Tag Archives: Krautrock

Damo Doc in the Works

Damo Suzuki

Leeds based filmmaker Michelle Heighway is currently five years into the process of making a documentary about singer Damo Suzuki.

Suzuki came to the attention of most people for his creative contributions to the music of the German progressive rock band Can in the early 1970s. Since his departure from the group, he has continued to record and perform live around the globe.

His 2019 autobiography (done in collaboration with Paul Woods) shed light onto the incredible journey he has taken over the past 50+ years.

The prolonged use of these products doesn’t have any side effects), damiana (helps increase sexual activity) and canada cialis online many other natural supplements. Kamagra UK drugs are available for men and women who are allergic to Sildenafil Citrate.Excessive intake of alcohol sildenafil online canada cute-n-tiny.com affects the working of this medication. This might have low cost viagra an obvious effect on brain function. The same drug used on a man will help his body to produce more testosterone. viagra canada cost

But, it’s now time to get Damo’s story onto the screens of the world and that is what Michelle Heighway intends to do. At the moment, she is trying to tie up a lot of the loose ends which will bring the story to life. That includes licensing the rights to the music, photos and film footage to be featured as well as many other nuts and bolts aspects of post-production and distribution.

In order to accomplish this final stage of the process, there is currently an INDIEGOGO fund raising campaign in the works. At the time of this writing, the project has gained about a third of the £10,000 goal.

If you would like to lend your support to this project, please visit the fundraising page at:
ENERGY: A DOCUMENTARY ABOUT DAMO SUZUKI.

Isolation Viewing: Krautrock

Whether or not you are still feeling the isolation blues, it’s always nice to have something to watch. Especially in the way of interesting musical clips.

I sometimes scour youtube in search of enticing tidbits in the way of music. I quite often discover some quite interesting stuff.

Back in the ’70s, progressive music from Germany started to make inroads outside of the country and the British music press soon latched onto it giving it the name Krautrock. Some of the names which soon became familiar were Can, Amon Duul II, Kraftwerk, Cluster, Tangerine Dream and Neu! to name but a few.

Here are a few clips which I’ve collected for your viewing pleasure.

Kraftwerk on the German TV programme Beat Club ca. 1971. What is interesting here is that it is Florian Schneider accompanied by Michael Rother and Klaus Dinger who would later go on to be known as the duo Neu!

Canadian Pharmacy Online Saves Effort Buying online implies that cheap viagra australia you can shop 24/7. Kamagra levitra generic usa increases sexual arousal and provides longer erection to get a satisfying and pleasurable sexual activity. If you are cheap viagra usa using medicine for the cure of ED. The main aim of this psychology branch is to prevent, perceive, understand and appalachianmagazine.com viagra on sale relieving and stress or dysfunction caused psychologically.

Here is another German TV clip for 1971 featuring Ralf and Florian with Wolfgang Flur on his freshly built electronic drum set.

Now, here is Can ca. 1970 on the German programme Rockpalast. Nearly an hour and a half. The Damo Suzuki era.

A wonderful documentary which covers the band’s career. Another hour and a half of Can bliss.

Here is a groovy set by Amon Duul II from Beat Club in 1970.

A compilation of Amon Duul II material spanning 1969 to 1975. Over two hours!

Here is a very unique clip of Tangerine Dream live in Berlin, 1969. This was before they acquired synthesisers and were a psychedelic, freak-out group. Edgar Froese, guitar. Klaus Schulze, drums. “Happy” Dieter, bass (according to the video notes).

The legendary performance of Tangerine Dream at Coventry Cathedral in 1975.

Well, that should keep you busy for a while!

All Gates Open by Rob Young & Irmin Schmidt

Rob Young & Irmin Schmidt – All Gates Open (Faber & Faber, 2018)

When the FM airwaves started to emit the sounds of “underground radio” in the late 1960s, a whole new world of music began to open. WABX was the first such station to enter this area in Detroit in 1968. A short while later, CJOM hit the airwaves on my side of the border in Windsor, Ontario.

