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Popol Vuh - In Den Gärten Pharaos CD (album) cover

IN DEN GÄRTEN PHARAOS

Popol Vuh

 

Krautrock

3.99 | 224 ratings

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colorofmoney91
Prog Reviewer
4 stars It's a real shame Popol Vuh stopped making music like this after this album, In den Gärten Pharaos, was released. This is really beautiful krautrock with a strong electronic and spiritual feel, and less of the psychedelic properties of other krautrock albums.

The title track is very soothing during the entire +17 minute duration, and also is quite driving with the ethnic percussion. Sitar notes drone throughout, which intertwines with the in-and-out electronic pulsating. Eventually chimes are chiming, and a rough keyboard melody plays in the back of the mix as the music picks up pace and furiousness while still somehow maintaining a meditative feel, and soon calms down into a slightly jazzy keyboard section that happens to be my favorite.

The second half of this LP, "Vuh", is a quite a bit darker and noisier. Heavy organs and cymbols mark the introduction, and nearly halfway through there is a bombardment of percussion being thrown into the mix while the organs continue to drone. That is mostly what this track is all about, but it is strangely soothing and still meditative and interesting. I'd call this angry meditation music, like "ohm"-ing over the thought of how much you hate a co-worker.

The music here is a bit different that what I expected from a former student of Paul Hindemith's brother, but I do find this LP entirely enjoyable. Unfortunately, after this release, Popol Vuh would start making boring post-classical, pre-post-rock music. But at least this album and their debut album, Affenstunde, Popul Vuh are two creative and wonderful additions to the genre of krautrock.

colorofmoney91 | 4/5 |

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