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Recorded and privately released in 1972, Crawling To Lhasa is one of the most unusual albums of the German psychedelic underground. Kalacakra consisted of two musicians from Duisburg, Heinz Martin and Claus Rauschenbach, who combined acoustic and electric instruments with Eastern-inspired rhythms, mantric repetition, blues and experimental folk.
The duo created a remarkably varied sound using guitars, flute, violin, cello, piano, vibraphone, harmonica, congas and assorted percussion. Instead of following conventional rock structures, the music develops through hypnotic rhythmic cycles, loosely arranged improvisation and an intentionally unpolished atmosphere.
“Naerby Shiras” opens the album with dark vocals, flute and repetitive guitar figures, establishing its mixture of psychedelic folk and Eastern imagery. “Jaceline” uses circular vocal phrases and a deliberately eccentric sense of humour, while “Raga N°11” is built around droning strings, hand percussion and chant-like instrumental patterns.
The lengthy “September Full Moon” is the album’s most peaceful and meditative performance, with acoustic guitar and flute creating a spacious nocturnal atmosphere. “Arapaho’s Circle Dance” develops from percussion and bluesy electric guitar, while “Tante Olga” closes the original album with overlapping German and English voices, harmonica and an improvised psychedelic-blues arrangement.
This Garden of Delights edition adds “Vamos” and “Deja Vu,” two recordings made more than twenty years after the original album. Their polished, ethnically influenced world-music sound differs noticeably from the raw 1972 sessions but documents the musicians’ later development. The CD also includes extensive historical material and rare photographs.
Track Listing