Os Mundi - 43 Minuten (1972/2007 Remastered Edition)
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Album: Os Mundi - 43 Minuten (Remastered Edition)
Released: 1972 (2007)
Genre: Krautrock
Gnosis Rating: 10.55
Universal/(SPV) Revisited Records - 0 6024 9822696 4
1972 album from this bunch of progressive Kraut rockers known for their classic "Latin Mass". A diverse yet seamless album with a keyboard/sax led sound on some tracks plus particularly tasty lead guitar. Cello and flute are also used to great effect and the album as a whole blends together wonderfully. They don't make 'em like this anymore (unfortunately)Housed in a digi sleeve re-creating the original artwork. - Freak Emporium
Second album from this overlooked band. Os Mundi was considered the first rock band from Berlin with lots of members moving in and out of the band. 43 Minuten marked a departure from their debut "A Latin Mass", finding the band with a stronger jazz rock element in their sound but still retaining the underground feel and sound courtesy of producer Conny Planck. Vocals move in and out of the mix but stay clear long enough for the jammed out guitar and flute breaks. The band gets into a groove and then blasts off. Perhaps a bit reminiscent of Out Of Focus. New remastered edition in a digipak. Killer krautrock! - Wayside Music
This rather unique group emerging from Berlin, recorded a pair of excellent albums in the early 70’s in Germany’s difficult context of cold war and left-wing extremists actions, and early international terrorist actions (Munich Olympiads) and in the very near future, the first oil crisis that will cripple Western Europe’s economy. Inevitably most young Germans were politicised, and like the vast majority, the members had left wing sympathies, which you will find in their lyrics. Os Mundi’s (Latin for birth of the world) was born amidst the Berlin protests and doomed imprisoned future from two teenage bands fusing together and could have a line-up of up to 12 musicians including a three-man wind section and a cellist. This lead to their debut album taking up a catholic mass into rock realm but they decided to sing in Latin. After this rather unique start, the second album might seem less inspired with a title relating to its length and a very bland cover artwork.
This sophomore effort was released on their new label Brain (in the progressive Metronome section) and produced by the inevitable Conrad Plank, but by this time, they were no more than a septet. On this album, Os Mundi created a rather unique jazz-rock, blending rock, jazz, psych, which comes out particularly tight, considering the member’s varied background (from classical to free-jazz and beat groups) and influences. Stuck between Colosseum, Chicago, Santana and Weather Report, the songwriting comes mostly from guitarist Udo Amdt and drummer Christoph Busse (both of which come from the beat/rock world, the later dealing mostly with lyrocs), but the overall feel of the music is very jazzy, with strong political lyrics, which reflects the difficult times. Generally the music is a very pleasant and positive atmosphere, contrasting with the texts, but on the whole, because of the “light” feel, you can easily skip over the lyrics should the content not be “up your alley”. Cellos, flutes, sax, fuzz guitar, congas, bongos, ashtrays, organ, telephones contribute to the great music, where there are no weak moments and plenty of enthralling ones (the psych-jazz flute solo in Children’s Games sounding like Thijs Van Leer amongst others), makes this album a small early-70’s gem.
While the album (mostly recorded on the first take according to the drummer in the booklet) had its success (especially critically), the group never became full professionals. While not absolutely essential in terms of prog historics, Os Mundi is essential to the German scene and exemplifies best the German jazz-krautrock scene, much like Kraan or Annexus Quam, but being better and more accessible than both. - Hugues Chantraine
Os Mundi have been quoted as Berlin's first "rock big band" with a line-up that could swell to a dozen. Little-known really, Os Mundi were indeed an important part of the Berlin Krautrock underground with a history going back to the early-1960's.
The roots of Os Mundi can be traced back to a beat group called the Safebreakers, who existed from 1962-1966, line-up: Christoph Busse (drums), Andreas Villain (bass), Lukas Dammer (guitar), Michael Wohrle (keyboards), with Holger Sieversen and Udo Arndt joining from the band Butterblume. Safebreakers largely played Top 40 Hits, and the only document of any original music by them is in a film called "Madchen Madchen" directed by Roger Fritz. Circa 1967 Christoph Busse and Udo Arndt went on to form Orange Surprise, also featuring: David Kalkreuth (organ), Hartmut Hacki Seidel (bass) and Steve Jolliffe (flute, saxophone). Orange Surprise played original music and became involved in the arts scene. The band's initials OS gave rise to the name Os Mundi adopted in 1969 (or 1970, according to their own web pages). In their formative years Os Mundi also became friends of Agitation, sharing a rehearsal room at Paul-Linke-Ufer in Berlin-Kreuzberg. In these early days jam sessions took place with Manuel Gottsching (later of Ash Ra Tempel), Buddy Mandler, Ludolf Kuchenbuch (both from the original Os Mundi) and Michael Gunther (from Agitation), among others. Session tapes are said to exist. This association meant Os Mundi's music changed considerably.
