Agitation Free Tickets

Short Biography
Esoteric Recordings announce the release of the new album by German legends AGITATION FREE. Of all of the experimental groups who emerged in Germany the early 1970s, Agitation Free was certainly one of the most musically adventurous. From their beginnings in Berlin in 1967, the band embraced the concept of performing long and free improvisations, experimenting with the use of liquid projectors, slide shows and their own films in live performances. The Beat Studio that AGITATION FREE initiated under the direction of Thomas Kessler also developed into the creative centre for the Berlin groups ASH RA TEMPEL and TANGERINE DREAM. The sound of Agitation Free featured the pioneering electronics of Michael Hoenig, one of Germany's best musicians when creating atmospheric melodies and powerful-layered soundscapes which both enhanced and defined the band's style. Also featured were guitarists Lutz Ulbrich and Gustl Lutjens whose magic fingers could conjure up exotic Eastern scales or soaring melodic melodies with ease. Drummer Burghard Rausch and bassist Michael "Fame" Günther were a polyrhythmic rhythm section extraordinaire that propelled the music. In February 2007, AGITATION FREE reunited to perform a series of concerts in Tokyo with the superb "SHIBUYA NIGHTS" being the resulting record of those shows. After almost forty years, the five musicians of AGITATION FREE have reincarnated their creative vision. This says much about not only the music, but the musicians who performed it. "SHIBUYA NIGHTS" provides ample proof that good music such as this can indeed be timeless.

In-depth Biography
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 other 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 like-minded bands such as Tangerine Dream, Amon Düül and Guru Guru, all of whom appeared at that year's First German Progressive Popfestival in Berlin's Sportpalast. 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. Ulbrich and Gunther added guitarist Jorg Scwhenke, drummer Burghard Rausch, and keyboardist Michael Hoenig to the lineup, and the quintet procured a record deal with the Music Factory label later that year. 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. Despite the group's growing popularity -- spurred by their performance at the 1972 Olympics in Munich -- poor distribution hindered the album's sales.

In 1973, Agitation Free continued touring in France and Germany and released their sophomore effort 2nd, but disappointing album sales, musical differences, and boredom brought on by constant touring chipped away at the band. They disbanded in 1974, but Gunther and Ulbrich continued on with a new name, Lagoona. However, this project also received little favorable attention and ended in late 1975. Several Agitation Free albums were released after the group's breakup, including 1976's Last, 1995's Fragments, and the following year's At the Cliffs of the River Rhine.

In 1998, Gunther, Rausch, Hoenig, and Ulbrich reunited at Ulbrich's birthday party and decided to revive Agitation Free. The following year, River of Return appeared, featuring the original quartet as well as new members Johannes Pappert from the underground group Kraan, and Bernard Potschka, formerly the guitarist for Spliff. ~ Heather Phares, Rovi