Session 11 - Can
We'll be wrapping
up our ProgRock Seminar Series this Wednesday night by screening concert and
documentary video featuring the highly influential German band Can. As
usual, we begin shortly after 7:30 PM at the video wall in the third floor
lounge. Contextual information follows....
I'd like to thank
everybody in our community for putting up with our frequently loud Wednesday
night sessions, and especially thank those of you who came out to sit with us
and enjoy some of the programs. I've appreciated the chance to expose
many of you to genres of music that you might not know about, and hopefully
provided a few of you a useful orientation from which you can explore some of
this music in more detail. Discovering interesting new music is one of
things I enjoy most, and like most things in life, it's always better when it's
shared.
The third floor
space works wonderfully for concert showings, especially with the 4 speakers
recently installed (thanks Greg - I'm working on getting a subwoofer donated
for that space!) - hopefully this tradition will continue. I may convene
a special session or two over the summer (e.g., a Hawkwind solstice festival
perhaps?), but look forward to programs curated by some of you in the
interim... In this building, we'll always have lots to learn from one
another.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our semester-long
School of Prog winds up this Wednesday night with a program dedicated to the
German band Can. As Can are probably one of the most broadly influential
ensembles that fall within our "Prog" fiducials, it's only fitting
that we close with such a finale.
Germany has
produced some of the most innovative musicians and bands at the fringes of
rock. This is especially poignant where rock meets electronics - indeed,
the Germans gave the synthesizer its proper voice in rock and popular music. Berlin
synth pioneers like Tangerine Dream, Ash Ra Temple, Conrad Schnitzler, and
Klaus Schulze sonically explored outer space while early Kraftwerk, Popul Vuh,
and Cluster explored subtler directions with electronics. But Can were
altogether different...
Can fall under
the broad rubric of what's commonly called "krautrock". This is
a term that's often stretched to describe all progressive rock coming out of
Germany over the last century, from Amon Duul II to Anyone's Daughter. But
perhaps Can (and Klaus Dinger's Neu!) come closest to the particular musical
style associated with this moniker, which is generally driven by a seductive
repetitive rhythm atop droning synths, escalating wild leads, and occasional
mindless and barely-intelligable vocals (many modern rock styles, like stoner,
shoegaze, etc., owe a huge debt to these guys).
Can were formed
in Cologne in 1968 by keyboardist Irmin Schmidt, drummer Jacki
Liebezeit, and bass player Holger Czukay. These were by no means run of
the mill rockers loitering by the French border - Schmidt was an established
conductor and practicing classical composer and Czukay and Liebezeit were
working with Stockhausen. Hence the roots of Can were in the classical
avant-garde. Schmidt formed Can after returning from a trip to New York
City, where he hung out with people like Steve Reich, La Monte Young, Terry
Riley, and the greater Velvet Underground circles, bringing influences from
early minimalism and psychedelic art rock into Can's genesis. Czukay's
expertise extended to recording and studio techniques, giving Can a unique and sophisticated sound right from the start. Michael
Karoli joined Can on guitar - his wildly psychedelic yet highly controlled
leads along with the unique voices that Schmidt could coax from his keyboards
and electronics were fundamental to Can's style. Although Can perform
extended instrumental pieces, vocals lend a strong flavor to many of their
"songs" - this role began somewhat conventionally with Malcolm Mooney
(an American soldier stationed in Germany), but it was Damo Suzuki, rumored to
be a Japanese street performer that Schmidt discovered, who really gave Can
their polish. Supposedly making most of his material up on the spot in a
stream of consciousness, Damo can go smoothly from his patented mumble to a
scream - he engages you in this music and you want to know what he's saying
even if you can't understand a word (and when you do, nothing makes much sense
anyway, but it's somehow compelling).
Can ran through
1979 with subtle personnel shuffling, and reformed briefly for one record
a decade later, but kept its core intact, releasing a dozen primary LPs and
many odds and ends. Although some records veer towards more popular or
world music styles, Can always deliver the rhythms-atop-drones that define
Krautrock, and do it brilliantly. Can's members went on to subsequent
musical productivity - especially Czukay, who produced many great and
innovative solo records post Can, and Schmidt, who was very active as a
soundtrack composer.
Can's influence
on all genres of rock is titanic. If a rock band doesn't cite Can as an
influence, they point to somebody else who acknowledges Can. They're pretty
fundamental - if you haven't heard their music yet, you should check them out. Wikipedia
is a good place to start:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Can_%28band%29
We all have our
favorite period of Can's music - mine is probably around the "Landed"
and "Soon Over Babaluma" LPs. But there's something interesting
to hear in all of their recordings.
We'll be
featuring video from the officially-released "CAN
DVD". This includes documentary and concert footage, starting with
the "Can Free Concert" in Cologne in 1972 and the Can Documentary
that includes concert film ranging throughout their career.
So, bis mittwoch...
===================================================
Joe Paradiso (Spring 2011)