Mantras The Albums 1970-1972

Popol Vuh was founded by Florian Fricke in 1969. Their debut album, Affenstunde, was issued in 1970 and was one of the earliest albums to feature a Moog synthesiser and ambient electronic sounds. In den Gärten Pharaos, issued in 1971, expanded on that template and is now viewed as one of the finest German albums of the era.

The 1972 album Hosianna Mantra was a stylistic departure. Fricke abandoned the Moog and instead employed acoustic instrumentation such as piano, oboe and tambura. The record also featured vocals by Korean singer Djong Yun and guitar contributions from Conny Veit.

This box set features these albums newly mastered, plus new 5.1 and stereo mixes of Hosianna Mantra by Stephen W Tayler on CD and Blu-ray, a high-definition stereo master of In den Gärten Pharaos from the original tapes, bonus early 1970s German TV footage including Popmusik In Deutschland and Beat Club, and an illustrated book with essay.