Yatha Sidhra-A Meditation Mass (1974-Instrumental, psychedelia-kraut-progressive)

Yatha Sidhra, from Freiberg,Germany, near both the Swiss and French borders, was a short-lived group that only lasted long enough to record one piece of music. That one piece of music was the 40-minute "A Meditation Mass" which stretched over two sides of the LP of the same name released in 1973 by the legendary Brain label and considered one of the classics of cosmic Krautrock. Yatha Sidhra's roots go back to the mid-'60s, when two brothers, multi-instrumentalist Rolf and drummer Klaus Fichter began playing in various groups together, starting with a soul group called Lea Gamble that consisted of them and two American ex-service men. By the early 1970s the Fichter's were teamed with French bassist Jean-Michel Boivert and flautist Peter Elbracht in a hard rock band called Brontosaurus, which because of the flute sounded a bit like Jethro Tull...
by Rolf Semprebon
Yatha Sidhra's only record, the aptly titled A Meditation Mass, is a strange mystical experience stretched over four parts that segue almost seamlessly into one another, though the Spalax CD has a slight break between tracks two and three, where the original record changed sides. (The earlier Laser Edge reissue ran the tracks without the break.) Though the record was released in the early '70s, it has that late-'60s acid-haze, hippie ambience without coming off clichéd or dated. It starts off with watery noises and a wind hum, until eventually a flanged acoustic guitar riff gently floats into the mix, very dreamy and hypnotic over the whir of electronics. The piece slowly ebbs and flows as other instruments are pulled into the strange cosmic drift of sounds: washes of cymbals, vaguely ethnic percussions, a flute, vibes, and other sounds, even some group chanting with electronically treated voices, while the guitar weaves steadily to keep it together as it slowly builds up. On the second and third part the band veers into far more free-form improvisation, from jazzy sections with an upbeat swing to electric guitar over a trance-like rhythm to a bizarre drum and flute duel to intense freakouts before once again becoming calm and relaxed. Part four winds the album up where it began, with the acoustic guitar riff and tribal percussion and spacy electronics and flute building up to more chanting — there is no beginning or end. One might compare Yatha Sidhra with other Krautrock bands like Ash Ra Tempel, Popul Vuh, or Limbus 3, but Yatha Sidhra's striking originality is like nothing else.
by Rolf Semprebon

Fantastic Album!! What a flute!!
Incredible psychedelia!!

Enjoy!!