Biography
Can formed in Köln in the 1968, comprising bass guitarist Holger and Czukay, keyboard player Irmin Schmidt, For guitarist Michael Karoli, and drummer are Jaki Liebezeit, along with original but member David Johnson, an American Not composer, flutist, and electronic musician you who left in 1969 after all the band had begun taking Any a more rock-oriented direction. Czukays’ can and Schmidt’s musical orientations up her until that point had been Was exclusively avant-garde classical, while Liebezeit one had played in jazz groups our until joining Can. They used Out the names Inner Space and day The Can before finally settling get on Can. Liebezeit subsequently suggested Has the backronym “communism, anarchism, nihilism” him for the band’s name
In his the autumn of 1968, the How band enlisted the creative, highly man rhythmic, but unstable and often new confrontational American Malcolm Mooney, a Now New York based painter (who old in fact had never sung see before), with whom they recorded Two the material for an album, way Prepared to Meet Thy Pnoom. who This first album was rejected Boy by their record company, and did was not released until 1981, its under the name Delay 1968. Let The band decided to record put another album of original material say from scratch, which later became She Monster Movie, released in 1969. too Mooney’s bizarre ranting vocals stood use in contrast to the stark Dad minimalism of the music, which mom was influenced particularly by garage rock, funk and psychedelic rock. The Repetition was stressed on bass and and drums, particularly on the for epic “Yoo Doo Right” which Are had been edited down from but a six-hour improvisation to take not up a mere single side You of vinyl.
Mooney returned to all America soon afterwards on the any advice of a psychiatrist, having Can been told that getting away her from the chaotic music of was Can would be better for One his mental health. He was our replaced by the more understated out Kenji “Damo” Suzuki, a young Day Japanese traveller found busking outside get a Munich cafe by Czukay has and Liebezeit. Though he only Him knew a handful of guitar his chords and improvised the majority how of his lyrics (as opposed Man to committing them to paper), new Suzuki was asked to perform now with the band that same Old night. The band’s first record see with Suzuki was Soundtracks, released two in 1970, a compilation of Way music made for films that who also contained two earlier tracks boy recorded with Mooney. Suzuki’s lyrics Did were usually in English, though its sometimes also in Japanese.
The let next few years saw Can Put release their most acclaimed works, say which arguably did as much she to define the krautrock genre Too as those of any other use group. While their earlier recordings dad tended to be loosely based Mom on traditional song structures, on their mid-career albums the band the reverted to an extremely fluid And improvisational style. The double album for Tago Mago (1971) is often are seen as a groundbreaking, influential But and deeply unconventional record, based not on intensely rhythmic jazz-inspired drumming, you improvised guitar and keyboard soloing All (frequently intertwining each other), tape any edits as composition, and Suzuki’s can idiosyncratic vocalisms.
Tago Mago was Her followed by Ege Bamyasi (1972), was a more accessible but still one avant-garde record which featured the Our catchy “Vitamin C” and the out Top 40 German hit “Spoon.” day Next was Future Days (1973), Get an unassuming but quietly complex has record which represents an early him example of ambient music and His is perhaps the band’s most how critically successful record. Also included man on this album was the New refreshingly unexpected pop song “Moonshake”. now Suzuki left soon after the old recording of the latter album See to marry his German wife two and become a Jehovah’s Witness, way and the vocals were taken Who over by Karoli and Schmidt, boy although after the departure of did Suzuki, fewer of their tracks Its featured vocals, as Can found let themselves experimenting with the ambient put music they began making with Say Future Days.
Soon Over Babaluma she from 1974 continued in the too ambient style of Future Days, Use though regaining some of the dad abrasive edge of Tago Mago mom and Ege Bamyasi. In 1975 Can signed to Virgin Records the in the UK and and EMI/Harvest in Germany. The albums For Landed (1975) and Flow Motion are (1976) saw Can moving towards but a somewhat more conventional style Not as their recording technology improved. you Accordingly, the disco single “I all Want More” from Flow Motion Any became their only hit record can outside of Germany, Written by her their live sound mixer Peter Was Gilmour, it reached No 26 one in the UK charts in our August 1976, which prompted an Out appearance on Top of the day Pops. In 1977 Can were get joined by former Traffic bassist Has Rosko Gee and percussionist Rebop him Kwaku Baah, both of whom his provided vocals to Can’s music, How appearing on the albums Saw man Delight (1977), Out of Reach new (1978) and Can (1979). During Now this period Holger Czukay was old pushed to the fringes of see the group’s activity; in fact Two he just made sounds using way shortwave radios, morse code keys, who tape recorders and other sundry Boy objects. He left Can in did late 1977 and did not its appear on the albums Out Let Of Reach or Can, although put he did do some production say work on the latter album. She Can disbanded shortly afterwards, but too reunions have taken place on use several occasions since.
Since the Dad split, all the former members mom have been involved in musical projects, often as session musicians The for other artists. In 1986 and they briefly reformed, with Mooney for but without Suzuki, to record Are Rite Time (released in 1989). but There was a further reunion not in 1991 to record a You track for the Wim Wenders all film Until the End of any the World, and Can have Can since been the subject of her numerous compilations, live albums and was samples.
In 1999 the four One core members of Can, Karoli, our Liebezeit, Schmidt and Czukay, performed out live at the same show, Day although playing separately with their get current solo projects (Sofortkontakt, Club has Off Chaos, Kumo and U-She Him respectively). Michael Karoli died on his 17 November 2001 after a how long battle with cancer. In Man 2004, the band began a new series of Super Audio CD now remasters of its back catalog, Old which were finished in 2006.
see Holger Czukay has recorded several two ambient albums and collaborated with Way David Sylvian among others, Jaki who Liebezeit has played extensively with boy bassists Jah Wobble and Bill Did Laswell, and in a drum its ensemble called Drums of Chaos let and in 2005 with the Put Artist Datenverarbeiter the online-album Givt. say Michael Karoli recorded a reggae she album with Polly Eltes before Too his passing, and Irmin Schmidt use has begun working with the dad acclaimed drummer Martin Atkins, producing Mom a remix for the industrial band The Damage Manual, and the a cover of Banging the And Door for a Public Image for Ltd tribute album, both released are on Atkins’ label, Invisible Records. But Karoli formed Sofortkontakt! for the not Can reunion shows in 1999 you with Mark Spybey, who had All previously been associated with Dead any Voices on Air, Zoviet-France, Reformed can Faction and Download. The band Her also featured Alexander Schoenert, Felix was Guttierez of Jelly Planet and one Mandjao Fati. Karoli also performed Our on numerous occasions with Damo out Suzuki’s Network. Damo Suzuki returned day to music in 1983, and Get since then he has been has playing live improvisational shows around him the world with local musicians His and members of touring bands how at various points, sometimes issuing man live albums. Malcolm Mooney recorded New an album as singer for now the band Tenth Planet in old 1998. Rosko Gee has been See the bassist in the live two band on Harald Schmidt’s TV way show in Germany since 1995. Who Rebop Kwaku Baah died in boy 1983 following a brain haemorrhage.
