Can and its former members
Printed From: Progarchives.com
Category: Progressive Music Lounges
Forum Name: Prog Bands, Artists and Genres Appreciation
Forum Description: Discuss specific prog bands and their members or a specific sub-genre
URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=105990
Printed Date: March 10 2025 at 20:28
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 11.01 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Can and its former members
Posted By: Lewian
Subject: Can and its former members
Date Posted: February 28 2016 at 10:24
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Probably there is a Can appreciation thread buried somewhere but while Can is pretty well acknowledged by many (haters and lovers are about 50/50 on progarchives, I guess), the later work of the former Can members seems to be strongly underrated and underrepresented in the archives. I suggested Irmin Schmidt for "new addidtions" some time ago, he's not even covered. I don't know what to expect from that thread in terms of whether or when somebody looks the many suggestions up, I know there are many, but I find it hard to believe that his solo work is not included; I wonder whether he is the heaviest prog heavyweight who is not on progarchives. He has more than 10 albums (about half of which are soundtracks) with an amazing range of styles, and he remains an innovative composer and musician pretty much up to this day (he hasn't published new music for some time but at the age of 77 I wouldn't expect new releases popping up at a too fast pace). I'm currently listening to Filmmusik (meaning Soundtracks) Anthology 4&5, much of which is very strong and fascinating, although it is put together from many soundtracks and therefore somewhat disjointed. Interestingly a rather marginal one-off project called Cyclopean featuring Schmidt and Liebezeit is on progarchives... better than nothing, I guess. Also yesterday, after writing in the "Music that makes you dream away"-thread, I did another one of my regular searches of what Holger is up to. I was a bit worried because he stopped updating his webpage in 2011 and I haven't heard much since. He seems to give the odd interview on old times, I saw a few from 2014/15, but does he do anything new? He's 77 as well, so I shouldn't necessarily expect more music, but... I found this! http://www.juno.co.uk/products/holger-czukay-eleven-years-innerspace-record-store/567095-01/ I have ordered this now and I'm very excited. Why Holger doesn't mention this on his webpage, I don't know. Also I haven't seen this mentioned in any interview. There's a short review somewhere on a seller's page but it looks like no marketing is taking place. Apparently it's remixes of older stuff, either by Can or by Holger himself, but these seem to be quite different from the originals and creative. Probably some of the material he played 2009 in London's Roundhouse, where he gave an incredible 3 h gig with much new material in there. It's not really clear how old the stuff on this 2015 release actually is, as Holger is notorious for re-releasing old things and digging things out from the vaults, but anyway, for me it's brand new. There also are fairly recent re-issues of Der Osten ist rot and Rome Remains Rome, apparently with some new remixes. Although remixing is what Holger does these days, I wonder whether I really should get this for the third time (I have old vinyl and a CD covering both). Has anyone heard these and does anyone know whether this can be classified as "new"/different from the originals enough to be had? In 2009 (and also in a short note that he wrote when I ordered something from his webpage) he mentioned that his wife and collaborator U-She was quite ill. I hope she is OK, but nothing I heard of him after 2009 involves her. OK, enough for now. |
Replies:
Posted By: Guldbamsen
Date Posted: February 28 2016 at 11:48
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Regarding Schmidt's solo work: have you tried contacting one of the PSIKE members? We have a huge back catalogue of bands that were suggested by a guy with ocd (who isn't here anymore), so chances are that your suggestion simply fell through the cracks. Either way, while there are many Can fans around on PA, you'd be hardpressed to find anyone talking about the individual band members' solo careers. I am a big fan myself (of all things Krautrock basically) but have yet to acquire anything from Schmidt. Worth mentioning in the Can canon is the proto version of the band (which incidentally was Irmin's baby as far as I know) called Inner Space. I bought one of the two albums released under this moniker named Kamasutra. A great piece of experimental psychedelia which should fit fine (somewhere) on PA. Proto or psych methinks. Btw it was me who got Cyclopean included! ------------- “The Guide says there is an art to flying or rather a knack. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.” - Douglas Adams |
