LANGSYNE — Langsyne (1976-2012) WV (image+.cue), lossless

Langsyne from Barmen played some sophisticated English-language psych-folk with a large variety of partly exotic instruments like the psaltery, koto, glockenspiel, banjo, flute, slide guitar, or the Jew's harp. Their only LP was released in 1976, as an edition of only 200 copies, and is today sold at a price of about € 1000 to € 2000 in mint condition. It is thus probably the most expensive Krautrock LP except the first edition of "Monster movie" by Can. It contains only self-written tracks. Especially remarkable is that the musical interaction of the three musicians is of somnabulistic perfection. There have been several new editions of "Langsyne", both as LP and as CD, some of them with a bonus track. The Garden of Delights CD has been drawn from the master tapes and contains fifteen bonus tracks, each of them of a perfect sound quality. GOD
Tracklist :
1    Medina    8:30
2    Morning    3:35
3    Changing    6:43
4    Cynghanedd    7:42
5    A Very Sarcastic Song    6:51
6    Carnivore    4:01
7    Mignon    1:54
- BOMUS TRACKS -    
8    Lady Mary    3:48
9    Sir Nogbert's Galliard    1:26
10    Nocturne For E    2:08
11    Flying    2:10
12    Arcadia    3:00
13    Heckinghausen    2:42
14    Tatzelwurm    3:40
15    Raps-o-die    2:32
16    Dance The Night Away    1:40
17    Rainforest Song    3:10
18    Dance With The Knight    1:16
19    Langerfeld    2:50
20    Kinderseele    2:38
21    Im Nebel    2:50
22    Fiumicino    3:56
Credits :
Banjo – Matthias Mertler
Flute – Ulrich Naehle
Glockenspiel – Matthias Mertler
Guitar – Egbert Froese, Matthias Mertler
Organ – Egbert Froese
Percussion – Matthias Mertler
Sitar – Egbert Froese
Vocals – Egbert Froese, Matthias Mertler, Ulrich Naehle

GILA — Discography (1971-1999) 3 Albums (Garden of Delights) RE-UP | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Gila was an early-'70s Krautrock group that may not have been as well-known as Ash Ra Tempel or Amon Düül II, but with an eponymous first release created a work that ranks with the classics of the cosmic space rock genre. The group emerged from a political commune in Stuttgart in southwest Germany in early 1969 where it was a multimedia project that combined music with film, slides, and poems. The original group consisted of two Germans, Fritz Scheyhing on Mellotron and organ and Wolf Conrad "Conny" Veit on guitar and vocals, as well as Walter Wiederkehr from Switzerland on bass and Daniel Alluno from Bordeaux, France, on drums. Stuttgart, with its university and arts academy, was a fertile place with many rock festivals and parties, especially at the end of the '60s, and Gila had no problem finding gigs, though the group did have to shorten its name from the original Gila Fuck because the vice squad kept showing up wherever they played. By 1971, the band had gained local fame with a creative blend of Pink Floyd-inspired space rock with long psychedelic jams and in June of that year, they entered the studios of Dieter Dierks to record their first album. The eponymous record, often referred to by the title Free Electric Sound, was released later that year by the BASF label. The group broke up the next year and Alluno soon went on to Sameti while Veit joined Popol Vuh, at which time they started doing the soundtracks for Werner Herzog films. By 1974, Veit was ready to re-form Gila, this time enlisting Popol Vuh bandmates Florian Fricke on keyboards and Daniel Fichelscher on drums, as well as vocalist Sabine Merbach. The group's sound was very different, dispensing with the wild acid jams for mellower acoustic rock. Given their pedigree, the new group sounded almost like Popol Vuh at the time, though performing Veit's compositions rather than Fricke's. Whereas the early Gila constantly performed live, this new version of the group was mostly studio-only, with just one live appearance on a television cultural show. Again in Dierks' studio, they recorded the album Bury My Heart in Wounded Knee in the summer of 1973. As the title suggests, this was a concept album about the genocide of Native Americans and later that year, it was released by Warner. After Veit toured France with Amon Düül II in the winter of 1973-1974, the second Gila broke up in the middle of 1974 as Fricke and Fichelscher focused much more on Popol Vuh and Veit briefly joined Guru Guru before he moved on to other groups and eventually became a freelance painter. Though most of the first Gila's live shows went unrecorded, in 1999 Garden of Delights released Night Works, a Cologne concert from early 1972 that had aired live on the radio. Rolf Semprebon

