Popol Vuh - In Den Gärten Pharaos (1971/2004 Remastered Expanded Edition)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Album: Popol Vuh - In Den Gärten Pharaos (Remastered Expanded Edition)
Released: 1971 (2004)
Genre: Electronic Krautrock
SPV 085-70112 CD
Classic German band who play heavenly drifting instumental psychedelia. If you like Ashra Tempel then this band are their laid back brothers and sisters. Just as trippy but with a chilled out relaxed vibe. This is their second album from 1972. Two long trippy tracks with moogs, Turkish percussion cymbals etc.High quality digipak, includes bonus tracks and detailed booklet - Freak Emporium
Led by keyboardist and composer Florian Fricke, Popol Vuh are one of the most unique-sounding bands in the history of progressive rock. To be fair, only a part of their output could be regarded as "rock", rather a lot of their work could be seen as pioneering in such genres as electronic, ethnic or New Age music. They have an extensive and somewhat confusing back catalogue, with a legion of studio albums, soundtracks, compilations and re-releases which don't always match the original versions. Furthermore, same tracks can appear on different albums under different titles (either in English or German) and sometimes different versions of the same song appear on different albums...
Affenstunde and In den Garten Pharaos -- Ambient and almost free-form music, basically just Fricke experimenting with a Moog synthesizer backed by some ethnic percussion. Reminds of Alpha Centauri / Zeit era Tangerine Dream. The gloomy organ, cymbal clashing and eerie voice on "Vuh" (In den Garten Pharaos) also bring to mind Pink Floyd's "A Saucerful of Secrets". Both are quite abstract works and not really representative of the band's main output... - New Gibraltar Encyclopedia Of Progressive Rock
This is a HUGE recording. Mostly Moog, organ, and Turkish and African percussion, Florian Fricke has managed to carve out gigantic sound sculptures as massive as Egyptian pyramids.
"In Den..." is composed of three major parts: the sound effects of lapping water, Moog synthesizers, and Turkish percussion. The best way I can describe it is like rowing down a river and being surrounded by alien masses of sound that tower over you. I never have yet heard synthesizers sound quite so simultaneously beautiful, exotic, alien and massive. While the synths have the aura of alien, the Turkish percussion and lapping water effects bring it back to Earth. The second track "Vuh" is equally if not more fascinating. The main instrument here is church organ as played by Fricke in some cathedral in Germany. While "In Den" is ethereal and abstract, "Vuh" is absolutely trance-like. The whole composition is basically one massive organ chord that is held through the entire piece; it modulates slightly throughout but remains, at the core, the same chord. The chord itself is absolutely huge, because it takes advantage of the full powerful range of the organ from ultra low rumbles to high-pitched regal highs. The repetitive percussion adds to the effect, and some occasional tiny Moog melodies float out of the hypnotic vortex of monstrous sound and then disintegrate almost unnoticeably. This does have a very hypnotizing effect; I have listened to this many, times and find it amazing that I get lost in it rather than getting bored.
I can wholeheartedly recommend this for any prog rock fan with a taste for exotic sounds. People who enjoy something like Magma's Kohntarkosz (the studio version, more so than the live version) or Tangerine Dream's Zeit should appreciate it. Also, for those that avoid this type of music: this is really exciting and colorful, especially considering the more repetitive and ambient/electronic style it is working within. Check it out when you have 40 minutes of free time. One of my personal favorite recordings. - Heather Mackenzie, Ground and Sky review
Popol Vuh’s second release is notable for a number of reasons. Firstly, for its rather ingenious in its use of fledgling synthesizer technology. While following along the lines of other German pioneers like Tangerine Dream, Fricke essentially constructs a completely unique expressive vocabulary with the instruments. While Tangerine Dream albums like Zeit and Alpha Centauri were journeys to the furthest reaches of space, where human contact was not only impossible but unwanted, Fricke’s vision has to be considered far more "spiritual", for lack of a better word. The sounds of running water and consistently morphing bongo rhythms behind the title track create a three dimensional soundscape of serene bliss. Fricke’s Moog and synthesizer lines shimmer here, and while minimal and restrained in note selection, he manages to engage the listener in a direct dialogue that is simply tantalizing. Secondly, this is really the only place in the Popol Vuh catalog you’ll hear such an extraordinary work of this style. Sure, the later Popol Vuh albums are brilliant in their own right, but the lack of synthesizers and an intentional change of aesthetic leave Affenstunde and In den Garten Pharaos as the sole torchbearers for the kind of revolutionary stuff the group were doing early on. Incidentally, Pharaos is by far the better album of the two.
