Limbus 4
Mandalas

The Limbus 3 & 4 are an obscure and legendary Krautrock formation originally from Heidelberg. The group fully embodied the “zeitgeist” of the era in which Germany had numerous hippie communes, often also politicized. The young German generations were shaken by what their fathers had done with Nazism and rebelled against the status quo through politics and art. If politically there was a radical protest that eventually turned into the Baader-Meinhof gang's terrorism, artistically the results were marked by unbridled creativity. Reading a book like “The Journey” by Bernward Vesper certainly gives an idea of the atmosphere of the time (the Amon Duul commune is also mentioned in the text!). Music was undoubtedly one of the channels through which energies were directed towards a new language. Eyes were turned East, following in the footsteps of “Siddhartha” by Hermann Hesse, and embraced the utopia of American psychedelia. All of this was filtered through their Teutonic roots, assimilating the lesson of fellow countryman Karl-Heinz Stockhausen.

The Limbus 3 debuted in 1969 with “Cosmic Music Experience”: the formation initially was a trio composed of Odysseum Artnem, Bernd Henninger, and Gerd Kraus. The main influences were ethnic music, particularly African and Indian. In 1970, their second work “Mandalas” was released: on this occasion, percussionist Matthias Knieper joined (hence the new name Limbus 4). The sound coordinates did not change, although this album proves to be more accessible and better structured than its predecessor. Numerous ethnic instruments were used: the sitar, tablas, tribal percussion, viola, and electronic effects contribute to creating a sort of cosmic and hallucinated vortex that takes the listener to another dimension of being. “Mandalas” is a true trip that leads towards the Absolute. “Dhyana” is an open door that takes us to visit an ancient Buddhist monastery where an unknown ritual is being celebrated. “Kundalini” is tantric, music conceived to heal the spirit. “Heihu” is instead arduous and experimental, while “Plasma” closes with the percussion leading an esoteric dance. The Limbus were mystics: their inclination towards transcendence and meditation in search of a lost metaphysical Unity surely brings them close to the great Popol Vuh. Further confirmation of how Germany was, at the time, a true breeding ground of talents. It is, in any case, research music that is not easy to listen to and, to be fully appreciated, requires a good dose of concentration.

The band dissolved in 1971 after just 2 albums. In particular, this “Mandalas” remains today a raw gem to be jealously preserved as testimony of an unrepeatable period not so far away.