Title: In den garten pharaos
Artiste: Popul Vuh
Genre: Ambient
Familiarity: Zero
Track 1(Love) There are apparently only two tracks on this album, so I'll go into them in a little more depth than I normally do here. There's a very gentle, soft, almost organic feel to this in the first few minutes of the seventeen plus that it runs for. I'm kind of reminded of Gandalf a little, though his music does have a tendency to get a little wearing sometimes. This, so far, has kept my attention as it morphs into different sounds and themes as it goes. I like the tribal style drumming that comes in and then the kind of forest sounds. It's certainly very relaxing. Halfway through now and it doesn't seem like it at all.
The little bells or shimmers on the drums or whatever sound like tinkling rain, and then the drumming gets faster and more intense, and I think a keyboard is coming in now with wind sounds, birdsong, few other effects. And now we're twelve minutes in. Some beautiful, gentle Fender Rhodes sliding in with flutes, the percussion slowing and taking something of a backseat. This is just lovely. Sliding out now to its end and there's nothing of that I did not enjoy. Oh, and more than thirty seconds of water flowing. A perfect ending. On to track two.
Track 2(Love) Wow, this is different! A big church organ chord booming like something out of a catholic mass, with rippling, shimmering cymbals; very portentous. Actually sounded like bagpipes coming there about the second minute... probably not. This kind of reminds me of Bach and those grand, powerful concertos and fugues he would compose. Soft percussion coming in now, but more as a background than anything else, just kind of breaking up the organ sound, which I read is a medieval cathedral organ: certainly has that sound to it. You could imagine some one playing this in a European church in a prayer to ask God to save them from the Plague. Sounds like flute coming in now, this would be about the sixth minute.
The percussion is taking over a little bit now as we head into the ninth minute, the organ still droning away in the background like a benevolent grandparent watching the children play. This continues more or less up to minute fourteen, where the percussion drops almost completely away and the organ comes back to the fore, stamping its authority all over the piece. Oh, and now it's over. Well that was very pleasant.
End result: With only two tracks I guess I was either going to like it or not. I must say it was quite enlightening and very enjoyable.
So, Love or Hate? That would be
Love, for sure
Chances of a full review: Again, 0/10 as I think I've said all I could say above.