 GILA - Gila (1971)

Often referred by the title Free Electric Sound, Gila's debut is an amazing work, full of acid guitar freakouts, spacy organ and mellotron, exotic rhythm structures, and loads of electronic effects to fully realize the psychedelic visions. From the Floyd-ian space rock of the first two tracks the record moves into even stranger realms on the four segued pieces that make up the second side of the original vinyl. "Kollaps" starts off with ritualistic drumming, a creepy organ riff, a crying baby, and guitar licks that threaten to explode at any moment. After some electronic effects "Kontakt" goes in an entirely different direction with airy acoustic guitar and keyboards and no rhythm section, like suddenly emerging into sunlight after the darkness of "Kollaps." As the track progresses seamlessly into "Kollektivivtat" and then "Individualitat" it again picks up momentum, adding electric guitar riffs and an interesting mixture of bongos and snares as the organ cuts loose, until finally everything dies except the thundering percussions on some quasi-ethnic workout with some electronic sounds thrown in. Rolf Semprebon
Tracklist :
1. Aggression (4:38)
2. Kommunikation (12:56)
3. Kollaps (5:33)
4. Kontakt (4:27)
5. Kollectivität (6:41)
6. Individualität (3:37)
Credits :
- Conny Veit / electric & acoustic guitars, vocals, tabla, electronics
- Fritz Scheyhing / organ, Mellotron, percussion, electronics
- Walter Wiederkehr / bass
- Daniel Alluno / drums, bongos, tabla

Gila - Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (1973)

Whereas the first record was psychedelic space rock acid jams, on their second album, Gila, now consisting of mostly Popol Vuh members, offered something far more sedate. Though Conny Veit was always the leader of Gila, this one comes off much more like a solo effort. The record is a concept album inspired by the book of the same name by Dee Alexander Brown that brought the plight of the North American Indians to international attention. Complex multi-tracked acoustic guitar melodies create a shimmering, even haunting beauty in a lushly Baroque setting, while some of the lyrics are taken from various Native American texts. "The Buffalo Are Coming," with its long instrumental section as well as Native American styled rhythms and chanting, is the high point. Otherwise the vocals distract somewhat from the music, and the whole thing comes off as too much with a smooth new age vibe, especially when compared to the acid-damage blastoff of the earlier Gila album. Rolf Semprebon
Tracklist :
1. This Morning (5:40)
2. In a Sacred Manner (4:42)
3. Sundance Chant (4:09)
4. Young Coyote (3:18)
5. The Buffalo Are Coming (7:20)
6. Black Kettle's Ballad (4:24)
7. Little Smoke (5:06)
- Bonus Track -
8. Mindwinds and Heartfrost (5:56)
Credits :
- Daniel Fichelscher / Drums, Percussion, Bass
- Conny Veit / Electric Guitar, Twelve-String Guitar, Flute, Moog, Vocals
- Florian Fricke / Mellotron, Grand Piano
- Sabine Merbach / Vocals

Gila - Night Works (1972-1999)

This disc offers the only known recording of the first version of Gila, a group that gigged constantly to build a considerable reputation as a formidable live act. Taken from a live Cologne radio broadcast from February 26, 1972 (a few months before the group's demise), Night Works is all that one could hope for, long space rock acid jamming and much better fidelity than one would get from a recording by an audience member. Swirling organ tones and acid guitar burnouts surge out of the throbbing rhythm section. In particular, "Viva Arabica" stands out as the group locks into a single groove that intensifies until the guitar finally rips loose on Middle Eastern-tinged riffing, soon followed by the organ. "The Gila Symphony" begins with a massively cosmic wash of feedback noise, before launching into another upbeat space rock jam somewhere between early Guru Guru and Golem. Like the first album, vocals are kept to a minimum to let the group stretch out instrumentally. The last track's volume appears to have been turned down by a radio engineer as if it were the end of the broadcast time; it's a pity that more wasn't recorded so that listeners would have an even longer live document of this group. Rolf Semprebon 
Tracklist :
1. Around midnight (5:46)
2. Braintwist (7:45)
3. Trampelpfad (6:11)
4. Viva Arabica (5:24)
5. The Gila Symphony (13:46)
6. Communication II (3:04)
7. The needle (0:51)
Credits :
- Conny Veit / guitar, vocals
- Fritz Scheyhing / keyboards
- Walter Wiederkehr / bass
- Daniel Alluno / drums

