Popol Vuh (band)

Popol Vuh (German: [pɔpl̩ vuː])[1] were a German musical collective founded by keyboardist Florian Fricke in 1969 together with Frank Fiedler (sound design, fine cut), Holger Trülzsch (percussion), and Bettina Fricke (tablas and production).[2] Other important members during the next two decades included Djong Yun, Renate Knaup, Conny Veit, Daniel Fichelscher, Klaus Wiese, and Robert Eliscu.[3] The band took its name from the Mayan manuscript containing the mythology of highland Guatemala's K'iche' people.[4]

Popol Vuh began as an electronic music project, but under Fricke's leadership they soon abandoned synthesizers for organic instrumentation and world music influences.[5] They developed a productive working partnership with director Werner Herzog, contributing scores to films such as Aguirre, The Wrath of God (1972), Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979), and Fitzcarraldo (1982).[5] The group are associated with West Germany's 1970s krautrock movement and are considered progenitors of new-age and ambient music.[5] Today, Popol Vuh's best-reviewed works are In den Gärten Pharaos (1971) and Hosianna Mantra (1972).[6]