Popol Vuh - In den Gärten Pharaos

This early album from the much underrated German progressive group is easily on a par with Tangerine Dream's "Phaedra" as a monument of psychedelic electronic cathedral-building. With more warmth and less synth, it layers ambient organ textures with ethnic percussion. The first of its two side-long tracks gradually coalesces from an ethereal haze, with high organ notes ruminating over an increasingly enthusiastic conga drummer. A sinuous Rhodes melody comes in three quarters of the way through, propelling the track to a calm conclusion. The captivating second side "Vuh" is an intense cathedral organ meditation enhanced by a furious battery of percussion. The chant-like theme, which eventually forms from the foundations, foreshadows another ambient landmark from twenty years later, The Orb's "...Pulsating Brain...". Perhaps Popol Vuh weren't so underrated among those in the know. [This CD re-release comes with the extra two-part "Kha", an unessential cloudy ambient piece]

May 25, 2008

9 out of 10

previous | next