One of the lesser known early krautrock bands was Gila. Their leader and guitarist Conny Veit doubled in Popol Vuh for a while and this left its marks. In fact, the second Gila album Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee (released 1973) features nearly the same line up as Popol Vuh in those days, with Veit, Florian Fricke on piano and Daniel Fichelscher on drums and bass. The fourth member was Veit's singing girl friend Sabine Merbach.
You can listen to the full album above.
Not surprisingly, Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee sounds at times like Popol Vuh in their Seligpreisung and Hosianna Mantra days, except for the vocal tracks which tend to American folk rock. The lyrics on Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee were inspired by a book of the same name about the history of Native Americans, a popular subject in the early 1970s.
The first Gila album from 1971 was a totally different thing, with a different line up - only Veit was on both records - and a different sound which had more in common with spacey Ash Ra Tempel style improvisations than with Popol Vuh's pastoral acoustics. It's hard to say which album is better. It's like comparing apples with pears.
Gila disappeared for good after releasing Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee. Veit shortly returned to music in the 1980s when he rejoined Popol Vuh.
I have grown to love this album over the years , Gila's (free electric sound) is the greatest album ever made.
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