Their debut LATIN MASS was notably inspired by 1960's American bands, and especially the Electric Prunes' MASS IN F MINOR, though from a very psychedelic Krautrock angle, with the Latin lyrics against a music more like a hybrid of Amon Duul II, Tangerine Dream's ELECTRONIC MEDITATION and Spooky Tooth. Intense and radical rock music indeed! Almost entirely different in style was 43 MINUTEN, reputedly showing Udo Arndt's liking for Chicago. If so, they twisted the inspiration in such a way, like Thirsty Moon, becoming a distinctly Teutonic rock-fusion, with all manner of invention and surprises.
Os Mundi apparently recorded a third album which remains unreleased. In their later years, other musicians, such as Ute Kannenberg (vocals, from Metropolis), Wolfram Jacob (percussion), Bernhard Arndt (piano) and Klaus Henrichs (alto saxophone, clarinet) passed through the band. By 1974 Os Mundi had changed into the ill-fated and short-lived Tequila Sunrise. Circa 1979-1980 Os Mundi reformed for some special concerts, of which a recording at the Quartier Latin in Berlin, 1979 exists. Udo Arndt is now a top recording engineer and producer, as is Christoph Busse. - "The Crack In The Cosmic Egg"
OS MUNDI was located in Berlin. Two forerunners are to point out, the first named SAFEBREAKERS covered TOP 40 songs and later on ORANGE SURPRISE with own material and also producing film music. Four musicians started in 1970 with the new band name: Udo Arndt (guitar, vocals), Christoph Busse (drums, vocals), Dietrich Markgraf (flute, sax) and Andreas Villain (bass). Their first album 'Latin Mass' was produced for the Metronome label. OS MUNDI tried to convert a catholic mass into Psychedelic/Heavy Rock provided with a dark atmosphere and a rough production. Above all the latin lyrics are characteristic and unique.
Wolfgang "Buddy" Mandler (drums, percussion) and Raimund "Mikro" Rilling (cello, bass) later joined the band to produce the second effort '43 Minuten' followed by female Jazz and Pop vocalist Ute Kannenberg. Influences of the new members are well recognizable. Their next album from 1972 is differing to the forerunner prefering more Symphonic and Jazz Rock elements whereas the song 'A Question Of Decision” is known to be the masterpiece.
The band failed producing new albums afterwards but existed until 1975 involving more and more musicians. So OS MUNDI can be considered as one of the first rock big-bands with more than 10 members at once. From 1975 on to 1980 the band gave one sold out revival concert a year at the famous Berlin 'Quartier Latin'. This performances were appointed with a strong Jazz Rock orientation.
Some recordings of the band's late phase are taken for a 2004 production named 'Os Mundi'. Finally in 2007 the compilation 'Sturmflut' featuring Harald Skorepa (keyboards) was released by Schneeball Production. This album contains a live track including the follower Free Jazz band OHPSST.
Many of the former band members are still working in the music business. - Uwe Zickel
The Seventies were still young when the German government went through what can probably be considered as its biggest crisis in domestic policy. In June 1971, the early leaders of the radically left-wing Red Army Faction Andreas Baader, Jan-Carl Raspe, Holger Meins and Gudrun Ensslin were arrested and so the German government had every reason to hope for somewhat calmer times. Yet during the Munich Olympic Games in the late summer of 1972, eight members of the Palestinian militant group "Black September" raided Israel's team headquarters killing two Israelis and holding nine hostage. The attempt made by the police special unit GSG 9 to liberate the hostages at the military airfield of Fürstenfeldbruck not only failed but also led to terrible bloodshed. These were the days when the world held its breath, and even Germany's cultural scene was marked by radically left-wing terrorism and the aftermath of student unrest all over Europe.
Around that time, the jazz rock band Os Mundi was founded in Berlin as a result of the fusion of the teen bands Safebreakers and Orange Surprise. "There was the war in Vietnam and student movements were still stirring up protest in Berlin. Of course this influenced our lyrics a lot", is what drummer Christoph Busse recalls, one of the founding fathers of Os Mundi alongside guitarist and singer Udo Arndt as well as bassist Andreas Villain. Back then, Busse studied at the Berlin film and TV academy „Film- und Fernsehakademie" and was therefore right in the heart of the city's art scene. "Although my time was also the era of Rudi Dutschke and Holger Meins, one of my fellow students, I was not particularly into politics. But we performed at the 'Quartier Latin' at Potsdamer Straße quite a few times, and the audience there was very interested in political matters."
