Lard Free was an avant-garde band from France, formed by Gilbert Hartman in 1970. Stylistically the band combined electronic music, space rock, jazz and RIO (Rock In Opposition). The name is a pun on the French "L'Art Free" ("The Free Art"). Hartman worked with a variety of other musicians on the three albums released under the Lard Free name: Lard Free (1973), I'm Around About Midnight (1975), and III (AKA Spirale Malax, 1977). Since the band's dissolution in 1978 other recordings have been released