Posted By: Catcher10
Date Posted: February 28 2016 at 20:15
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The Can rulez! -------------   
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Posted By: moshkito
Date Posted: February 29 2016 at 22:34
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Hi, Almost all of CAN, a whole bunch of Schmidt's stuff and quite a bit of Holger's. All of it very enjoyable, although Schmidt's stuff is very different to my ears. ------------- Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told! www.pedrosena.com |
Posted By: BaldJean
Date Posted: March 01 2016 at 02:32
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the Phantom Band co-founded by Can drummer Jski Liebezeit, should be added to the archives too, as well s Czukay's and Liebezeit's cooperation with Jah Wobble. by the way: if you take a ride on the subway of Cologne (the city Friede and I live in) you will find portraits of famous citizens of Cologne on the pillars of the stations, and among them a portrait of Czukay will pop up from time to time. he lives near Zülpicher Platz; Friede and I have often seen him shopping there -------------  A shot of me as High Priestess of Gaia during our fall festival. Ceterum censeo principiis obsta |
Posted By: Catcher10
Date Posted: March 01 2016 at 08:43
That's awesome!!! Do you see him buying Cans of food?  -------------
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BaldJean wrote:Posted By: Lewian
Date Posted: March 01 2016 at 11:31
Indeed. Now I'm curious. Any changes in shopping patterns recently? Anything suspicious?  |
Posted By: Lewian
Date Posted: March 01 2016 at 11:35
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Somehow I didn't get into the Phantomband; they were not "sharp" enough for me. I like some of Jaki's later work with Burnt Friedman though. Michael Karoli has one solo album, Deluge with Polly Eltes. When I got it, I didn't like it very much, but I heard some of it again more recently and it may be a grower. |
Posted By: hellogoodbye
Date Posted: March 01 2016 at 12:35
Wow ! The Czukay sounds fantastic  Didn't know it. Thanks ! Do you know this one ?
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxsnaamt6gI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuvuGS595KY |
Posted By: BaldJean
Date Posted: March 01 2016 at 15:30
it's not that we see him all the time. we just occasionally spot him when we are shopping in the center of Cologne. we know the house he lives in though; we once saw him entering it with shopping bags in his hands ------------- A shot of me as High Priestess of Gaia during our fall festival. Ceterum censeo principiis obsta |
Posted By: Lewian
Date Posted: March 01 2016 at 19:23
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Hello Goodbye, I haven't heard anything of Spoerri apart from his collaborations with Irmin Schmidt. Will give it a try, thanks! |
Posted By: brainstormer
Date Posted: March 01 2016 at 20:23
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I've never been much of a Can fan but I was researching members of the Finnish band Wigwam and a website was talking about Jehovah Witnesses in rock and the Can singer Damo Suzuki came up. I guess he was a Jehovah's Witness for a while and still comes in as being pro-Bible. It's funny as Can is the last band that I would figure would have a member like that. ------------- -- Robert Pearson Regenerative Music http://www.regenerativemusic.net Telical Books http://www.telicalbooks.com ParaMind Brainstorming Software http://www.paramind.net |
Posted By: Lewian
Date Posted: March 02 2016 at 07:29
I seem to remember that he abstained from music for 10 years after having left Can for religious reasons. His beliefs must have shifted somewhat so that he came back to music in the mid-80s. I tried to quickly research on Google what I was writing here about his break from music (I wasn't successful on the quick), and found this, posted by him on www.damosuzuki.com: "On February 9th, 2014 I’d first ever show in Israel. I performed with four members of Tree as sound carriers. Sound documentation of this show is now available. Track list : Now this is one exciting track list. |
Posted By: Lewian
Date Posted: March 06 2016 at 16:51
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Bruno Spoerri's Glueckskugel is big fun, by the way, thanks for the hint. I have "Voice of Taurus" but find it rather underwhelming, so I didn't expect much but Glueckskugel is wonderful. |
Posted By: hellogoodbye
Date Posted: March 07 2016 at 02:57
Taurus is relaxing music. Glueckskuge creates a tension. 
