OS MUNDI

OS MUNDI only released two albums during its initial run and each quite different from the other. LATIN MASS came out immediately in 1970 and stood out like a sore thumb in the early German progressive scene with an eclectic mix of styles and sounds that although rooted in the psychedelic 60s, took on the adventurous nature of the Krautrock scene without really sounding like any of the bands that were in the forefront of its nascency. Primarily inspired by The Electric Prunes' 1968 psychedelic album 'Mass in F Minor' which mixed the heavy psych 60s with traditional Christian liturgical music, OS MUNDI went one step further and sung all lyrics in Latin. The results were quite unusual however extremely well played. One could consider this as taking The Electric Prunes idea and shooting it up with steroids.

Immediately with the opening 'Overture' OS MUNDI gifts the listener with a 60s psychedelic grooviness drenched in freaked out organs that aren't afraid to jump into the mosh pit as far as bringing the instrument and the 60s style to its logical conclusions such was the case with many bands in the transitional year of 1970 that sort of exited right in the middle of the the latter part of the 60s and the prog scene that was blossoming at light speed. While a psychedelic rendition of church music may not sound like a winning combination, the beauty of LATIN MASS is that the liturgy aspects only remain a small element like a canvass to paint upon whereas the psychedelic, prog and Krautrock elements boldly craft a beautiful array of adventures twists and turns that make this album a treat from beginning to end.

The album sort of has a continuous flow that wends and winds from spastic organ bombast to heavy blues rock guitar. Much of the album is nothing more than adventurous jamming but even though a bass driven groove keeps the melodic flow humming along, the contrapuntal Latin lyrics offer a dramatic and often theatrical dominant aspect. The musical grooves are also quite creative in how they change things up with bizarre bass runs and guitar licks. The music offers outbursts into tribal drum circles as well as adding touches of jazzy outbursts before jumping back into heavy organ trippiness. Even atonality and avant-garde freeform avant-prog is explored towards the end of the album after the album has seeped into your very soul.

LATIN MASS was an unbelievably creative album for 1970 with an incessant array of fresh ideas delivered with a fiery passion. The lyrics in the Latin language keep it from sounding like anything remotely German and although the influences are clearly from the American music scene of the 1960s, OS MUNDI successfully eschewed that stilted too late to the game stylistic approach that many trapped in the past were still dishing out. This is what i call the perfect bridge between one era morphing into the next. All the tracks on this one stand out and the tightrope act of accessible melodic grooves with avant-garde adventurism is impeccable. For my tastes, this album is pretty much perfect in how its executed and stands out as one of the most unique of the early prog years. Despite all the creative mojo going on here, it's the variety of organ sounds that make this one an outstanding slice of early psych fueled prog.

"Ouverture" hits the ground running with the organ out front. Great sound here when it settles into a groove. A calm 1 1/2 minutes in then some guitar expressions come and go. Nice. I like the way this unfolds and changes yet keeps the same vibe. A dark mood arrives after 3 minutes then back to a brighter mood with guitar after 3 1/2 minutes. It blends into "Kyrie" where vocals join in quickly. This is really good. The vocals are manipulated at times as it becomes experimental. Organ, a beat and more as we get this fairly pleasant sound before 2 minutes.

"Gloria" opens with organ as a beat joins in and more as it builds to a full sound. Vocals too. It settles back around 2 minutes but not for long as it picks back up. A rumbling drum solo after 3 minutes goes on to the end. A bit much. "Credo" is a top three tune and my favourite. A full sound hits us right away with vocals. Catchy stuff with some killer bass lines and organ runs. It turns experimental after a minute and then starts to self-destruct as it were with discordant piano and more. Then this amazing organ melody with bass and drums kicks in. So good! Vocals join in. Amazing sound here. Classic krautrock right here people! Check out the guitar 5 1/2 minutes in as he starts to solo. So much going besides this though. Just a great track.

