IN DEN GÄRTEN PHARAOS

"In den Gärten Pharaos" ("In Pharaoh's Gardens") is the second full-length studio album by German experimental music act Popol Vuh. The album was released through the Pilz label in 1971. It´s the successor to "Affenstunde" from 1970. "In den Gärten Pharaos" features two side long tracks in the 17:38 minutes long title track and the 19:51 minutes long "Vuh".

Stylistically the music on "In den Gärten Pharaos" is a continuation of the ambient experimental music style of "Affenstunde". The sound production is better here than on the debut album, and although the music is still slow, minimalistic, ambient, and repetitive, it appears as if Popol Vuh at least to some extent aren´t improvising every part of the music, which was the feeling I had after listening to "Affenstunde". There are more sections on "In den Gärten Pharaos" which sounds like there is some structure and thought behind them.

With that being said "In den Gärten Pharaos" is still a hard listen if you require a little action in your music. Nothing much happens during the two long tracks, and although a couple synth layers or percussion patterns are sometimes added to the long droning sections, they are by and large not compositions with much happening. The title track is relatively mellow while "Vuh" is a bit louder and more dramatic with a wall-of-sound approach.

Upon conclusion "In den Gärten Pharaos" is arguably a step up in quality from "Affenstunde", and there are some pretty interesting parts here and there. The overall impression of the album is still that it´s a tedious and repetitive ambient affair, but fans of slow building, ambient, and repetitive droning music may feel different about it. A 1.5 star (15%) rating is warranted.

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