AMON DÜÜL ll - Hijack (1974-2002) APE (image+.cue), lossless

Released in 1974, Amon Düül II's Hijack (or, "Hi-jack," as it was released in Germany) is not frequently (if ever) regarded as one of their better albums. In fact, author Ingmar Schrober gives it a few scant sentences in Tanz der Lemmings, his biography of the band published in 1979. For the most part, this critical dismissal is accurate -- fans and critics seem to agree for once -- most of what's here is unfocused, very polished, meandering psych prog that goes nowhere. But Hijack is significant in the band's history, and perhaps for posterity as well, for three reasons. The first of these is that the recording of this album signalled a short-lived reunion of sorts for most of the members of the original Amon Düül -- vocalist Renate Knaup-Kroetenschwanz, guitarist/vocalist Chris Karrer, guitarist John Weinzierl, drummer Peter Leopold, bassist and string arranger Lothar Meid, and synthesizer guru Falk U. Rogner (sisters Helge and Angelika Filanda and Ulrich Leopold were lost ion the world of hippie communes and did not return for this outing). The second reason is for the opening cut, "I Can't Wait, Pts. 1 & 2," which has to be the first boogie rock cut in rock & roll history. Elements of Krautrock, German prog, and a full-on Los Angeles-style horn section turn this loopy, 11-plus-minute cut inside out more than once with the lower than dirt growl of Meid's "singing," electric violin solos, and party band blues progression done in full-tilt boogie mode. In other words, it's the least Amon Düül II sounding cut on the set. "Traveler," another Meid penned cut, may be better known since it was a single, but it pales in comparison. The final reason that this set is distinctive is for the band's cover of Ornette Coleman's "Lonely Woman," done as a tango with some fluttering samba backbeats anchoring the wispy synths and piano work. Knaup sings dramatic original lyrics written by Karrer. It is followed by the dreamy but actually quite beautiful "Liquid Whisper," that contains some very inventive acoustic guitar and synthesizer work. It closes with the album's dumbest but funniest and inventive cut, "Argy the Robot," with a Mothers of Invention-style chorus interlude and horn arrangement. If all of this sounds like an awful combination, it is, but Hijack is worth hearing at least once for the sake of coming to grips with the fact that this is essentially the same band that recorded classics like Phallus Dei and Yeti. [SPV reissued Hijack as part of is Revisited series. The mastering is far better than the dodgy 1990 Castle Communications CD. It also contains an elegant booklet featuring the artwork for both original covers, plus very informative liner notes.]
(This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa')
Tracklist :
1    I Can't Wait    6:18
2    Mirror    4:44
3    Traveller    4:23
4    You're Not Alone    6:53
5    Explode Like A Star    4:00
6    Da Guadeloop    7:03
7    Lonely Woman    4:44
8    Liquid Whisper    3:30
9    Archy The Robot    3:30
Credits :
Accordion, Percussion, Vocals – Wild Willy
Bass, Guitar, Vocals, Arranged By [Strings] – Lothar Meid
Drums, Percussion, Acoustic Guitar – Peter Leopold
Flute, Saxophone [Soprano] – Olaf Kübler
French Horn – Ludwig Popp
Guitar – John Weinzierl
Guitar, Violin, Vocals, Saxophone [Tenor] – Chris Karrer
Keyboards – Thor Baldursson
Other [Instruments, Cakes & Cheers] – Peter Kynast
Painting [Cover] – Patrick V. Spreckelsen
Percussion [Marschtrommel] – Hermann Jalowitzki
Saxophone – Bobby Jones, Rudy Nagora
Strings – Chris Balder
Synthesizer, Photography By – Falk-U. Rogner
Tape Op – Uwe Schier
Tape Op [2nd Operator] – Stephan Briegel
Trumpet – Bob Chatwin, Lee Harper
Vocals – Renate Knaup