"Credo II" is a top three and we get some grungy sounding guitar with organ, bass, drums then vocals. It lightens 2 1/2 minutes as the vocals also settle down. I like this. Back to the previous theme before 3 1/2 minutes. "Sanctus" is my final top three song and the longest at over 9 minutes. A vocal statement as it were before the guitar starts to solo with organ, bass and more. A calm with vocals a minute in. A relaxed guitar solo 2 minutes in after the vocals step aside. The flute replaces the guitar 3 1/2 minutes in. Sounds like they are improvising a minute later. It settles back as sounds come and go to the end. Interesting stuff.

The previous song blends into "Agnus Dei" where the arrival of the pounding drums signals a change. We get FLOYD- like vocals that pretty much shout the lyrics briefly then we get an almost dead calm. Distorted and insane guitar follows. Vocals are back then it kicks into gear. The organ stands out here and I like how themes are repeated. The guitar is crying out late.

My cd is a re-issue from 2004 on Mason Records but the liner notes are in German unfortunately. Even the pictures inside disappoint because they are so tiny. Great album though.

From the more Kraut Psych-styled debut now the band was sounding more like a typical Kraut Fusion group, although they never really quit on writing long, psychedelic instrumental moves with hypnotic edges, smooth grooves and the flute in evidence.In fact ''43 minuten'' sounds pretty balanced between the previous album and the new trend, which finds the group with a sax-dominated style, full of jazzy solos and light improvisations.THIRSTY MOON, KRAAN and PASSPORT are the best comparisons.The guys surely knew how to rock their fans at moments with these superb guitar leads and solos and continuous, metronomic Kraut-flavored rhythms, but they were doing it by throwing in a good dose of Jazz with the sweet sax moves and the slight Ethnic colors, as performed on the various percussions.Their music was very powerful and passionate with occasional organ injections and a heavy amount of changing climates, from doomy and dark deliveries to fiery rhythmic tunes.The addition of jazzy elements made their arrangements quite complex and you should be 100% there to fully appreciate their unclassifiable music.The three semi-long pieces at the end of the album are stunning, full of dramatic atmospheres, irritating guitars and isolated solo executions, a good example of how close Kraut Rock and Jazz were stylistically speaking.

Os Mundi existed with some brief pauses until 1980, but no official albums were actually issued after ''43 minuten''.''Sturmflut'' is a 2007 archival album, released on Garden of Delights and featuring material recorded by the band with different line-ups between 1973-75, this should be a good purchase for fans of the band and the style.

Very good jazzy Kraut Rock.Intense, psychedelic and dynamic with great instrumental variety and tempo variations.Strongly recommended...3.5 stars.

Very theatrical, dramatic, and enthusiastic "Mass". We cannot always feel such a passion via Krautrock basically (understood that they belong to Eclectic subgenre rather than Krautrock). On the other hand, they launch psychedelic organ-based fuzzy muddy colours in front of them, that can be felt in lots of 60s- or 70s-oldie-goodie psychedelic pop / rock / progressive rock with symphonic spice. Credo suite leans toward this colourful atmosphere, strongly.

Anyway, let me say they can be more appreciated as a psychedelic-flavoured, non-electronic, slightly improvised Krautrock unit, like Eiliff. Their improvisation can be heard in "Sanctus" (especially in the latter part featuring bizarre flute dances and explosive percussion) ... in the same vein like "Eve Of Eternity". Cannot avoid saying they'd played fascinating Krautrock really.

I'm so pleased they got appreciated as an Eclectic progressive rock outfit, as honestly I say. Please listen to the former part (or Side A) of this album, and feel how versatile their playing is, through their dramatic theatrical Musical progression, which make us immersed in Os Mundic world. So happy if you enjoy this creation as a versatile, dramatic Krautrock one. Fantastic indeed.

