Can: "Live In Arles 1975" drops September 25

On September 25 Live Arles 1975, the seventh installment of the official series of CAN live bootleg recordings, will be released on via Spoon Records (2LP, CD, digital) and distributed via Mute. A long time fan favourite will now be part of the official discography.

Widely regarded as one of their finest performances, even by the band members themselves, this concert took place at the Roman Théâtre Antique in Arles. The lineup consisted of the core four members: Schmidt, Michael Karoli, Jaki Liebezeit and Holger Czukay. The band played as part of a festival that included other artists such as Nico and Kevin Ayers.

Can: "Live In Keele 1977" drops November 22

On November 22 the sixth installment of the official series of CAN live bootleg recordings Live In Keele 1977 will be released on via Spoon Records (2LP, CD, digital) and distributed via Mute. It captures the band in transistion, with Rosko Gee as the new guy on bass. The German inventors were keen improvisers and during concerts by the Krautrock ensemble anything could happen.

This album is a dynamic document of late-period CAN. Recorded in March 1977, the core line up of Irmin Schmidt, Jaki Liebezeit, Michael Karoli, and Holger Czukay is augmented by the addition of Rosko Gee (Traffic) on bass. Gee’s recent addition to the line-up meant that Holger Czukay was freed up from bass duties to perform “waveform radio and spec. sounds”, manifesting here as otherworldly sounds, samples and what one reviewer of a later show described as “moontalk to a white continental telephone.”

Steven Wilson & Tim Bowness: The Album Years 1972 Part #3

English musicians and music geeks extraordinaire Steven Wilson and Tim Bowness have posted a new episode of their podcast The Album Years. They talk about 1972, discussing albums by Tangerine Dream, Can, Fairport Convention, Nick Drake, and a whole lot more. This is part #3 about this year. The pair can be watched on YouTube as well.

Can: "Live In Aston 1977" drops May 31

On May 31 the fifth installment of the official series of CAN live bootleg recordings Live In Aston 1977 will be released on via Spoon Records (LP, 2CD, digital) and distributed via Mute. It captures the band in transistion, with Rosko Gee as the new guy on bass. The German inventors were keen improvisers and during concerts by the Krautrock ensemble anything could happen.

Live in Aston 1977 is a whole new lens through which we can view a unique band with seemingly inexhaustible energy for live performance. It comes at a difficult period for Can; their recently released eighth studio album, Saw Delight, had been badly received and although posterity has been kinder, the reviews on release were savage. It might be expected that the live performances from this time would reflect some of the criticisms of the album, that they were slowing down, perhaps even feeling a little jaded, but it cements the notion that Can live, at any period, was mercurial.

Malcolm "Desse" Mooney: poem for Damo Suzuki

photo: Gerald Jenkins

From one Can vocalist to another: Malcolm "Desse" Mooney has posted a poem for Damo Suzuki on Can's Instagram:

Days have gone by
CAN this be
A member has to say farewell
But joins other "BROTHERS in the SKY'
NO need to cry,
They have left music so you can understand the bye and bye the journey
where your ears take over
and you start to fly
to hear the overtones the rhythms the decisions made
to create a trance
to dance
and shake your head wondering when the trance would release you and in which world
would you land.
So, Damo, Rest in Power

Malcolm "Desse" Mooney (c) 2024

Damo Suzuki: 1950-2024

Former Can singer Damo Suzuki succumbed to colon cancer yesterday. He was 74. He never trained as a vocalist and made things up on the spot, a master improviser who sounded like nobody else. After leaving Can, he gave up music for a decade, before returing as a performer. He started Damo Suzuki's Network, with himself as the sole constant member, playing for audiences who could appreciate his "without-a-net" approach.

Can: "Live In Paris 1973" drops February 23rd

On February 23rd the fourth installment of the official series of CAN live bootleg recordings Live In Paris 1973 will be released on via Spoon Records (2LP, 2CD, digital) and distributed via Mute. It captures the band @ L'Olympia on May 12, 1973. The German inventors were keen improvisers and during concerts by the Krautrock ensemble anything could happen.

Cover Me: One More Night

Watch Stephen Malkmus and German band Von Spar perform Can's One More Night at the 40th anniversary party for the Ege Bamyasi album @ Week-end Fest - Alte Kranhalle in Cologne, Germany - December 2nd, 2012. He played the full album, which got a limited release on vinyl in 2013.

» stephenmalkmus.com
» vonspar.net

Can: "Live in Cuxhaven 1976" drops October 14th

On October 14th the third installment of the official series of CAN live bootleg recordings "Live in Cuxhaven 1976 will be released on via Spoon Records (blue vinyl, CD, digital) and distributed via Mute. The German inventors were keen improvisers and during concerts by the Krautrock ensemble anything could happen.

Krautrock Posters exhibition in Berlin

The Bröhan-Museum in Berlin has an exhibition of Krautrock Posters, promoting shows by bands like Can and Kraftwerk:

Under the term “Krautrock” the music of the West German subculture of the 1970s rose to international popularity. In the exhibition at the Bröhan-Museum, around 80 concert posters stemming from a private collection paint a vivid picture of the music scene of this turbulent decade.