AMON DÜÜL ll - Made in Germany (1975-2004) WV (image+.cue), lossless

There is a lovely moment in "La Krautoma," after the surf music intro gives way to a strange Peter Leopold drum solo and moves on, that the sound begins to mutate into early-'70s Hawkwind, a gleeful nod from one notable space rock outfit to another. "La Krautoma" is more than that, though; it's a six-minute distillation of acid rock, space rock, and Krautrock that shows the band's knowledge of their own history. It is also an eyebrow-raising moment in the midst of this particular, which spends more time getting into the same space as mid-'70s Europop, providing an antimatter universe version of an average Eurovision song contest lineup -- think early ABBA in vinyl raincoats, singing ditties about old King Ludwig and the like. Equally perverse, the Blue Angel motif of the cover fits completely with this approach: life as a cabaret, the decadent edges visible through the veneer. In many respects, it's a neat record, though sometimes a bit too glossy and clever for its own good -- nowhere near the sprawling Tanz Der Lemminge, for example. One of the essential set, however. by Steven McDonald
Tracklist :
1    Overture    5:11
2    Wir Wollen    1:33
3    Wilhelm, Wilhelm    3:10
4    SM II Peng    2:17
5    Elevators Meet Whispering    1:26
6    Metropolis    3:37
7    Ludwig    2:33
8    The King's Chocolate Waltz    2:29
9    Blue Grotto    3:33
10    Mr. Kraut's Jinx    8:44
11    Wide-Angle    4:06
12    Three-Eyed Overdrive    1:17
13    Emigrant Song    3:21
14    Loosey Girls 5:13
Saxophone – Bobby Jones
15    Top Of The Mud    3:45
16    Dreams    4:08
17    Gala Gnome    3:52
18    5.5.55    1:39
19    La Krautoma    6:08
20    Excessive Spray    1:41
Credits :
Drums, Percussion – Peter Leopold
Guitar – John Weinzierl
Keyboards – Thor Baldursson
Synthesizer, Organ – Falk-Ulrich Rogner
Timpani, Gong – Karlheinz Becker
Trumpet – Lee Harper
Violin – Fritz Sonnleitner
Vocals – Renate Knaup
Vocals, Bass, Guitar, Violin – Robby Heibl
Vocals, Guitar – Nando Tischer
Vocals, Guitar, Banjo, Violin – Chris Karrer

AMON DÜÜL ll - Pyragony 10th (1976-2004) WV (image+.cue), lossless

By 1976, Amon Duul had transitioned from a highly experimental unit to an almost traditional pop-rock act, with lyrics sung in English and a decidedly (and unexpectedly) rockist approach to songwriting. New members Stefan Zauner (keys) and Klaus Ebert (guitar and bass) contributed the majority of the songs, adding to the stark newness of the sound. While this album has its share of exciting moments, it is not a typical Amon Duul album, and will probably be best enjoyed by completists. by Paula Carino
Tracklist :
1    Flower Of The Orient 6:00
Written-By – Amon Düül II
2    Merlin 4:24
Written-By – Weinzierl
3    Crystal Hexagram 5:38
Written-By – Weinzierl
4    Lost In Space 4:12
Written-By – Ebert, Zauner
5    Sally The Seducer 3:03
Written-By – Ebert
6    Telly Vision 4:07
Written-By – Ebert, Zauner
7    The Only Thing 7:30
Written-By – Karrer
8    Capuccino 3:08
Written-By – Ebert
Credits :
Cover [Cover Art.] – Amon Düül II
Drums – Peter Leopold
Guitar, Vocals – John Weinzierl
Painting [Cover] – Olof Feindt
Vocals, Bass, Guitar – Klaus Ebert
Vocals, Guitar, Violin, Soprano Saxophone – Chris Karrer
Vocals, Keyboards, Guitar, Cover [Cover Art.] – Stefan Zauner

