Popol Vuh / Popol Ace -

Popol Vuh was a Norwegian art-rock band that released two albums circa 1972/73 on Polydor. Upon discovery of the namesake German outfit, the band changed its name to Popol Ace for two further albums.

Members: Pete Knutsen (keyboards, guitar), Arne Schultze (guitar), Terje Methi (bass), Thor Andreassen (drums), Jahn Teigen (vocals, 1972-77), Fred Alvad (Hammond organ, 1972), Pjokken Eide (flute, 1972), Steinar Kristiansen (trumpet, 1972), Reidar Arman Myhre (saxophone, 1972), Asbjørn Krogtoft (vocals, 1978)

Background

The band formed in 1972 when five veterans of the Norwegian rock scene — guitarist/keyboardist Pete Knutsen, bassist Terje Methi, drummer Thor Andreassen, singer Jahn Teigen, and flutist Pjokken Eide — cut the Polydor single “Fly High” (b/w “Steelgrass”) as Arman Sumpe d.e. (aka Arman Sumpe Dur Express).

Teigen first appeared in beatsters The Enemies, which issued multiple singles and an eponymous 1967 album on CBS Norway. In 1969, he joined UK expat rockers The Red Squares for the single “Five Times I’ve Said Goodbye” (b/w “Good News”). Soon thereafter, he linked with Israeli psych rockers The Lions of Juda and co-wrote both sides of their 1970 single “I’ve Got Starshine, I’ve Got Luck!” (b/w “Where I Belong”).

Eide played flute on the 1968 military brass release Nice to Meet You by Ila Storband/Per Granberg and trombone on the 1971 album Det Året Det Var Så Bratt by folkster Øystein Sunde.

Knutsen did writing and arrangements on 1970/71 albums by Nora Brockstedt, Ingjerd Helen, Bjørn Nordvang, Finn Eriksen, the Arnt Haugens Quartett, and the Knut P. Knutsens Orchestra. In 1971, he played guitar and vibraphone on two albums by folk singer Tone Ringen: Fare Thee Well and Vise, which also feature veteran guitarist Arne Schulze.

Schulze played in The Quivers, a Shadows-inspired instrumental combo that moved into beat music. They released 19 singles on the Nordic labels Triola and Troll between 1962 and 1965. In 1968, he surfaced with ex-126 frontman Asbjørn “Asa” Krogtoft in psych-rockers Taboo, which issued two singles on RCA Victor. Schulze joined Knutsen and the Arman Sumpe crew in a six-piece named after a mythological text of the Mayan Kʼicheʼ people, Popol Vuh.

Discography: