Embryo is a legendary german group, who were the first participants in the wave, which in the 1970’es became known as Krautrock. They can be seen as The Mothership in the wave, which also brought us Amon Düül II, Tangerine Dream, Can, Dissidenten, Popol Vuh and a number of others. Here Christian Burchard has been the leader on a journey, which has transgressed all borders, and which originally started when he as a boy met Dieter Serfas, who via Embryo ended up in Amon Düül. But Embryo started in Munich in 1967 and their latest release is a look back over 40 years without even the shadow of compromise. Containing a pairing of limitless curiosity, global consciousness and incredible musicality and ability. Embryo were among to take world music seriously and incorporate it in their output, and they have been on a continuous world tour through their whole existence. Yours truly was hanging out with Embryo in Tanger in Morocco in the spring of this year. Just one of many caravan pitstops on the journeys of Embryo, but an important one, because it was there, that the pianist Randy Weston had a famous venue in the medina during the 1960’es, and Embryo are also part of that story. But it is also significant, that my friend, the current sound man, Lars Rex, met the bus of Embryo in Pakistan around 1980, when the band were on a several years long travel through Asia, where they looked up musical masters and played their way, while they recorded and sucked up inspiration. And the collected output has also been along those lines: Madly impressive. This is the artistic catch of Burchard & Co.: They don’t copy or use world music as a gimmick. Because they are so much into it and know their modal music to the core, and thus can go in on an equal basis and create great art.Because of it’s history, for the myths that are connected with it, but most of all because the connectedness, so it doesn’t become a listing, where there is a vast difference in quality and homogenity. No, whether we are in 1967 or here forty years later, it is the same liberating global expression, which is evident in every stanza. ROOTSZONE 06/2010