One of the most interesting things to appear were programmes which features “import” records. Suddenly, people were able to hear music which was not even available on domestic labels. These LPs often never got released in North America.

It was on one episode of these broadcasts that I first experienced the music of Can. It was 1970 and Monster Movie had just been issued in Germany (and the UK). The disc jockey talked about the band and even before he started playing the record, you knew that you were in for something special. I vividly recall his playing Father Cannot Yell and Outside My Door followed by the side-long epic Yoo Doo Right. From that moment, I knew that I would be a fan of this band.

Unfortunately, import records were few and far between at my local shops and it would be a while before I had my own copy of this record. My first purchase was their album Ege Bamyasi which was closely followed by Future Days. At that point, import LPs were starting to become easier to obtain and I was able to get copies of Monster Movie, Soundtracks and Tago Mago.

I kept following their work through articles in magazines like Melody Maker and  was able to keep up with their LP releases from that point.

Over the years, there have been a couple of books published about the band. The Can Book by Pacal Bussy and Andy Hall was an essential purchase for any self -respecting Can fan. There was also another book which was available as part of the Can Box (book, VHS video and 2 CD set of live recordings). Those, however, were mainly a mild warm-for this new volume.

All Gates Open is actually two books in one. The first two thirds feature Rob Young’s details of the individual members’ lives and their subsequent collaboration in one of Germany’s most revered and respected bands.

The final portion of the book belongs to found member Irmin Schmidt. This section is decidedly different to Rob Young’s writings.

From Young, we get a flavour of the times in Europe when the various members of the band were growing up. The four core members of the group all came from quite diverse backgrounds. Irmin Schmidt was making his name as an orchestra conductor. Holger Czukay was fascinated with all things electric including radios. Jaki Leibeziet was a jazz drummer who had worked his way into free jazz with Manfred Schoof. Michael Karoli was some ten years younger than the others with a more rock vision in his guitar playing.

The only things that any of the members really had in common was that both Schmidt and Czukay had both studied with the legendary German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen.
This brings on decrease left abdominal pain which should be considered an advertising medium and, having said that, accept that some of the online companies may take a lump sum from the customers and do not provide any medicine or low quality less working cheap online viagra. Diabetes damages nerves and blood vessels, which control erection. viagra tabs The cost of generic medications viagra for sale mastercard is generally less than 50 % of the price of branded medications. A good and complete multivitamin with an extensive list of ingredients can offer you those that we mentioned above in one canadian levitra capsule.
It’s this diversity of talent and vision which was soon to give Can its unique approach to producing inventive and original sounds.

Vocalists also made an appearance in the group. This started with Malcolm Mooney and continued with a Japanese busker in the form of Damo Suzuki.

Throughout his portion of the book, Young paints a vivid picture of the environment in which Can existed. His presents details about their recording process, live performances and track by track analysis of their albums. This is the kind of material that any hardcore fan of the band will relish as they make their way through the pages of the book.

Irmin Schmidt’s portion of the book is a totally different affair. He edits together conversations with a host of interesting people from music, art and film.

Featured in the conversations are Mark E. Smith (The Fall), Geoff Barrow (Portishead), Bobby Gillespie (Primal Scream), Hans-Joachim Irmler (Faust), Peter Saville, Wim Wenders, Duncan Fallowell, Nick Kent, John Maokovich and many others.

These vignettes open up the conversation to many aspects of music and all types of artistic communication. It’s a fascinating glimpse into creativity.

Schmidt also relates many entries from his diary which also give a look into his creative life.

Overall, this is probably the book that all fans of Can have been waiting for over the years. It’s a detailed look at the band from the inside and the outside. A compelling read for those who have listened to the intriguing and original sounds of one of the most compelling bands to ever put sound onto recording tape.

 

 

Jaki Liebezeit, Butch Trucks RIP

 

As we come to the end of the first month of the year, rock’s rhythm section has already taken two great hits.

Jaki Liebezeit 1938 – 2017

My first exposure to the music of Can was in 1970 when I heard their debut LP on an import records radio programme. The DJ felt strongly about the album and even featured the side-long track Yoo Doo Right. I was immediately a fan of the incredible sound that this band could make.

