Their records for the Harvest label, Alchemy and Third Ear Band, achieved some popularity, after which they found some success creating soundtrack music for films.
[1]: 212–213 Members came from The Giant Sun Trolley and The People Band to create an improvised music drawing on Eastern raga forms, European folk, experimental and medieval influences.
They recorded their first session in 1968 for Ron Geesin, which was released under the pseudonym of The National-Balkan Ensemble on one side of a Standard Music Library disc.
Their first album, Alchemy, was released on the EMI Harvest label in 1969,[2] and featured John Peel, the BBC disc jockey who did much to publicise the group, playing Jew's harp on one track.
They also opened the Blind Faith Free Concert at Hyde Park on 5 July 1969, and played at the Isle of Wight Festival the next month.