\ABRA-DABRA/: Popol Vuh - Cœur de verre/Herz aus Glas & Einsjäger und Siebenjäger

For me to want to write about something on this blog, it has to resonate with me in a particular way. To me it is a sort of recommendation list, and I don't want my endorsements to be anything besides the best. To really get an album I have to spend a decent amount of time with it. I have to keep coming back to it and hear new things every time.

Despite this, I am posting about an album that as of this moment I haven't heard all the way through. By the middle of the album I had resolved to post it!

Popol Vuh is a German band that has released 20 albums between 1970-1999. It seems that their best run was in the 70's with at least one album out every year. Their music is a blend of sounds, from Krautrock, to psychedelic, to electronic, to world music. I discovered them from a great blog called Glowing Raw and I have a feeling there is not much I will be listening to for a while. Their style is so succinct that it's hard to put my finger on. There are clearly some improvisational elements, and eastern influences (from the occasional sitar and pentatonic infusions), and there is also the presence of blues in the guitar work. There is a "jam" quality that reminds me of the Grateful Dead (in a good way). Songs like "würfelspiel" take off with a driving tempo, and never turn back. "Einsjäger und Siebenjäger" is (originally) the last tack on the album of the same name, and its full 20 minutes are as grandiose and regal as anything I have heard in a while. (Also, it is the only stuff I've heard of theirs with vocals) I'm not gonna say too much more, but the production value is also excellent. I recommend these guys to anyone with a love of psychedelic and prog rock.

Florian Fricke of Popol Vuh was one of the first people to use the Moog synthesizer and it was a prominent component of their music. Below is a video of Fricke and another band member improving with the synth. It was only a few years later that Fricke gave his synth away and renounced electronic music. Strange, but true.

Popol Vuh's head man Florian Fricke was interested in film and even made a few short films before his music career started, so it makes sense that the band would be interested in scoring films. at least half a dozen of their studio albums were soundtracks for film maker Werner Herzog, including the first one listed below. Along with original music, they did an album of Mozart variations. I have only heard the one below but I'll be checking the others out soon enough.