One other irony of the Latin Mass is that the priest conducts the liturgy facing east and, back in the day, it was to the east that many young Catholics looked in their search for spiritual guidance as they deserted the Church in favour of Hinduism and Buddhism. And of course many of Os Mundi's contemporaries performed eastern-inspired music. So, what prompted this album? What drove Os Mundi to record a Latin Mass in 1970 using the rock idiom? Were they mocking the Church or were they advocating the coexistence of faith and rock?

Well my money's on the musical joke angle, with the Church as the butt of the humour, because Os Mundi raise merry hell with this raw, rag-tag work. That may at once be the album's main pro and con however, since the appeal of the Tridentine Mass, not only to traditionalist Catholics but also to atheists like Carl Jung, was its mysticism. But Os Mundi have replaced the extraordinary spiritual power of the Latin Mass with the dark explosive power of trash-psychedelia. The pace seldom slackens from the very first demonic bars of 'Ouverture', and although this track is an instrumental the Hammond organ carries with it images of bleeding statues and the fiery breath of satirical blasphemy rather than the call for spiritual growth.

It's as if the bonds of Catholic convention have been blasted and torn asunder by an icy Teutonic wind, a wind that has also resulted in a 180-degree turnaround by moving from an intensely Christian to a dynamic pagan ethic. The wild fervour of the 'Kyrie' mantra together with the excitable tribal drums and rabble of voices on the 'Gloria' have an organic unity that is both primitive and earthbound. And the two-part 'Credo' is like a descent into the bowels of Hell on the wings of Death, the return journey propelled by the glorious golden sunburst of a billion candlelights.

The 'Sanctus' precedes the consecration of the Host, the most solemn part of the liturgy where the priest is believed to perform the miracle of transubstantiation and Os Mundi represent this with the free association of a flute freakout. The album then draws to a rather non-dramatic conclusion as the 'Agnus Dei' just melts away quickly and meaninglessly.

Four-and-a-half centuries after Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the Castle Church wall at Wittenberg the Catholic Church recognised the importance of active participation by the congregation through the use of local languages, and it took until more recently for the Catholic laity to finally be allowed to receive the Eucharist, Hussite-fashion, in both kinds. This album isn't without its drawbacks either, in particular the shabby production, but while it may not do anything for the faith it's sure to gain more than a few converts for Os Mundi.

Os Mundi came from Berlin, and they only released two albums. Latin Mass is their masterpiece. Originally released (and still) on the Metronome label, it's literally a (flawlessly performed) Latin Mass of 1970. Unfortunately, I do not have an original pressing of Latin Mass, as of this date, but the reissues are exact replica's of the original vinyl.

First of all; if mass really sounded like this, then I would be in church every Sunday. Unlike the traditionally-ceremonial, and restrained chuch-mass- this Latin Mass is something from another dimension. Mostly heavy, with a few soft breaks here-and-there, and very, very, emotional vocals. From start-to-finish, you have heavily distorted guitar chords, and a garage-sounding-organ playing almost non-stop. There is even a little flute on both sides of the vinyl. But, wait! It gets better! There is also a good amount of psychedelia in the album-from the ironically ominous opening of Overtüre/Kyrie/Gloria-to the brooding, heavy breathing/huffing in Credo1 (lay off the frankincense inhalation, fellas), all the way to the finale of Agnus Dei. This is terrific music.

For what it is, the album is flawless. You can tell that a lot of time, effort and feeling were put into this album. The instruments and the singing/vocals are perfect. Hey-after-all, these are the words of a Latin Mass, so you can't deny the emotional presence here. I'm not saying everyone will like it, but fans of heavy-prog/psych will love this album. If you like this kind of music, and don't have some hangup about the Mass-lyrics, then I can't recommend this album enough. 110% Krautrock, and a Latin Mass has never rocked so hard. Five stars.

Even though there is no official, Vatican-authenticated translation of a Latin Mass in English, I put an accurate translation below, for those interested.