EMBRYO - Bremen 1971 (1971-2003) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This is an excellent early live recording from this group, done around the time of its second album, Embryo's Rache, and with all tracks taken from that record. Its a fascinating juxtaposition between the psychedelic jazz-rock of early embryonic Embryo and the embrace of ethnic music from around the world that characterized subsequent Embryo projects. It starts off with some tribal drumming, and moves onward into complex rhythms and lots of sax and flute solos and even a violin here and there. Because of Embryo's ever-changing roster, the lineup includes only three of seven musicians from Embryo's Rache, recorded in the same year as Bremen 1971, and with no keyboards, the dynamics of the live versions of the pieces are quite different. The first three cuts, each about ten minutes in length, segue seamlessly together without a pause, while the politically charged "Spain Yes" is now expanded to nearly half an hour. With some odd vocal chanting on "Time" and lots of high-energy jazz-funk grooves throughout, Embryo's performance is quite inspiring. Rolf Semprebon
Tracklist :
1     Try to Be 10:34
2     Time 10:09
3     Tausendfussler 9:20
4     Spain Yes, Franco Finished 26:26
Credits :
Bass – Ralph Fischer
Flute – Hansi Fischer
Guitar – Al Jones
Percussion – Christian Burchard
Saxophone, Violin – Edgar Hofmann
Songwriter [All Songs Written By] – Embryo

MORPHEUS - Restless Dreams (2017) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Morpheus from the Warburg and Kassel area played instrumental jazz-rock, also called fusion. They released their only LP ”Rabenteuer”, which is meanwhile very expensive, in 1976. They re-united again later, and in 2002 they performed at the well-known Herzberg festival, almost with the original line-up. Their very relaxed CD, ”For a second” (Garden of Delights CD 068), stylistically not unlike ”Rabenteuer”, appeared in the very same year. The album at hand is the third work of a similar type. It was recorded in 2016 with the original line-up, except for the drummer, and released at the end of 2017. As always, Morpheus wrote all of the pieces themselves. Two other Morpheus LPs, however pretty brass dominated, are only available as downloads, namely ”Life takes its toll”, and “Life takes another toll.” GOD.

Tracklist:

1 Charming Faces 4:52
2 Too Much Of (Anything Goes) 15:36
3 Kicked By A Camel 3:48
4 Breitmaulfrosch's Return 9:55
5 Heart For Headache Again 8:18
6 Coco Tree 7:29
7 Neptun's Back 9:29
8 Slow Bow 1:51
Credits:
Bass – Peter Blömeke
Composed By – Alvaro Tarquino (tracks: 7), Gerold Adler
Drums, Percussion – Alvaro Tarquino
Guitar [Guitars], Guitar [Midi-Guitar] – Gerold Adler
Saxophone – Dennis Knitterscheidt (tracks: 6), Heinrich Holtgreve
Artwork – Julian Rossmeisl, Peter Blömeke

MISSUS BEASTLY - Missus Beastly (1974-2005) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

EELA CRAIG - Virgin Oiland (1980-2017) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

EELA CRAIG - Eela Craig (1971) APE (image+.cue), lossless

In the beginning of the seventies, the Austrian band Eela Craig performed pure progressive rock what their self-titled debut skillfully demonstrates. The five follow-up albums saw a change into a different direction and became a bit shallow. The first two bonus tracks are excerpts from "Dimensionen zwischen Pop und Klassik" ("Dimensions between pop and classical music"). It was written by Dr. Alfred Peschek and performed by Eela Craig with orchestra in 1972 and broadcasted by the ORF (Österreichischer Rundfunk, Austrian radio) but never officially released on CD. The full colored booklet contains, as usual in this series, a comprehensive band history as well as a discography and numerous pictures from Eela Craig’s beginnings. web

Tracklist:

1. New Born Child

2. Selfmade Trip

3. A New Way

4. Indra Elegy
(Bonus track)

5. Irminsul 

6. Yggdrasil 

7. Stories 

8. Cheese 

Total time: 52:27

Credits

Bass – Gerhard Englisch

Drums, Percussion – Horst Waber (tracks: 1 to 4),

 Joe Drobar (tracks: 5 to 8)

Flute, Mellotron – Hubert Schnauer (tracks: 7, 8)

Guitar, Organ – Heinz Gerstmair (tracks: 1 to 4)

Guitar, Organ, Flute, Saxophone – Harald Zuschrader (1 to 6)

Guitar, Vocals, Piano – Fritz Riedelberger (tracks: 7, 8)

Piano, Keyboards, Vocals – Hubert Bognermayr

Recorded By – Alois Janetschko (tracks: 7, 8), 

Dick Swerof (tracks: 1 to 4), 

Jeffrey Fuller (tracks: 1 to 4)

Vocals, Saxophone – Wil Orthofer (tracks: 1 to 4)

EELA CRAIG - Eela Craig (1971)
RM (1997) Garden of Delight / APE (image+.cue), lossless

O Púbis da Rosa

CURLY CURVE - Forgotten Tapes (1974-2000) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

As with other Garden of Delights releases, this reissue of Curly Curve's Forgotten Tapes, a collection of previously unreleased tracks originally released in 1981 on the Okotopia label (the only release on that label), contains the history of the band, photos, and reproductions of the vinyl and previous CD versions. Care has been taken to duplicate, as close as possible, the original packaging of the albums, this one being no exception.