Divided into two rather distinctive side-long pieces, the album retains a consistent aesthetic that is powerful and effective throughout. While I’ve already sung the praises of the title track, the second piece "Vuh" might be even better. Here, Fricke employs what sounds like a church organ in the form of dramatic, sustained chords that make the piece far more intense and unrelenting. These lay the groundwork for the development of the piece. A percussive backdrop, accompanied by various other sound effects, builds around the organ theme, creating ebbs and flows in the intensity level. In all, it’s masterfully composed, and careful attention will result in the listener feeling those chord changes resonating throughout the depths of the soul.
In all, this has to be considered one of the Krautrock movement’s essential items. Fans of early Tangerine Dream will easily lap this one up, and others who may have found records like Alpha Centauri emotionally frigid may warm up to In den Garten Pharaos. An excellent album deserving of its legendary status. - Greg Northrup, ProgWeed.net
Along with Affenstunde, In Den Garten Pharaos stands alone in Popol Vuh's enormous discography, but it just might be my favorite of them all. All long keyboard tones and flowing percussion, In Den Garten Pharaos looks skyward much like contemporaneous Tangerine Dream, but with a much different objective. Rather than reaching for distant planets and galaxies a la Zeit or Phaedra, the two sidelong compositions that comprise this album reach for a less corporeal target: a higher being. In this way Florian Fricke and Popol Vuh's music remains constant - always centered around a deep spirituality - even as their tools and methods changed drastically through their long history.
The title track is a quiet, eerie night in an intimate chapel. Long, mysterious Moog tones are grounded by sparse organic sound effects and what is credited as "Turkish percussion" in the liners: subtly shifting, subdued hand drumming. Two-thirds of the way through, the alien Moog gives way to a beautiful, understated melody on electric piano, and the journey is complete. "Vuh," on the other hand, takes us from the intimate chapel to a cavernous, imposing cathedral. Fricke's massive organ sound dispenses with the personal spirituality found in the previous track in favor of a greater sense of grandeur. Extended organ drones are underlaid by ebbing and flowing cymbals that prevent the track from feeling entirely static. Truly a piece that can make a listener feel small, "Vuh" is in many ways the more compelling of In Den Garten Pharaos' two compositions, but I prefer the less distant approach of the title track.
Florian Fricke spent his musical career trying to express his spirituality through his music, but I would argue that this, one of his earliest efforts, is where he succeeded most convincingly. - Brandon Wu, Ground and Sky review
Florian Fricke was born by Lake Constance in 1944. From 1959 till 1963 he studied music in Munich, where he was a pupil of Rudolph Hindemith (Paul Hindemith's brother). At the age of 25 he became acquainted with the Moog synthsizer which leads him to form his band POPOL VUH. This name and inspiration come from the holy book of Guatemala's Quiche Indians. Historically, Popol Vuh's "Affestunde" (1970) is the first experimental rock release entirely built around the Moog Synthesiser (with the add of percussions to provide a mystical flavour).
In 1971, their second album "In Den Garten Pharaos" keeps on fusing ambient electronic textures with traditional, ethnic instruments, but put the stress on spiritual themes. In 1972, "Hosianna Mantra" marked a turning point in POPOL VUH career by rejecting electronic instrumentations in favour of acoustic elements including a lot of oboe, konga, tamboura accompaniment and female vocals (the Japanese soprano Djong Yun and later Renate Knaup, front woman of AMON DUUL II)
In 1974, after the departure of the guitarist Conny Veit (the founder of GILA), Daniel Fichelscher (former drummer of AMON DUUL II) becomes an active member of POPOL VUH ethereal and spiritual adventure. Florian Frike's POPOL VUH was also known from a larger audience thanks to the collaboration with the German director Werner Herzog, providing the soundtracks of many of his classic films, notably the hypnotic and reflective "Aguire, Wrath of God", "Heart of Glass"...In 1978, Florian Fricke founded the "working group for creative singing" and became a member of the society of breathing therapy. He holds lectures all over the world on his work in this field. - ProgArchives.com
1 In Den Gärten Pharaos 17:38
2 Vuh 19:52
3 Kha-White Structures 1 (Bonus Track, Formerly Unreleased) 10:16
4 Kha-White Structures 2 (Bonus Track, Formerly Unreleased) 10:09
Florian Fricke - Moog synthesizer, organ, Fender electric piano
Betina - cymbals, production
Frank Fiedler - Moog synthesizer, mixdown
Holger Trulzsch - African & Turkish percussion
|
