Temple of the New Sun

This is a collection of songs originally released on cassette in the 80s; it's intriguing trying to imagine what the response at the time might have been for the music of Xochimoki, the project of American ethnomusicologist Jim Berenholz and Aztec descendant Mazatl Galindo. Recorded during rituals and meditations, sung in pre-Columbian Latin American languages and mainly using indigenous instruments, it's a curious release that time has perhaps been good to.

Back in the 80s it was classified as New Age, an exotic curio for those wishing to discover ancient instruments, whereas now a fondness for ambient and experimental soundscapes offers it a new audience. In truth, it sits somewhere between these reputations, the opening trio of tracks moving through panpipes, exotica-esque percussion and ritualistic vocalising that have plenty of spirit but, aside from the frenetic finale of ‘Naui Ollin’, Temple of the New Sun is full of slow-moving stuff, faint and floaty at times, precise but primordial, trying to evoke an imagined Mesoamerica. ‘Tlalokan’ is better, with an intriguing melody and rhythm that captures the swagger of nature at its most dense and primal. ‘Kokoyo Kayotl’ is even better, a riff with real chug, it brings a sense of adventure that is often lacking across the album.