What then can be found inside this well-done package? Curly Curve were a German band that formed in 1968 and split up around 1975. Instead of the krautrock/progressive rock that many of their contemporaries were recording, they mainly played blues-rock. You'll hear more than traces of Allman Brothers Band, Doobie Brothers, a dash of Jimi Hendrix, a little bit of Boston (though they predate the latter as a influential entity by four years), Lynyrd Skynyrd, early Deep Purple, etc. The dual guitar solo in "Bunch Of People" is so reminiscent of "Melissa" (the classic Allman Bros. tune) and yet at the same time, one of the guitars sings like classic Tom Scholtz (mainly of their their self-titled debut). The string slingers are Martin Knaden and Hanno Bruhn, the latter of which also plays bass and sings on this release.

Each of these tracks, there are 10, are reminiscent of the classic tracks by the above mentioned bands - contemporaneous influence. "Dusty Morning" is pure Allman Brothers, but darn if I can't name the song. "Deception" begins like they'll either break into the "I'm A Man," "Long Train Runnin'" or something by James Brown - or maybe James Brown singing a Doobie's tune, as the voice of Bruhn has that funk of Brown to it, yet the guitars have that Doobie Bros' groove. "Lookin' Back" wouldn't have sounded out of place on an early ZZ Top album, somewhat like "La Grange," but it is most like Boston's "Smokin'".

Curly Curve weren't all guitar, though the guitars drove the music. It's all held together by the tight bass work by the late Kurt Herkenberg and the percussion of Hans Wallbaum. The keys take a more prominent role in "My Little Zoo," a track which also throws a little Rolling Stones into the mix here and there, plus a little bit of "My Woman From Tokyo"-esque Deep Purple. Creedence Clearwater Revival get the nod with "Down By The Bay," where the bass is more prominent in the mix. The original compilation ended with the slow, Joe Cocker-like blues ballad "Morning Light," though Bruhn's voice is a little less world weary and whisky soaked than Cocker's.

The first of the bonus tracks, "Thoughts Of A Man," is another slow-burn blues number, but much rockier than the first, and moving more towards psychedelic. Keys are more prominent, guitar provides the accent, the bass and drums regulated to time keeping duties. "I Wanna Try You Again," begins even more "psychedelic" in its styling, the guitar work reminiscent of Jimi Hendrix, but then shifts strongly to a sad blues number. "I Can't Quit You Baby" comes to mind, the soul element turned up a notch here, but it has more to do with arrangement than with pacing.

Okay, so it wasn't really prog, but if you dig that classic 70's US Southern Rock sound, here's some more stuff from an unexpected quarter. Despite its reliance upon a style popular at the time these tracks were recorded, there is nothing negative any one can really say about them. The production is a little muddy, but as the re-release was taken from the actual vinyl, the reproduction is terrific.Stephanie Sollow
Tracklist:
1. Bunch Of People (5:15)
2. High Flight Tonight (4:20)
3. Dusty Morning (4:17)
4. Deception (3:59)
5. Lookin' Back (4:58)
6. My Little Zoo (4:59)
7. Down By The Bay (2:30)
8. Morning Light (4:48)
- BONUS TRACKS -
9. Thoughts Of A Man (3:50)
10. I Wanna Try You Again (7:35)
Musicians:
Martin Knaden - guitar
Hanno Bruhn - guitar, bass, vocals
Chris Axel Klober - keyboards
Kurt Herkenberg - bass
Hans Wallbaum - drums

