Kategorie: CD-Reviews | Genre: Krautrock | Heft: Jahrgang 2012, eclipsed Nr. 137 / 2-2012 | VÖ-Jahr: 2012 | Wertung: 8/10 | Label: Esoteric | Autor: MFG
The Berlin quintet Agitation Free was already celebrated in its marriage between 1967 and 1974 as an institution in the underground environment around Amon Düül II, Embryo or Can. The group renounced singing, combined actually incompatible styles like ethno, rock, psychedelic, jazz or avant-garde even more anarchically than their Krautrock colleagues. Some songs even anticipated Ambient and Techno. After the breakup of the band in the mid-seventies, their members came together again in 1999 to record the album "River Of Return". It then took another seven years before the inauguration of a wax figure by keyboarder Michael Hoenig in the Progressive Rock section of the Tokyo Tower Wax Museum was used as an opportunity to meet - and spontaneously decided to do three concerts in the Tokyo club Shibuya O'West in February 2007. From the recordings of these acclaimed gigs the group put together "Shibuya Nights". These live recordings prove that the self-proclaimed alto hippies have lost nothing of their joy of playing, their desire for improvisation and their feeling for a magnificent groove. On "Shibuya Nights" you can admire five tracks from the debut classic "Malesh" and as many from the successor "2nd", the only regular records of the group from the seventies. Three brand new tracks as well as one from "River Of Return" join them. The original release dates of the songs don't play the slightest role in Agitation Free, because for almost 75 minutes everything disappears in an irresistible maelstrom of ideas, energy and rhythm. A (hippie)-festival for all senses! It will be interesting to see what the Berliners will be serving this year - the old Agitation-Free-Funke is over again..
Top track: Laila
