Agitation Free release new album
There are bands that you don't even know still exist. Agitation Free, founded in Berlin in 1967, is one such band. The progressive rock band led by Lutz Graf-Ulbrich (Lüül), Michael Hoenig, Burghard Rausch and Daniel Cordes is now releasing a new album after almost 25 years - four members of the original line-up worked on the record. Among them is Lutz Graf-Ulbrich, who seems a little surprised himself that a new album is now being released during an interview with the Deutsche Presse-Agentur in Berlin.
However, "Momentum" is anything but a quick fix, as the new work has been in the making for almost ten years. "We played a festival in 2013. That's when the idea came up that we should make another album together. We then met up in 2014, everyone brought musical ideas with them and we looked to see if there was still enough creative energy left in the band," says Lutz Graf-Ulbrich.
These creative forces are certainly still there, as the seven songs on "Momentum" show. Lush, spherical, psychedelic ambient sounds paired with lush guitars create musical landscapes that are familiar from Agitation Free's earlier records. This pervades the entire album and transports the listener back in time. Right at the beginning of the album, for example, sounds of an Agitation Free performance on French television from 1973 can be heard. An idea of the band to bring their past closer to their younger fans in particular. "We were always a bit under the radar - unlike Kraftwerk or Tangerine Dream. We started earlier than many others, but then there was a break in 1969 when Christopher Franke left to join Tangerine Dream, so we had to rebuild. Then things really took off with the other bands, the big propaganda machine, but we weren't there," says Graf-Ulbrich. "But young people are now discovering us and older people are rediscovering us."
Lutz Graf-Ulbrich has his own explanation for this phenomenon. "There's a longing, I think. Newer things sound quite similar, perfect, smooth, interchangeable. Krautrock used to be more of an insult - now it's a seal of approval. There is still a love for this music, which is very nice." He also says that he is still often asked about the Velvet Underground singer and Warhol muse Christa Päffgen, aka Nico, who died in 1988 and with whom he had a long-term relationship in the seventies. "Nico is also revered as an icon by very young people." She always had a great affinity for Agitation Free's music, says Graf-Ulbrich. "Nico could be a real fan, like a teenager. She could sit there, listen and be amazed," reveals the 70-year-old.
Agitation Free have remained true to their sound with the new album. And that should be taken as a compliment. Yes, the band is still around.
The highly anticipated album by Agitation Free, titled "Momentum," will be released on November 24, showcasing their signature progressive rock sound after a 25-year absence. Fans of the band can look forward to seven songs filled with lush, psychedelic ambient sounds and lush guitars, reminiscent of their earlier records.
Source: www.dpa.com