Latin Mass/Songs:

01. Ouvertüre 5:44

02. Kyrie 3:11 Kyrie eleison Lord have mercy

03. Gloria 4:39 Adoramus te. Glorificamus te. Gratias agimus tibi We worship thee. We glorify thee. Thanks we give to thee

propter magnam gloriam tuam. Domine Deus, Rex coelestis, because of great glory thy. Lord God, King of heaven,

Deus Pater omnipotens. Domine Fili unigenite, Jesu Christe. God Father almighty. Lord Son only begotten, Jesus Christ.

Domine Deus, Agnus Dei, Filius Patris. Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of Father.

Qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis. Who take away sins of world, have mercy on us.

Qui tollis peccata mundi, suscipe deprecationem nostram. Who take away sins of world, receive supplication our.

Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris, miserere nobis. Who sit at right hand of Father, have mercy on us.

Quoniam tu solus sanctus. Tu solus Dominus. For thou alone holy. Thou alone Lord.

Tu solus altisimus, Jesu Christe. Thou alone most high, Jesus Christ.

Cum Sancto Spiritu in gloria Dei Patris. Amen. With Holy Spirit in glory of God Father. Amen.

04. Credo I 7:26 05. Credo II 5:31 Credo in unum Deum, Patrem omnipotentem, I believe in one God, Father almighty,

factorem coeli et terrae, maker of heaven and of earth,

visibilium omnium, et invisibilium. visible of all things, and invisible.

Et in umum Dominum Jesum Christum, And in one Lord Jesus Christ,

Filium Dei unigenitum. Son of God only begotten.

Et ex Patre natum ante omni saecula. And of Father born before all ages.

Deum de Deo, lumen de lumine, Deum verum de Deo vero. God from God, light from light, God true from God true.

Genitum, non factum, consubstantialem Patri, Begotten, not made, of one substance with Father,

per quem omnia facta sunt. Qui propter nos homines, by whom all things made were. Who for us men,

et propter nostram salutem descendit de caelis. and for our salvation descended from heavens.

Et incarnatus est de Spiritu Sancto And made flesh was of Spirit Holy

ex Maria Virgine. Et homo factus est. of Mary Virgin. And man made was.

Crucifixus etiam pro nobis sub Pontio Pilato, Crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate,

passus, et sepultus est. suffered, and buried was.

Et resurrexit tertia die, secundum Scripturas. And he rose third day, according to Scriptures.

Et ascendit in caelum, sedet ad dexteram Patris. And he ascended into heaven, he sits at right hand of Father.

Et interum venturus est cum gloria, And again going to come he is with glory,

judicare vivos et mortuos, to judge living and dead,

cujus regni non erit finis. of whose kingdom not will there be end.

Et in Spiritum Sanctum Dominum, et vivificantem, And in Spirit Holy Lord, and lifegiver,

qui ex Patre Filioque procedit. who from Father and Son proceeds.

Qui cum Patre, et Filio simul adoratur Who with Father, and Son together is adored

et conglorificatur, qui locutus est per Prophetas. and glorified, who spoke through Prophets.

Et unam, sanctam, catholicam, et apostolicam Ecclesiam. And one, holy, catholic, and Apostolic Church.

Confiteor unum baptisma in remissionem peccatorum. I confess one baptism for remission of sins.

Et expecto resurrectionem mortuorum. And I expect resurrection of dead.

Et vitam venturi saeculi. Amen. And life to come of age. Amen.

06. Sanctus 9:05 Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Holy, Holy, Holy,

Dominus Deus Sabaoth. Lord God of Hosts.

Pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua. Full are heaven and earth of glory thy.

Hosanna in excelsis. Hosanna in highest.

07. Agnus Dei 5:57 Agnus Dei, qui tolis peccata mundi, Lamb of God, who take away sins of world,

dona nobis pacem. grant us peace.