“Krauts” was a common swearword for Germans during World War II. By the beginning of the 1970s, the record industry used “Krautrock” as a catchword for its advertising campaigns. The events of 1968 had also helped German music to take off in a new direction – everything was called into question, everything was to become new and different. Musicians and bands refused to accept standardized ways of living. The dissociation from established forms and a joyful kind of self-realization led to anarchic sound experiments. Some bands would look for direct confrontation with the political system.

Colin Robinson: Mixcloud of his first "Answers On A Postcard" show on Otto Radio

English avant-garde musician Colin Robinson (Jumble Hole Clough, Churn Milk Joan, Big Block 454) broadcasted the first episode of his monthly Answers on a Postcard show on Otto Radio on February 6th. Missed it? It is now on Mixcloud.

Set aside for an hour of music by Eno, Zappa, Can, Captain Beefheart, Funkadelic, Richard and Linda Thompson, King Crimson, a chat about improvisation with Simon Partridge from Cold Bath Street and much, much more.

Can: "Live in Brighton 1975" drops December 3rd

On December 3rd the second installment of the official series of CAN live bootleg recordings Live in Brighton 1975 will be released as 3LP and 2CD via Spoon Records and distributed via Mute. The German inventors were keen improvisers and during concerts by the Krautrock ensemble anything could happen. Brighton 75 Drei features a rare vocal by the band's guitarist Michael Karoli. The remasters are overseen the band's keyboard player Irmin Schmidt and producer and engineer Rene Tinner. Sleeve notes by journalist Kriss Needs and biographer Rob Young, co-author of All Gates Open: The Story of Can.

Irmin Schmidt: interview in The Spectator

Irmin Schmidt is interviewed in The Spectator about the new Can live series. On how they got started as a band:

We didn’t even intend to become a rock group,’ says Schmidt. ‘I wanted a few musicians around me who came from totally different traditions of contemporary music. I came from the European classical music tradition, but there was another tradition that created jazz and rock, which basically has its roots in America and Africa. I wanted to bring these contemporary traditions together using people rooted deeply in other forms. Jaki started playing in a Dixieland band and ended up with free jazz. Michael was really a Beat guitarist. To bring together a melting of these traditions, you cannot plan it! You had to just spontaneously create something with those musicians. That is how the group was formed.

Irmin Schmidt: interview in the New York Times

Irmin Schmidt is interviewed in The New York Times about the new Can live series. Thanks to English fan Andrew Hall, who stuffed the recording gear down his huge pants, the German Krautrock pioneers were preserved in full improvisational flight. Schmidt explains their modus operandi:

When we went onstage, we didn’t even know beforehand what we would play. We just reacted to the atmosphere, to the acoustics, to the public, to the whole environment spontaneously, and started playing something, which we had never played befor. We didn’t talk to each other onstage at all. Everything we had to say to each other, we did with our instruments.

Can: live series kicks off with "Live in Stuttgart 1975"

There a lot of Can live bootlegs floating around and there has been chatter for an official series of live recordings for years. The long wait is (almost) over. On May 28th Live in Stuttgart 1975 will be released as 3LP and 2CD via Spoon Records and distributed via Mute. The German inventors were keen improvisers and during concerts by the Krautrock ensemble anything could happen. The remasters are overseen the band's keyboard player Irmin Schmidt and producer and engineer Rene Tinner.

Can: Mixed Media aus Soest 1970

In the winter of 1970 a show by German avant-garde pioneers Can was taped by the WDR for their Mixed Media aus Soest program. Many classic shows have been released under the Rockpalast banner, but an official release of this performance by the genre-defining (and defying) Krautrock band never happened. Collectors might try to track down the bootleg DVD or the Live Broadcasts 1970-1974 bootleg 2CD.

Cover Me: Yoo Doo Right

Listen to German neo-psychedelic band Karmic Society tackle the Can classic Yoo Doo Right. It lacks the freakish vocal delivery of the original and it''s far more bluesy in a space jam kind of way, but very enjoyable nevertheless. It can be found on their sole album Journey, released in 2007.

Romantic Warriors IV – Krautrock (Part 1) crowdfunding campaign

Film makers Adele Schmidt and José Zegarra Holder have launched a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo.com to cover the costs of putting the finishing touches on their Romantic Warriors IV – Krautrock (Part 1) documentary. They have set a $20,000 flexible goal:

Developed in Germany in the late 60s and early 70s, and largely divorced from the traditional rock influences of British and American bands, the so-called Krautrock genre contributed to the evolution of electronic music, techno and hip hop, ambient music, minimalism and avant-garde.

Holger Czukay: 1938- 2017

Holger Czukay, co-founder and inventive bassist with German avant-garde rock band Can, has died aged 79. From The Guardian:

He was found by a neighbour at his apartment, converted from Can’s old studio in Weilerswist near Cologne. The cause of death is currently unknown.

Can: "Vitamin C" video

Watch the new Can video for Vitamin C, a track from their new compilation album The Singles. The Maschinenmensch Fritz Lang's masterpiece Metropolis has come to life, connecting two greats of the German avant-garde. The video was made by Josh Graham (Suspended In Light).

» Can on Wikipedia