AFFENSTUNDE

Affenstunde happens to be my favorite Popol Vuh album, and one of only two Popol Vuh albums that I actually enjoy. The music on this album is mostly experimental electronic music and it is absolutely breathtaking. The experimental moog sounds that engulf your speakers during this album really draw me in and take me on a spacial journey within myself.

The first track is mostly void of anything percussive, and the only thing in the whole world that I notice besides the endless beeping droning is my own heartbeat. "Dream Pt. 5" is remarkably more percussive, almost sounding authentically African or Indian, but without any of the tell-tale signs to affirm this connection. The hypnotic percussion takes you on a separate journey that seems to be on a completely opposite side of reality than the first, much more electronic dominated first track. "Dream Pt. 49" is made up of pleasant single notes that fade in and out of the mix, creating quite a dreamy and nightmarish atmosphere. Soon enters more single note drones that fade in and out with almost perfect syncopation with the original drones. Every time I listen to this track, a single sentence occasionally floats through my head that I feel fits the cinematic vibe here: "I'm waiting for a bus in the rain, but I'll probably be murdered before I make it home". I'm fairly certain that this wasn't the atmosphere that Fricke had hoped for in his fans, but that is something I can't control. The epic title track is a healthy amalgamation of all elements present throughout this album: tribal percussion, steady electronic drone, some beeps/boops, and some experimental electronic melodic-properties. The first few minutes are dominated by the tribal drums, but eventually give way to a pleasant done with electronic echoes possibly made by ghosts. The percussion soon enters again in a more steady fashion while the electronics play their whimsical melodies across the soundscape.

This is one of the first krautrock/electronic albums I had ever heard, and it remains one of my favorites. I would have to highly recommend this masterpiece to anyone in need of an introduction to electronic-dominated krautrock, as it did wonders for me in that area. I'm not one for soul searching in any kind of spiritual manner, but this album just kind of has that effect on you.