Band:

Arndt, Udo Busse, Christoph(drums) Mandler, Buddy(percussion, vocals, bongos-was also in Siloah) Markgraf, Dietrich(sax, flute) Rilling, Mikro(cello-was also in Siloah) Villain, Andreas(bass)

Guest musicians: Kalkreuth, David V.(organ) Seidel, Hartmut(bass)

First of all give it up for the most prolific reviewer here on PA, Mellotron Storm for getting me into this album. Here´s a big warm internet hug flying through the computer screen all the way from the windswept shores of Denmark. Thanks buddy...

I originally came into the wondrous world of prog through the sounds of the late 60s. Jimi, Doors, Floyd, Lovecraft, Arthur Brown, Stones, The Dead and so forth. All those hippie bands spoke to me about musical freedom and how such a form of expression should never be locked down in boxes. It was the wild guitars, the bobbling hammond organs, the cryptic lyrics and that whole notion of intrinsic musical sorcery - that was indeed what drew me in like a cat to a ball of yarn. The reason I´m talking about the 60s, is because of the effect it had on almost everything we dive into on this site - be that in the development of new instruments, or maybe in the way this time in space challenged how we think about the very nature of music. Last thing is perhaps the most important and that is heritage. Much of what happened during the latter part of the 60s was actually what the audience heard like echoing ripples all through the following decade. In another costume, another shape another world.

Os Mundi´s 43 Minuten is a testimony to this heritage. Whilst some people call this Krautrock, I´d stake a couple of fried llamas that it isn´t. Not to me anyway... To me this album sounds like 3 different things - like it has 3 musical building blocks, which all through this riveting album act like the foundation for the seemingly easy-flowing rhythmic melody laden gymnastics.

One side of the triangle sounds like Cream. Those breezy relaxing vocals hanging over the sluggishly played guitar riffing. The second side is when the music turns jazzy, and here I´m not talking about fusion a la Mahavishnu Orchestra going 500 miles an hour with everybody doing their own thing, no - I´m talking about old school slow moving Sunday smooth jazz with clear parallels to the debut of Jethro Tull. It´s obvious in the manner in which the flute is handled, but even more so felt in the whole ambiance of the band. Chill out relax mood all over the board, and you can almost picture how every animal in the forest would be inclined to drop by this good natured band, and a brand new Snow White scene suddenly unfolds. Last piece of the puzzle is by far the one with the most sway. It´s the dominant part of the music, and luckily so also my favourite of the bunch. This one sounds like a decisively more progressive incarnation of The Pretty Things. I hear a lot of SF Sorrow in this album, - and to tell you the truth, that is a damn fine compliment coming from me. The vocal harmonies along with the organs - then those spiralling rock n´ roll guitar sprees all wrapped around the familiar booming earthiness of the blues bass incantations calling you from the deepest depths of the music. Yeah there´s definitely something there...

This piggy´s got far more coils and twists to its tail than any of the mentioned bands, but the feel of it harks back to those warm 60s´ dreamings. This might lead you to think, that 43 Minuten is an unoriginal outing comprised of sonic re-runs and old sneakers, but strangely enough this album is very unique - just as their first one was. Os Mundi are one of the few acts that I´ve come across, who masters originality through the spirit and footwork of the artists preceding them. They sound like nothing else. This album is the proof of that, and I recommend everybody who´s into the early progressive scene to go have a listen to this fabulous record. Some parts of it are just gorgeously beautiful, like the hauntingly played But Reality Will Show with it´s slow climaxing orgasms and a sonic palette to it, that just takes me away like a paper cup caught in a hurricane. Swiish!!

If you want a cheap ticket to the beginning of our beloved prog lands, and feel like hitching a ride instead of listening to the mumblings of old geezers in Hawaii shirts, then you should probably start looking for this highly infatuating piece of spine massage.

