Gila was an early-'70s Krautrock group that may not have been as
well-known as Ash Ra Tempel or Amon Düül II, but with an eponymous first
release created a work that ranks with the classics of the cosmic space
rock genre. The group emerged from a political commune in Stuttgart in
southwest Germany in early 1969 where it was a multimedia project that
combined music with film, slides, and poems. The original group
consisted of two Germans, Fritz Scheyhing on Mellotron and organ and
Wolf Conrad "Conny" Veit on guitar and vocals, as well as Walter
Wiederkehr from Switzerland on bass and Daniel Alluno from Bordeaux,
France, on drums. Stuttgart, with its university and arts academy, was a
fertile place with many rock festivals and parties, especially at the
end of the '60s, and Gila had no problem finding gigs, though the group
did have to shorten its name from the original Gila Fuck because the
vice squad kept showing up wherever they played. By 1971, the band had
gained local fame with a creative blend of Pink Floyd-inspired space
rock with long psychedelic jams and in June of that year, they entered
the studios of Dieter Dierks to record their first album. The eponymous
record, often referred to by the title Free Electric Sound, was released
later that year by the BASF label. The group broke up the next year and
Alluno soon went on to Sameti while Veit joined Popol Vuh, at which
time they started doing the soundtracks for Werner Herzog films. By
1974, Veit was ready to re-form Gila, this time enlisting Popol Vuh
bandmates Florian Fricke on keyboards and Daniel Fichelscher on drums,
as well as vocalist Sabine Merbach. The group's sound was very
different, dispensing with the wild acid jams for mellower acoustic
rock. Given their pedigree, the new group sounded almost like Popol Vuh
at the time, though performing Veit's compositions rather than Fricke's.
Whereas the early Gila constantly performed live, this new version of
the group was mostly studio-only, with just one live appearance on a
television cultural show. Again in Dierks' studio, they recorded the
album Bury My Heart in Wounded Knee in the summer of 1973. As the title
suggests, this was a concept album about the genocide of Native
Americans and later that year, it was released by Warner. After Veit
toured France with Amon Düül II in the winter of 1973-1974, the second
Gila broke up in the middle of 1974 as Fricke and Fichelscher focused
much more on Popol Vuh and Veit briefly joined Guru Guru before he moved
on to other groups and eventually became a freelance painter. Though
most of the first Gila's live shows went unrecorded, in 1999 Garden of
Delights released Night Works, a Cologne concert from early 1972 that
had aired live on the radio. Rolf Semprebon
GILA - Gila (1971)
Often referred by the title Free Electric Sound, Gila's debut is an
amazing work, full of acid guitar freakouts, spacy organ and mellotron,
exotic rhythm structures, and loads of electronic effects to fully
realize the psychedelic visions. From the Floyd-ian space rock of the
first two tracks the record moves into even stranger realms on the four
segued pieces that make up the second side of the original vinyl.
"Kollaps" starts off with ritualistic drumming, a creepy organ riff, a
crying baby, and guitar licks that threaten to explode at any moment.
After some electronic effects "Kontakt" goes in an entirely different
direction with airy acoustic guitar and keyboards and no rhythm section,
like suddenly emerging into sunlight after the darkness of "Kollaps."
As the track progresses seamlessly into "Kollektivivtat" and then
"Individualitat" it again picks up momentum, adding electric guitar
riffs and an interesting mixture of bongos and snares as the organ cuts
loose, until finally everything dies except the thundering percussions
on some quasi-ethnic workout with some electronic sounds thrown in.
Rolf Semprebon
Tracklist :
1. Aggression (4:38)
2. Kommunikation (12:56)
3. Kollaps (5:33)
4. Kontakt (4:27)
5. Kollectivität (6:41)
6. Individualität (3:37)
Credits :
- Conny Veit / electric & acoustic guitars, vocals, tabla, electronics
- Fritz Scheyhing / organ, Mellotron, percussion, electronics
- Walter Wiederkehr / bass
- Daniel Alluno / drums, bongos, tabla
Gila - Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (1973)
Whereas the first record was psychedelic space rock acid jams, on their
second album, Gila, now consisting of mostly Popol Vuh members, offered
something far more sedate. Though Conny Veit was always the leader of
Gila, this one comes off much more like a solo effort. The record is a
concept album inspired by the book of the same name by Dee Alexander
Brown that brought the plight of the North American Indians to
international attention. Complex multi-tracked acoustic guitar melodies
create a shimmering, even haunting beauty in a lushly Baroque setting,
while some of the lyrics are taken from various Native American texts.
"The Buffalo Are Coming," with its long instrumental section as well as
Native American styled rhythms and chanting, is the high point.
Otherwise the vocals distract somewhat from the music, and the whole
thing comes off as too much with a smooth new age vibe, especially when
compared to the acid-damage blastoff of the earlier Gila album.
Rolf Semprebon
Tracklist :
1. This Morning (5:40)
2. In a Sacred Manner (4:42)
3. Sundance Chant (4:09)
4. Young Coyote (3:18)
5. The Buffalo Are Coming (7:20)
6. Black Kettle's Ballad (4:24)
7. Little Smoke (5:06)
- Bonus Track -
8. Mindwinds and Heartfrost (5:56)
Credits :
- Daniel Fichelscher / Drums, Percussion, Bass
- Conny Veit / Electric Guitar, Twelve-String Guitar, Flute, Moog, Vocals
- Florian Fricke / Mellotron, Grand Piano
- Sabine Merbach / Vocals
Gila - Night Works (1972-1999)
This disc offers the only known recording of the first version of Gila, a
group that gigged constantly to build a considerable reputation as a
formidable live act. Taken from a live Cologne radio broadcast from
February 26, 1972 (a few months before the group's demise), Night Works
is all that one could hope for, long space rock acid jamming and much
better fidelity than one would get from a recording by an audience
member. Swirling organ tones and acid guitar burnouts surge out of the
throbbing rhythm section. In particular, "Viva Arabica" stands out as
the group locks into a single groove that intensifies until the guitar
finally rips loose on Middle Eastern-tinged riffing, soon followed by
the organ. "The Gila Symphony" begins with a massively cosmic wash of
feedback noise, before launching into another upbeat space rock jam
somewhere between early Guru Guru and Golem. Like the first album,
vocals are kept to a minimum to let the group stretch out
instrumentally. The last track's volume appears to have been turned down
by a radio engineer as if it were the end of the broadcast time; it's a
pity that more wasn't recorded so that listeners would have an even
longer live document of this group.
Rolf Semprebon
Tracklist :
1. Around midnight (5:46)
2. Braintwist (7:45)
3. Trampelpfad (6:11)
4. Viva Arabica (5:24)
5. The Gila Symphony (13:46)
6. Communication II (3:04)
7. The needle (0:51)
Credits :
- Conny Veit / guitar, vocals
- Fritz Scheyhing / keyboards
- Walter Wiederkehr / bass
- Daniel Alluno / drums
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
