Popol Vuh - Revisited & Remixed 1970-1999 [2CD Set] (2011)

Popol Vuh were one of the first Krautrock bands to turn their focus -- thanks to their late founder, lone constant member, and musical director, Florian Fricke -- to ambient music (a full half-decade before Eno called it that) and ethnic fusions of various sorts. They released almost two dozen albums, scored a handful of films by Werner Herzog -- including Nosferatu and Aguirre, Wrath of God -- and continually experimented with form, tone, context, and format. A decade after Fricke's death, the German SPV imprint celebrates his legacy with this double-disc set. The first features a smattering of Popol Vuh tunes from throughout their tenure. It makes for compelling listening despite an apparent paradox: Fricke and company conceived of recordings as albums (as well as scores), so hearing tracks placed outside that context would -- theoretically at least -- be an erratic listening exercise. It's not. In fact, it's sequenced beautifully. The second disc pays tribute to Popol Vuh via a set of remixes by a wide assortment of producers and DJs. These include Peter Kruder's slow, ambient dub re-creation of "Aguirre I/II [Lacrima Di Rei Edit]" and Moritz von Oswald's reworking of "Gärten Pharaos [Dark Development Edit]" from the same soundtrack. Oswald's version features throbbing percussion in the lower registers with genuinely subtle vocal effects and a high-pitched synth jabbing in and out of the mix seemingly at random. Elsewhere, Stereolab remix "Hosianna Mantra," keeping the chorus and original instrumentation before injecting a guitar that eventually takes the proceedings over. Other participants include Mouse on Mars, A Critical Mass, Thomas Fehlmann, Haswell & Hecker, Miko Vainio, Alex Barck, and Roland Appel. Usually, remix projects like this one are very mixed bags in terms of quality. That said, perhaps due to the open-ended nature of Fricke's and Popol Vuh's source material, this set is very consistent. The collection also includes liner notes by Fricke contemporary and friend Klaus Schulze.