Album: Gila ("Free Electric Sound") (6/71) LP BASF 20 21109-6 (1971) Formed in early 1969, out of the Stuttgart political commune, as Gila Füchs, we can only guess as to what their music was like in these early days, yet they quickly established themselves as the foremost exponents of psychedelic space-rock. By 1971, with the shortened name Gila, they recorded one of the finest cosmic classics of Pink Floyd inspired space-rock. GILA (sometimes quoted as "FREE ELECTRIC SOUND") is a mainly instrumental trip and feels much like one suite per side. Superbly conceived, it featured an amazingly innovative music that took hints from all the classic Pink Floyd inventions, and went further, blending in ethnic textures with the complex multi-guitars of Conny Veit, and superb percussive fired space drives. Naturally, it's widely regarded as one of the finest Krautrock albums. Gila were an extraordinary band, at the peak of the Krautrock ladder, and it's a shame that this original incarnation only made the one album. Gila had a vast repertoire, and concerts would include jams in excess of 20 minutes, covering a range from weirder Guru Guru realms to the most ethereal Agitation Free kind of trips. -"The Crack In The Cosmic Egg" by Steven Freeman & Alan Freeman