghard Rausch - drums
  • Michael Hoenig - keyboards, electronics
  • Jörg Schwenke - guitars
  • Gustl Luetjens - guitars

Discography

  • Malesch
    Malesch
    Malesch is an album by German rock group Agitation Free. It was released in 1972 on the Music Factory label, and later on the Vertigo Records label. It was reissued on CD in 1992 by the Spalax label and in 2001 by the Garden of delights label and again in 2008 by Revisited Records...

    (1972)
  • 2nd (1973)
  • Last (released 1976, recorded live 1974)
  • Fragments (released 1995 and again in 1996, recorded live 1974)
  • At the Cliffs of River Rhine (released 1998, recorded live 1974) Garden of Delights
  • The other sides of Agitation Free (released 1999, recorded 1974–75)
  • River of Return (Reunion) (1999) month unknown

Further reading

  • Ulbrich, Lutz: „Lüül". Ein Musikerleben zwischen Agitation Free, Ashra, Nico
    Nico
    Nico was a German singer, lyricist, composer, musician, fashion model, and actress, who initially rose to fame as a Warhol Superstar in the 1960s...

    , der Neuen Deutschen Welle
    Neue Deutsche Welle
    Neue Deutsche Welle is a genre of German music originally derived from punk rock and New Wave music...

     und den 17 Hippies
    17 Hippies
    17 Hippies is a band from Berlin, Germany, playing largely on acoustic instruments. Their music is a confection of various folk influences. They are most popular in their native Germany and France.-History:...

    “ – Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf – Berlin 2006, ISBN 3-89602-696-8
  • Ehnert, Günter: Rock in Deutschland: Lexikon dt. Rockgruppen u. Interpreten / Günter Ehnert ; Detlef Kinsler. - Orig.-Ausg., (3., aktualisierte u. erw. Aufl.). - Hamburg : Taurus Press, 1984. - 434 S. ; 18 cm, ISBN 3-922542-16-6
  • Christian Graf: "Rocklexikon Deutschland". Verlag Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, 2002, ISBN 3896022733
  • Frank Laufenberg, Ingrid Laufenberg: Frank Laufenbergs Hit-Lexikon des Rock und Pop., Ullstein Tb., Oktober 2002. ISBN 3-5483-6362-8
  • Christian Graf, Burghard Rausch: Rockmusiklexikon Europa, Bd. 1., Fischer Tb., Frankfurt Juli 2005. ISBN 3-5961-6428-1
  • Christian Graf, Burghard Rausch: Rockmusiklexikon Europa, Bd. 2., Fischer Tb., Frankfurt Juli 2005. ISBN 3-5961-6429-X
  • Christian Graf, Burghard Rausch: Rockmusiklexikon Amerika, Afrika, Asien, Australien, Fischer Tb, Frankfurt Oktober 2003. ISBN 3-5961-5869-9
  • Tibor Kneif: Sachlexikon Rockmusik. Instrumente, Stile, Techniken, Industrie und Geschichte, Reinbek b. Hamburg: Rowohlt, überarbeitete und erweiterte Ausgabe 1980. ISBN 3-499-16223-7 (Lexikon und Beispielsammlung aus Rock ’n’ Roll
    Rock and roll
    Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...

    , Rhythm & Blues
    Rhythm and blues
    Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...

    , Jazz rock, Funk metal
    Funk metal
    Funk metal is a subgenre of funk rock that fuses elements of heavy metal and funk. Allmusic has claimed that "funk metal evolved in the mid-'80s when alternative bands like the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Faith No More, Infectious Grooves, Mordred and Fishbone began playing the hybrid with a stronger...

    , Country rock
    Country rock
    Country rock is sub-genre of popular music, formed from the fusion of rock with country. The term is generally used to refer to the wave of rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s, beginning with Bob Dylan and The Byrds; reaching its greatest...

    , Folk rock
    Folk rock
    Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s...

    , Blues rock, Hard rock
    Hard rock
    Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...

    , Punk
    Punk rock
    Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...

    , New Wave
    New Wave music
    New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...

    sowie ein Register)
  • Tibor Kneif: Rockmusik. Ein Handbuch zum kritischen Verständnis. Mit einem Beitrag von Carl-Ludwig Reichert, Reinbek bei Hamburg: Rowohlt, 1982. ISBN 3-499-16279-2 (mit einem Kapitel über die Grundlagen der Rockmusik, z. B. Elemente, Instrumente und stilistische Wurzeln sowie Materialien zu einer Theorie der Rockmusik, ihrer Soziologie, Ästhetik und Geschichte)
  • Artemy Troitsky: "Rock in Russland: Rock und Subkultur in der UdSSR", Hannibal-Verlag, Wien 1989. ISBN 3-85445-046-X
  • Zöller, Christa. Rockmusik als jugendliche Weltanschauung und Mythologie. Religion und Biographie, Bd. 2. Münster: Lit. 2000. ISBN 978-3-8258-4517-9
  • Steven & Alan Freeman: The crack in the cosmic egg: encyclopedia of Krautrock, Kosmische musik & other progressive, experimental & electronic musics from Germany, 1996, Audition Publ., Leicester ISBN 095295060X

External links

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