The Free Design

CD reissue of The Free Design's Heaven/Earth, originally released in 1969. A vocal band that made it through, the Free Design have been more than an exception in the glittering world of the psychedelic circus. That was the Age of Aquarius in the end, but in the long run the four-piece had an enormous impact on the younger generation. Released in 1969 Heaven/Earth is a cornerstone on its own and 30 years later the band had a sort of epiphany, thanks to the spanning interest of artists such as Cornelius, Beck, Stereolab, and crate digger master Madlib. By now, the Free Design are considered in the same league of The Beach Boys and The Carpenters. Under the influence of the Hi-Lo's and Peter, Paul and Mary, the Free Design rose through the folk scene of the Greenwich Village coffee houses, achieving national prominence with the enchanting "Kites Are Fun". They would prove to be at least the artistic equals of such popular contemporaries as The Association, The Mamas and the Papas, The Fifth Dimension, and Harper's Bizarre, but without quite matching their commercial success.

Rather than be dictated to and diluted by the majors, they chose to commit to the artistic freedom and potential to develop offered them by the producer Enoch Light through his independent set up Project 3 Total Sound.