SUNBIRDS - Sunbirds (1971-2011) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The fusion group Sunbirds was founded by the jazz musicians Klaus Weiss (drums) and Fritz Pauer (keyboards) in Munich in 1971, when the two of them had already made a name for themselves. Musically the Sunbirds' albums can best be qualified as "flute groovers". That is to say, they are seasoned in the jazz idiom, but also wanted to venture into the psychedelic sounds of the day. But the Sunbirds also had that Krautrock thing going on. Plenty of wild fuzz guitar and electric piano. Especially on the first album, the Sunbirds could have easily fit on the Brain label, and may have had they come around a year or two later. Progarchives
Tracklist 
1 Kwaeli 3:43
Written-By – Philip Catherine
2 Sunrise 5:26
Written-By – Fritz Pauer
3 Spanish Sun 12:10
Written-By – Ferdinand Povel, Fritz Pauer, Jimmy Woode, Klaus Weiss, Philip Catherine
4 Sunshine 6:46
Written-By – Fritz Pauer
5 Sunbirds 9:31
Written-By – Fritz Pauer
6 Blues For D.S. 7:53
Written-By – Jimmy Woode
Bonus-Tracks:
7 Dreams 9:42
Written-By – Ferdinand Povel, Fritz Pauer, Jimmy Woode, Klaus Weiss, Philip Catherine
8 Fire Dance 6:54
Written-By – Fritz Pauer
Credits 
Bass [Baß] – Jimmy Woode
Concert Flute [Querflöte], Alto Flute [Altflöte] – Ferdinand Povel
Drums [Schlagzeug], Producer [Produced By] – Klaus Weiss
Guitar [Gitarre] – Philip Catherine
Keyboards [Tasten] – Fritz Pauer
Percussion [Uncredited On Tray Card] – Juan Romero

KALACAKRA - Crawling To Lhasa (1972-2001) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This is not the sole album from this band as such, but the one and only worked out in the 70's by the acid krautrock duo Heinz Martin and Claus Rauschenbach coming from Duisburg/Germany. Both were autodidacts with a freaky approach and used a lot of indo/raga elements. At first completely underrated 'Crawling To Lhasa' is an attractive collectors' item today ... at least when it comes to the original vinyl print. The songs were recorded by Willy Neubauer in his Düsseldorf studio during two days. Whatsoever has survived about the circumstances - they performed in a totally spaced out mood for sure, obviously inspired by Buddhistic mantras.
The trippy meandering Nearby Shiras opens the album, reflecting a multiple catastrophe, the Black Plague, coming over the Persian town called Shiraz hundreds of years ago. A sinister creature ... probably a witch ... is whispering and shouting some rezitative, repeating 'morgen kommt die Schwarze Pest' (tomorrow comes the Black Plague) all the way through. Definitely frightening and provided with some infatuating dramaturgy - however the instruments are also smooth on the contrary, speaking of flute, cymbal and acoustic guitar. And all this is made with a significant eastern touch.

On Jaceline Martin's vibraphone is striking, it serves a pleasant spacey/ambient atmosphere. Possibly improvised from start to finish, the lyrics about a girl seem to be completely pointless. The trance-like Raga No.11 features the Minimoog synthesizer, a novelty because nearly uncommon at that time in Europe. A nice song including electric guitar which has some speed this time and proves their technical skills. As from now it all runs out of inspiration a bit with simple folk impressions mainly ... until the blues based Tante Olga shows some new crazy weird vocal ideas, for example including Captain Beefheart reminiscent vocals in English.

That's it ... concerning the original vinyl. The digital releases additionally cover two songs from 1993 recorded by Heinz Martin with a better sound quality. The acid blend of folk, psych and raga is completely missing here to the benefit of a spacey new age atmosphere where Vamos is definitely enjoyable. The Garden Of Delights re-issue of this ethno trance effort is featuring a detailed history of the band and their community in Duisburg including several pictures, which are reflecting the stoned atmosphere of the recording sessions. Not a ground-breaking album because running out of breath in between - nevertheless a worthwhile purchase for krautrock and indo/raga lovers.Sean Trane 
Tracklist:
1. Naerby shiras (9:16)
2. Jaceline (6:15)
3. Raga No 11 (5:34)
4. September fullmoon (9:35)
5. Arapaho's circle dance (2:28)
6. Tante Olga (7:31)
Bonus tracks on cd release:
7. Vamos (6:48)
8. Deja vu (5:38)

Total Time: 53:35

Credits:
- Claus Rauschenbach / Guitar, Congas, Percussion, Vocals, Harmonica, Slentem
- Heinz Martin / Guitar, Flute, Piano, Vibraphone, Schalmei, Cello, Violin, Synthesizer