Cusco (band)

Cusco is a German andean new age band named after the Peruvian city of Cusco, which at one time was the capital city of the ancient Incan Empire. The band's music contains influences from music around the world, with a general emphasis on ancient South American flute sounds and melodies. Compared to the music of other new age artists, Cusco's music is quite melodic and usually energetic, and the band focuses on creating a fusion of modern and ethnic styles with classical music influences and solid rock music sensibilities. Most of the ethnic instruments are keyboard-generated, giving the sound a synthetic quality.

The band was led by founders Michael Holm (Lothar Bernhard Walter; 1943–) and Kristian Schultze (1945–2011). Michael Holm, already a successful vocal artist, had long been fascinated with ancient cultures from around the world, and wanted to capture this fascination in the form of a musical tribute to the ancient worlds he wished to remember. He was already a friend of Kristian Schultze, formerly a member of the jazz band Passport, and the two discovered that they shared very similar musical and historical interests. In 1979, Cusco the band was formed and they released their first album in 1980, before terms such as "new age music" or "new instrumental music" were in use. They eventually signed with Higher Octave Music, releasing their first album on that label in 1988. Their albums consistently reach very high peaks on the instrumental/new age music sales charts. They have been nominated for a Grammy award three times.

Some of their music is used as pre-show background music in Epcot prior to IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth, and has been used as bumper music for the popular American syndicated radio program Coast to Coast AM, as well as several television advertisements including a Bud Ice beer commercial. Additionally, Cusco composed and performed fully symphonic new age music for the German television special Sielmann 2000. They currently reside in Weilheim in Oberbayern, Germany.

Discography

* indicates a Higher Octave Music release

Studio albums

• Desert Island (1980)
• Cusco II (1981)
• Cool Islands (1982)
• Planet Voyage (1982)
• Virgin Islands (1983)
• Island Cruise (1984)
• Apurimac (1985; worldwide 1988) *
• Concierto de Aranjuez (1986)
• Tales from a Distant Land (1987)
• Mystic Island (1989) *
• Ring der Delphine (1989)
• Water Stories (1990) *
• Sielmann 2000 Soundtrack (1991)
• Cusco 2000 (1992) *
• Cusco 2002 (1993) *
• Australia (1993)
• Apurimac II: Return to Ancient America (1994) *
• A Choral Christmas (1995) *
• Ring of the Dolphin (1996) *
• Apurimac III: Nature - Spirit - Pride (1997) *
• Ancient Journeys: A Vision of the New World (2000) *
• Inner Journeys: Myth + Legends (2003) *

Compilations

• The Magic Sound of Cusco (1988)
• The Best of Cusco (1997) *
• Best of Cusco: Dreams & Fantasies (1998)
• The Early Best of Cusco (1999)
• Essential Cusco: The Journey (2005) *
• The Best of Cusco (Ales) (2008)

External links

• Official Cusco Website
• Cusco discography at MusicBrainz
• Cusco at Allmusic