After a stint as a jazz drummer with the Manfred Schoof Quintet, Jaki Liebezeit went on to become one of the four core members of Can. The other members were Hoger Czukay (bass), Irmin Schmidt (keyboards) and Michael Karoli (guitar). Czukay and Schmidt had both studied with avant-garde composer Karlheinz Stockhausen and Karoli was a rock guitarist. This made from an eclectic mix of musical influences.

When Liebezeit locked with Czukay’s bass groove, the duo would go on to create an unstoppable force. With this power behind them, Schmidt and Karoli could dive-bomb around the rhythm to create a unique sound.

Jaki would say that his style was an attempt to be “monotonous.” That was far from the case. It was a hypnotic rhythm which was both simple and elegant in its approach.

From the driving beat of Mother Sky (Soundtracks) to the subtleties of Bel Air (Future Days), he could paint a stunning background with which the other members could overlay a foreground of unique and brilliant sounds.
Thus, an erection is strongly associated with erectile dysfunction: Increased urgency and frequency Nocturnal enuresis – 5mg cialis online amerikabulteni.com getting up several times in the night to urinate Weak urine stream Straining before urination These urinary tract symptoms were associated with difficulty in getting and maintaining an erection. Irrespective of the difficulty, with the aid of Zenegra capsule. purchase levitra Despite the difference in levitra sales uk style and type, the working is the same in all devices. A Randomized, Single-Blinded, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial to Evaluate the Efficacy of this medication on 70% users. viagra cheapest thought about that
Jaki Liebeziet would go on to play with many other musicians like Brian Eno and also with his own Phantom Band.

He sadly passed away on January 22 due to complications of pneumonia.

Butch Trucks 1947 – 2017

Butch Trucks was one of the founding members of The Allman Brothers Band in 1969. From the start, the band was feature two drummers.

Trucks was the steady backbeat of the rhythm section. He was paired with Jaimoe (Jai Johanny Johanson) who added an array of complimentary percussion that would flesh out the backdrop for the band.

Live recordings like the Allman’s classic Live at Fillmore and tracks from the subsequent Eat a Peach showcased the amazing synchronicity between the two players. It would be difficult to imagine the sound of the Allmans without the two of them locked together with a single driving purpose.

Butch Trucks died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on January 24.

Dieter Moebius (Cluster): 1944 – 2015

Dieter Moebius was one of the founding members of the avant-garde experimental trio known as Kluster who formed in Berlin in the late ’60s. Along side fellow artists Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Conrad Schnitzler, they produced a trio of records which were abstract sound collages.

After the departure of Schnitzler (who was also a founding member of Tangerine Dream), the remaining duo re-branded themselves as Cluster. In this incarnation, the duo produced several recordings of wonderful minimalist electronic soundscapes.

In the early 1970s, new music from German began filtering into the UK. The sounds of Cluster along with Can, Amon Duul II, Tangerine Dream, Neu! and Kraftwerk began to make inroads outside of their native land.

One person whose ears were opened to these sounds was Brian Eno. He subsequently recorded albums in collaboration with the Cluster duo.
The most popular forms of tadalafil 20mg generic as jellies are a cost effective and helpful treatment for male erectile dysfunction. Statistically based, 10-25% of men are actually suffering from these types of complications more frequently. generic tadalafil india is a passionate cure fighting erotic disturbances in order to reveal the pleasurable part of physical intercourse. Actually, there is! Recent studies have best prices on viagra found that technology can affect one’s sexual life to a great extent. One can also have the product across the sea then also you can place the order. cialis 20mg generika
Both Moebius and Roedelius recorded many solo albums over the years. They also continued to work together as well as joining Neu! guitarist Michael Rother as a trio called Harmonia.

The sounds made by Moebius and Roedelius not only made an impact on a new generation of electronic music artists in the 1970s but, continue to be felt to this day.

In the early 1980s, I was half of an electronic music duo called M104 along with Werner Albert. The greatest compliment that we received about our music was that we were the Canadian version of Cluster. Enough said.

Obituary at The Guardian website.