Emerging from a commune in Stuttgart, the four musicians, Conny Veidt (guitar, vocals, tablas, electronic effects), Fritz Scheyhing (organ, Mellotron, percussion, electronic effects), the Swiss bassist Walter Wiederkehr and the French drummer Daniel Alluno (bongos, tablas), formed a band called Gila in 1969. The quartet soon made a name for themselves as a successful live act with numerous gigs throughout Germany. In June 1971, they recorded their debut album over a period of eight days, from 7 to 15 June 1971, at Dieter Dierks’ legendary studio in Stommeln. As a sound engineer, Dierks was effectively the group’s fifth musician thanks to his intensive involvement in the music, as was the case with Krokodil’s second album.

The LP was released worldwide in the autumn in Germany and three other countries on the BASF label, which had been newly founded in March 1971. On this self-produced album, called Free Electric Sound (or self-titled Gila), they showcased skilfully played acid-psychedelic 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 first LP 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 very top of the lists of psychedelic rock collectors from all over the world.