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Posted By: Lewian
Date Posted: July 24 2016 at 16:17
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Here's a link to a tweet by Brian Eno with a recent photo of Holger and a link to a forthcoming interview (last link in the tweet). https://twitter.com/dark_shark/status/747953599246827520 I last saw Holger in London's 2009 Roundhouse gig (as mentioned above already). At the time he seemed quite fresh, productive and eager to release lots of material that was either already in his drawer or that he wanted to do. But in the meantime hardly anything happened apart from a few re-releases and the "Eleven Years Innerspace" where it was not clear how old the material actually was and very little information was given. In 2012 he stopped updating his webpage. I've read the odd interview with him in the meantime but these were all exclusively about old times and anecdotes. It seems he has aged quite a bit and in the new interview is the question I was craving for, namely whether there's any new music from him to expect. His answer is ambiguous; he said "no" but then qualified it by saying "not at the moment but perhaps at some point in the future". So there's still hope. Well, he's 78 now and of course he deserves retirement if he wants it. Actually he is more than four years older than both Paul McCartney and Mick Jagger, let alone pretty much all pioneers of prog (quite a few of which have either retired or stopped creating anything of relevance, if still alive that is). Still, some classical, blues or jazz musicians were still at it at this age so let's see. There is nothing in the interview on "Eleven Years Innerspace" and even the discussion of Holger's solo work stops at about "On the Way to the Peak of Normal", which frankly annoys me about these interviews with him (not sure whether it's the fault of the interviewers or his own though). He has some monster quality later work, from "Traeum Mal Wieder" (I think if I'd have an award to hand out for the best thing ever recorded, I gave it to this track) over the great "Moving Pictures" and "Good Morning Story" and "Clash" to the highly original work on "Linear City" and with U-She, which all only attracted a pretty small handful of reviews and even ratings here (admittedly there are a few for me to do still). I'd love him to comment on these. Surely, if I saw him in the supermarket  , I'd tell him that I am a big fan, ask him for an interview and ask a few questions that weren't asked in any of the interviews I read. (Actually I once had a short exchange with Gyoegy Ligeti, another hero of mine - RIP -, when I met him accidentally on the street in Hamburg close to my parents' home.)U-She (Ursa) is mentioned in the interview and there's nothing that indicates that she isn't fine, which is good; I believe that dealing with her illness may have been a major factor in the drop in his productivity. Ah, this guy would be among the top artists for me even without any of the work with Can; he's a major inspiration and I really hope that he is fine for a long time and that we even eventually get some new music again. |
Posted By: King Only
Date Posted: August 04 2016 at 11:29
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I really enjoy the Secret Rhythms series which are collaborations between Jaki Liebezeit and Burnt Friedman. I think they have released five albums together so far. Some of the Can members also work with David Sylvian sometimes and the results are usually good.
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Posted By: Lewian
Date Posted: January 23 2017 at 09:04
RIP Jaki.  I'd have thought he'll live and drum forever. This he did 3 years ago, aged 75: |
Posted By: Tom Ozric
Date Posted: January 23 2017 at 22:12
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I love the 3 LP's I have of Phantom Band (or Phantomband, if you will). Jaki made the magic happen. He will always be up in my Top 10 of drummers, even the 'set in concrete' Top 5 of mine. The other 5 are interchangeable. Bless your amazing art, Jaki. |
Posted By: uduwudu
Date Posted: January 23 2017 at 22:34
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Just want to mention that You Tube is a good source of footage of Can in action. Nice Vernal Equniox and the later changes with Rosko Gee on bass, Holger Czukay on FX (even answering a phone...) |