''Apurímac II: Return to Ancient America'' is an album by German

andean new age Andean new-age music is a fusion genre of new-age music with Peruvian flute and/or Paraguayan harp music. The Peruvian roots stem from the Inca (Inka) influence circa 1200–1532 CE. In Peru, two important flutes are used: The ''quena'', a flute ...

band

Cusco Cusco, often spelled Cuzco (; qu, Qusqu ()), is a city in Southeastern Peru near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cusco Region and of the Cusco Province. The city is the list of cities in Peru, seventh m ...

, released in 1994 on the

Higher Octave Higher Octave Music is a sub-label imprint of Narada Productions. Since 2013, it is part of Universal Music Group's Capitol Music Group, which is located in Los Angeles. History Higher Octave was acquired by Virgin Records on behalf of EMI in 199 ...

music label. The album peaked at #8 on the Billboard Top New Age albums chart. It is second in the Apurímac series, and contains native Central American and South American sounds reincarnated with a very modern European musical touch, and has a much more lush, contemporary sound than the first '' Apurimac'' album, or other Cusco albums in general. Sounds of the ancient Mesoamerican civilizations

Maya Maya may refer to: Civilizations * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Maya language, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (Ethiopia), a populat ...

Inca The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The admin ...

and

Aztec The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those g ...

are represented, and its orchestral touches remind of the then recent ''

Cusco 2000 Cusco was a German cross-cultural new-age music band named after the Peruvian city of Cusco, which was once the capital of the Inca Empire. The band's music contains influences from music around the world, with an emphasis on South American flu ...

'' and '' Cusco 2002'' albums, though on this album they are used more sparingly. This album is also a commercial high-water mark in the band's career, selling more copies overall than any other

album. The track "Montezuma" was featured as

bumper music Bumper music, or a bump, is a term used in the radio broadcasting industry to refer to short clips of signature songs or theme music used to buffer transitions between programming elements, typically lasting no longer than fifteen seconds. It is ...

Coast to Coast AM ''Coast to Coast AM'' is an American late-night radio talk show that deals with a variety of topics. Most frequently the topics relate to either the paranormal or conspiracy theories. It was hosted by creator Art Bell from its inception in 19 ...

, and was also used for a

Bud Ice Anheuser-Busch, a wholly owned subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, is the largest brewing company in the United States, with a market share of 45 percent in 2016. The company operates 12 breweries in the United States and nearly 20 in othe ...

television commercial. Some versions of this album have the final track titled as "Temple of the Forgotten".

Track listing

All songs written by

Kristian Schultze Kristian Schultze (21 January 1945 – 22 November 2011) was one-half of the German new-age band Cusco. Schultze partnered with Michael Holm and the two produced numerous new-age albums. The two met in late 1970s, when they discovered th ...

and

Michael Holm Michael Holm (born Lothar Walter; on 29 July 1943) is a German singer, musician, songwriter and record producer. He is primarily known as a singer of Schlager music. Although his first appearance in the hit parade was in 1962 ("Lauter Schöne ...

except as indicated. # "Montezuma" (Michael Holm/Ralph Stemman) # "Quetzal's Feather" # "Dance of the Sun Priest" # "Tula" # "Yucatán" # "Xul-Kan, King of Palenque" # "Maya Temple" # "Mexica" # "Goddess of the Moon" (Michael Holm/Ralph Stemman) # "Temple of Remembrance"

Album credits

* Matt Marshall – Executive producer *

– Arranger, programming * Dan Selene – Executive producer * Joseph L. Steiner III – Digital remastering * Murry Whiteman – Design * Dee Westlund – Art direction * Frank Von Dem – Bottlenburg mixing *

– Producer, mixing * Cusco – Main performer

References

1994 albums Cusco (band) albums {{newage-album-stub