Lutz Graf-Ulbrich, known professionally as Lüül, is a seminal figure in German Experimental music. From pioneering Krautrock with Agitation Free in the late 1960s, to collaborating with icons such as Manuel Göttsching, Nico, and John Cale, Lüül’s career spans decades of genre-defying exploration. He has ventured into world music with 17
Hippies, embraced the Neue Deutsche Welle, and now, with Lüüls Lab, he presents his first fully instrumental solo album — a work that merges raw spontaneity with careful compositional vision. Lüüls Lab serves both as a tribute to the late Manuel Göttsching and as a personal exploration of Lüül’s musical freedom, where the electric guitar takes
center stage and electronic textures enrich a deeply layered sonic world.
In this interview, we explore the genesis of the album, Lüül’s reflections on his long career, and the philosophies that continue to drive him as a pioneer of Krautrock and beyond.
Looking back to the late 1960s with Agitation Free, how would you describe the Experimental atmosphere in Berlin that encouraged your early Krautrock explorations?
Well, at the end of the Sixties a lot of things were changing, revolution filled the air so to say. We all were tired of the old system, the old ways to do things and we were young and innovative and wanted to change the world. Also in music we were looking for new sounds, getting rid of the old song structures, exploring more and developing our own type of music.
Your collaborations with Ash Ra Tempel / Ashra and your friendship with Manuel Göttsching were formative. What aspects of his approach influenced the sound and spirit of Lüüls Lab?
Without Manuel Göttsching this album would not have happened, I guess. A very important influence. And when Manuel died much too early three years ago, I became aware that I have not done a solo instrumental guitar based album and I started right away. So I had Manuel in mind when I began, but of course I wanted to create my own style and see what comes out of myself musically with no one else involved – and this is the result.
The memorial performance for Manuel Göttsching sparked the creation of this album. Can you describe how a tribute performance evolved into a full solo project?
I had already begun to work on that album, but this event was very special indeed. To honor this great musician in front of so many good friends and so many guitar players felt very special. (The most guitar players I have ever seen at a concert). Also to play his composition „Oasis“ a song I always liked at that event felt great and it became part of the album, too.
You mentioned that the aim of the album was to “surprise yourself.” After decades of music-making, what did you hope to discover about your own creativity?
Exactly, the last decades I was more involved in writing songs and not so much in creating abstract music. So I was wondering what kind of music I would come up with. I did not have a plan, nor a structure, so I just sat down, turned on the recording system and began. Sometimes I would play a rhythm guitar track first, sometimes there would be a drum pattern or a keyboard sound. And it all developed quite easily from there. One thing led to another. I did not look left and right to try to catch up with others. I just wanted to create my own style and I really was surprised what kind of music I was carrying in me.
Lüüls Lab was conceived, composed, arranged, mixed, and produced entirely by you. What challenges and rewards came with working entirely solo?
I have never been a master of technique, therefore I had always been in a studio with sound engineers to record music, so the technical challenge how to record everything properly for the first time, even at my age and experience was the biggest „problem“. Apart from that I felt an immense trust and freedom in what I was about to create. No discussions about sounds, melodies, structures and the way how to do it. I just followed my instincts as a musician. That felt great and inspired me to go wherever I felt was right. So of course you have to have a certain trust in yourself to do that, but I never doubted myself.
The album balances electric guitar with electronic textures. How did you approach integrating these elements, including e-bow techniques, loops, or Experimental sounds?
As I said before, it happened quite easily and each track had a different approach. It felt great to turn on the machines and see what would happen and most of the time, something new came up. Also, I had no pressure as I could play and stop whenever I wanted and felt like I could do whatever I would like to do.
Having often collaborated with other musicians, how did working alone affect your creative process and decision-making?
Good question. Of course playing in a band is wonderful especially if you have good musicians around who bring in their ideas and you get inspired by them. On the other hand it can become difficult, too, if you have to discuss everything and each one has another idea and it takes a lot of patience to try out everything and not to get lost there. So, when you are only by yourself you must have enough ideas yourself to create interesting stuff. But if you have time and do not rush yourself, it might be an easy task. But especially to find the right sounds with all these wonderful possibilities you have
with the modern technology can be a drag. On the other hand it is just amazing how it is possible to make music by your own without a big studio just by yourself nowadays.
Your career spans Krautrock, Neue Deutsche Welle, World Music, and solo instrumental work. How do these different phases connect in your musical identity?
