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Emerging from a commune in Stuttgart, the four musicians Conny Veidt (g, voc, tabla), Fritz Scheyhing (org, keyb, perc), Walter Wiederkehr (b) from Switzerland and French drummer Daniel Alluno (dr, perc) formed a band called Gila in 1969. They soon made a name for themselves as a successful live act with numerous gigs throughout Germany. In June 1971, they recorded their first LP in eight days at Dieter Dierks' studio in Stommeln, which was released in the autumn on the BASF label, which had been newly founded in March 1971.
On this album, called Free Electric Sound (or self-titled Gila), they showcased skilfully played acid psychedelic rock jams that featured hypnotic bass grooves with jazzy drums, Indian-Oriental flair with bongos and tablas, a dominant organ sound and Veidt's omnipresent psychedelic guitar. But even the lavish presentation of their debut album, with a gatefold cover and a poster, did not help it to succeed, and the band soon broke up for now. Today, this album is at the top of the lists of Krautrock collectors from all over the world.
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