"A Question Of Decision" was apparently one of their favourites to play live and they would often extend it to 15 minutes. It opens with raw guitar as sax joins in with drums. Vocals before a minute. It settles with percussion before 2 minutes as the vocals stop. Guitar and drums join in as they jam. It kicks in after 5 minutes with flute before settling right down with flute. Vocals and the original melody end it. "Triple" really reminds me of VDGG with the vocals, sax and overall sound when it kicks in. Cello after 2 minutes as it settles.The flute comes and goes.That VDGG section is back late. "Missle" opens with a good beat, cello and prominant guitar. Great sound, vocal melodies too. Cool track. It turns powerful late. "It's All There" is a top three for me. Organ and a beat to open as flute then vocals join in. I just love how this sounds, especially the chorus. Cello comes in later. "Isn't It Beautiful 7/8" is a catchy instrumental with drums, percussion, congas, cello and sax.

"But Reality Will Show" is another top three tune. It really reminds me of LANDBERK to open. It settles before a minute with cello then reserved vocals come in. It's building as vocals become more passionate in this anti-war song. The intro melody returns after 3 minutes. Nice. The guitar slowly and tastefully plays a minute later. The vocals cry out after 5 1/2 minutes. Cello late. What a song ! "Children's Games" is another anti-war tune and my final top three track. It opens heavily with guitar, drums and vocal melodies. Vocals come in as it settles somewhat. The guitar starts to light it up as vocal melodies come and go. Sax before 2 minutes as themes are repeated.They then jam with flute and percussion. The tempo picks up 5 1/2 minutes in then it turns psychedelic before kicking in again. Earlier themes return. "Erstickubungen" is jazzy with lots of flute and drums to open. It settles after 1 1/2 minutes with cello. Kicks back in before 3 minutes with sax then the guitar starts to rip it up. "Fortsetzun Folgt" is a short instrumental with Conny Plank playing some guitar.

I highly recommended this hidden treasure from 1972. My kind of music.

Out of the chaos of Berlin, but spared by the wall ignominy, a bunch of local high school kids were playing in rock or beat bands. Soon enough a loose aggregation formed from two of these group. Sometimes playing up to 12, and sometimes down to a quartet, this unit became a few years later Os Mundi (we are the world) and recorded two albums in the very early 70's, but featuring a sextet, even if two of them were credited as guest. OM was more of a project of Udo Arndt (organ, guitar, vocals and main songwriter) with the help of drummer Chris Busse (drums and lyrics) and their first album is somewhat of a masterstroke, pulling the equivalent of The Electric Prunes, Mass In E Minor, with the same psych tendencies, although darker and with Latin lyrics. The album came in 70 on the Metronome label and presented a candlelight artwork

OM managed to sound very professional, even if the album's production is not always so, often reminiscent of Vanilla Fudge with David Byron (UH) vocals, but in the opening Overture sound very Purple-like (as in Black Night meeting Fireball), but overall, OM have their own sound. Plenty of lengthy instrumental interplay of complex rhythms makes this album a gem, but as mentioned before, the raw-atmosphered production can be discouraging a few. But the album ultra psyched and dark is very much still 60's like in terms of vocal filters and other sound effect, and often, we are drawn to think of Vanilla Fudge most often, except that the Latin vocals are not well recorded, especially in Gloria, which cumulates the error of having a double drum solo (good in itself, but out of context), the often-excellent lengthy Credo is evening things out, especially in the Saucerful-era Floyd passage nd Udo's ensuing soaring guitar solo >> easy dramatics, but effective.

The second Credo is obviously taking from where the first part ended, but strikes even more the good cords. The 9-mins Sanctum is upping the ante even more with Markgraf switching from sax to a delicious flute, and this song is evidently close to having us believe in their mysticism, but the improv is taking things a bit far for a successful mass. Too bad the closing anus Dei is the weaker track on anotherwise strong album, though.

While their second album would sound quite different, developing a jazz-rock ala Kraan, early Chicago and Colosseum, Latin mass is certainly a good example of Germany's multi-faceted music scene, and as recommended as it could be, I'm not sure it deserves the essential mention, but it's definitely worth your while should you choose to make the detour by OM's two albums.