It all comes together and I love the changes. Even when I started to make free experimental music with Agitation Free I was always writing songs like a singer songwriter for myself. In the Eighties I was involved in making music for theatre plays. I could write songs for great singers and actors and also create atmospheres with soundtracks. Later with the 17 Hippies it was great fun to play just acoustic instruments, to play thousands of concerts in a big band all over the world. A wonderful experience. Now I have my own big band „Der Wilde Ballon“ as I do not play with 17 Hippies anymore. And I have my other projects where I do multimedia shows reading my autobiography and
the book I wrote about the time with the singer Nico and combine it with videos and music. So, I always loved the different types of performances and I am glad I am able to do them the way I do. It never gets boring!
Track titles like “Der Wilde Ritt” and “Mystical Road” are evocative. Did the music inspire the titles, or did the titles help shape the music?
The problem with titles and instrumental music is that you can name them anything as you normally have no name at the beginning. So sometimes it takes quite some time to get the right title. „Der Wilde Ritt“ was originally called „Tribe“ as I wanted to create something rough, simple and powerful. „Mystical Road“ has been quite mystical for me from the start, but also there I had have some different titles.
Berlin has been both your home and creative hub for decades. How does the city’s energy, history, and culture influence your music, and Lüüls Lab in particular?
Oh, I do not know exactly. I am born here. It is a big city with a lot of things going on, especially in culture. But I do not bother that much with that, I try to concentrate on my own. But I guess the music you create here might sound different as when you are living on a pacific island, for sure.
Improvisation has always been central to your work. In this studio album, how did you decide when a piece was complete versus leaving parts open-ended?
I did not think a lot about it, I just followed my instincts and stopped when I felt there is nothing more to say musically.
Are there plans to perform Lüüls Lab live, and if so, how would you adapt its multi-layered studio sound for a live setting?
Not only plans, I already do! And the wonderful thing about it, is that my wife (check out her Youtube Channel @danimysteryzone) is doing the visuals and they are quite impressive, check them out on YouTube. Originally I wanted to play it live with keyboarder Tim Sund, but there was a misunderstanding with the schedule, so I decided to do it just
by myself and it works very well. It is really intense and I hope I can perform that in other countries as well.
Balancing tribute and personal artistic vision is a delicate task. How did you navigate this duality while creating the album?
You really come up with thoughtful questions, I must say! Well, Manuel´s music has been part of my musical life for decades, though most of that happened back in the days. But the way Manuel and I were playing guitar together, especially in the Sventies with the material of „Inventions for electric guitar“ we felt very much united and sometimes
listening to our recordings we did not know who was playing what. So I think, I have some „Manuel“ within my way of playing guitar. Apart from that it was more a symbolic thing to dedicate the album to Manuel and also the starting point when he passed away so early that I decided to do this guitar album.
The album traverses a wide emotional spectrum. How deliberate were you in crafting the arc between energetic, reflective, and Experimental moods?
It took me about more than half a year to record the album and of course each day is different and the mood you are in. Also sometimes I would record during the night, sometimes during the day, that also might change the way things come up. As I said earlier, it feels quite satisfying as an artist to go with the flow and when there is not flow you just stop. There was no plan, no structure before the recording sessions, it all happened by intuition, by accident or inspiration to whatever you might call it.
Looking forward, what creative paths or collaborations do you hope Lüüls Lab will open for you?
The best thing for me was the fact that my wife Dani could collaborate with me with the videos. She had done videos for my songs for years already, but to create little movies, pictures hallucinations to instrumental music is another challenge. Apart from that it feels great to perform that stuff just by myself, really.
Having pioneered Krautrock and explored multiple genres, what advice would you offer younger musicians who aim to innovate while staying authentic?
I think I made that clear already: if you have a vision of what you want to create as an artist, go for it and do not copy others! You might get inspired by some, but the most important thing for an artist is, to create your own, unique art, art that only you are able to create.
Finally, if listeners take away one key impression from Lüüls Lab, what would you hope it to be?
Adventure!
Lüüls Lab is more than a solo album; it is a testament to Lüül’s enduring curiosity, technical mastery, and fearless exploration of sound. It embodies decades of experience while charting new musical territory, blending homage and innovation. Through each track, Lüül demonstrates that even after half a century in music, there is still room to
surprise oneself — and in doing so, to offer something extraordinary to listeners and the
broader landscape of Experimental and Kraut-inspired music.
“Lüüls Lab” can order the CD through Spheric Music Shop