Os Mundi - a Latin expression with the meaning of "origin of the world" - was the first rock big band in Berlin, priding itself on a line-up of sometimes up to 1 2 musicians including three wind players, three drummers/percussionists, one cellist as well as the traditional line-up of a rock band. "We grew up with Bob Dylan, the Beatles, later Chicago, Blood Sweat and Tears, Santana, Genesis, Weather Report as well as jazz rock of all kinds and also Stevie Wonder. Apart from that, some of us even had a classical background." On their 1970 debut Latin Mass, Os Mundi turned the classical catholic mass into a Latin language rock version. "At high school, we were taught classical languages. All of the other bands wrote their lyrics in English, and nobody wanted to listen to songs in German back then. So we decided to use Latin lyrics." Yet from a commercial point of view this concept failed. In order to be able to explore a broader stylistic range, the band hired the classical cellist/bassist Mikro Rilling (composer Wolfgang Ruling's brother) as well as the free jazz sax player Dietrich Markgraf. In 1972, Os Mundi signed up with the Metronome label Brain before releasing their second album 43 Minuten, on which they masterfully combined rock, jazz and fusion to create a style that was both homogenous and unique. "Os Mundi was a very special band, because we used to play a mixture of all sorts of different styles. There were beat/rock musicians like Andreas, Udo and me on the one hand and real free jazzers like cellist and bassist Mikro Rilling, trumpet player Ludolf Kuchenbuch, sax player Klaus Henrichs and sax and flute player Dietrich Markgraf on the other. Our music was a mixture of both."
The lyrics reflect the global spirit of the student scene of that time. The songs But Reality Will Show (Busse: "a serious issue wrapped in sentimental music") and Children's Games ("that was where all our anger went to") treat the subject of the Vietnam War in a highly critical way. The song Triple is about boisterous student life and the - in any respect - liberal spirit of the hippy communes. In the jazz rock piece Erstickübung the musicians even used a poem by Erich Fried. For the recordings, it was read via telephone by drummer Buddy Mandler's girlfriend. Instrumentals like Missile or the piece Isn't It Beautiful in 7/8 time were also typical of jazz rock at that time. The album opener A Question Of Decision was to become one of the highlights during live shows, and there, it was not a rare occurrence that the song exceeded the 15-minute mark. Even from today's point of view, Christoph Busse thinks that "considering the technical devices disposable back then, the quality of the production is quite amazing. Everything was recorded in one take, and so we can still hear the little mistakes we made. But as far as the overall impression is concerned, everything was quite good. We also owe a great debt of gratitude to our producer Conny Plank, who was first recommended to us by the record company and immediately became something like the band's father. His influence is clear for everyone to hear when listening to the songs. The album sounded anything but commercial. It's All There would have been the only promising single, if it had been produced in a slightly different way."
The figure shown on the cover was designed by the Spanish architect Gaudi y Cornet, the main representative of neo-Catalan architecture, whose bizarre objects create some kind of optical illusion. The musicians themselves considered the drawing as "the perfect symbol of the inexplicable chaos called Os Mundi". Thanks to both the lyrics and the quality of the music, this supposed mess became very popular among intellectuals. But as the album sold 4000 copies only, the band members couldn't even think of becoming professional musicians. This was also the reason why they limited their activities as a band to a special concert taking place at regular intervals. "Even many years after we had split up, the 'Quartier Latin' organised a so-called Os Mundi revival gig, to which we used to come from all directions because the location was always packed with people."
1981 definitely meant the end for them. Today, Christoph Busse lives close to Hamburg, working as a composer and songwriter/producer for artists like Stefan Waggershausen and Dan McCafferty. He wrote German lyrics for Nana Mouskouri, Herman van Veen and Bernd Kaczmarek as well as nursery rhymes for the German version of Sesame Street. Today, he writes screenplays for TV productions, composes songs for children's programmes and runs his own label. Besides, he was the one who discovered the singer Hans Hartz (Die weißen Tauben sind müde). Udo Arndt, who currently lives in Spain, is one of the most successful music producers and sound engineers in Germany. He was also the one who helped many artists to become superstars, as for example Ulla Meinecke, Juliane Werding and Nena as well as bands like Spliff or the Rainbirds. After having successfully finished his studies in theology, bassist Andreas Villain moved to Switzerland where he now works as a psychotherapist. Buddy Mandler lives in Norway, where he produces computer programmes. Bassist Mikro Rilling works in sales in Berlin. - Matthias Mineur
Question Of Decision (07:42)
2 Triple (05:09)
3 Missile (03:06)
4 It's All There (04:14)
5 Isn't It Beautiful 7/8 (02:19)
6 But Reality Will Show (06:32)
7 Children's Games (08:01)
8 Erstickubungen (06:22)
9 Fortsetzung Folgt (01:15)
Udo Arndt (guitar, vocals)
Christoph Busse (drums, vocals)
Dietrich Markgraf (flute, saxophone)
Andreas Villain (bass)
Buddy Mandler (bongos, congas, bell, drums, vocals)
Raimund "Mikro" Rilling (cello, bass)
Erik (acoustic guitar)
Conny Plank (guitar)
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