Keyboard Karate with a Krautrock Genius - Noisey Meets Irmin Schmidt from CAN

[@harrywix]

"One organism together"...they sure were. That's what was so special about this band, it all came together in the moment, as if by magic. I was lucky enough to see them in '72.

[@davideveson1049]

Saw them live twice in 74....they were amazing...as you know!

[@harrywix]

@@davideveson1049 Saw them also in '77 with Rosco Gee on bass. Holger was by then sitting at the side twiddling knobs, which disappointed me. But a couple years later he created Movies :)

[@tjw_]

you can tell that guy is a good keyboardist because he hits so many black keys

[@dogconnoisseur]

nice i would agree that is an astute observation

[@Rondo2ooo]

Classically trained at a conservatory who was also an orchestral conductor. Stockhausen, his tutor, had him go into musique concrete experimenting.

[@hunteroakley260]

They should do a reunion with John Dwyer playing guitar

[@joaopedrorodriguesdeolivei5382]

Only Irmin and Damo from the classic line-up are alive :(

[@harrywix]

We've sadly lost Michael (2001), Holger and Jaki (both 2017)...

[@nuclearferrets]

@@joaopedrorodriguesdeolivei5382 and Malcom as far as I know.

[@sirhenners204]

the drummer from C.A.R. would be the perfect fit for that, as Damo has jammed with them recently. Not sure about who would be a good fit for bass as Holga is a very hard bass player to copy/imitate

[@jeffr.5717]

Irmin's just so damn cool. Well, the rest of the band too.

[@gregmaxwell5552]

I literally just found this band in 2020. What the hell am I doing with my life. I have failed up until now

[@silverapples75]

Welcome to the rest of your life!

[@billySquanto]

hey, at least you found them man

[@axelazaryan]

Welcome friend!!

[@bekindtogod]

😀

[@fibboobbif]

It took me 35 years to understand them. Until i realized that this has its own quality that is on top level. I still struggle to play like Jaki as an experienced fusion drummer.

[@juanpabloyavoski7470]

best band of all time?

[@M_B_J]

In the discussion

[@aidanmca4177]

They’re up there, I haven’t decided if they’re my no. 1 but they definitely could be

[@gerryh61]

Yes

[@bobsbigboy_]

Two bands: CAN & YES

[@lucianocosta1710]

probably yes

[@stilodrom]

I wish my father (also born in 1937) would have had a spark of this spirit ... ... at least when I was 7 years old in 1969 I took the serious decision to become a Hippie once being a grown up .. (this was in Milan when I met and spoke to some German Hippies hanging around on the walls of Castello Sforzesco on an excursion of my class - like other kids this age dream about becoming Formula1 Pilots, Doctors, Soccer Stars etc... ) ! I´m really happy to realize by reading the comments here how many English and also Italian people appreciate the quality of German bands like CAN. - realizing myself more&more how influential and important German musicians of those years were for Avantgarde , Experimental , Electronic , World Music even Pop and Rock Music ..... - : for musicians worldwide! Unfortunately this fact (a fact a Nation could even feel proud of) is not at all on the radar of most people here in Germany. For gods and godesses sake Herbert Grönemeyer honors and keeps the memory alive specially when it comes to Holger Czukay and Conny Plank - I wish he´d expand his universe on Groenland Records by reissuing (and partly remastering) all the good German stuff of those years (until even the 90s when it comes to Electronic Music people like Pete Namlock, Klaus Wiese etc ...all emerged and influenced by CAN! ) in order to spread the importance of so called "Krautrock" and establish this memory in the eternal universal music universe! :: AMEN !

[@InfiniteRhombus]

rip holger czukay

[@thetriumphofthethrill2457]

Nice of Noisey to interview him, he's one of the most compelling intellectuals of Rock. Good to see some Krautrock featured in the channel.

[@dennisbenzle7493]

Great tribute love these guys

[@soppdrake]

Saw them at a gig in London about the time of their appearance on ToGWT. Magic memory! 🥰

[@RancidTacoGas]

Jealous

[@prog_post_rock]

Not many bands acknowledge that when a member dies, they shouldn't continue. I have lots of respect for Irmin, as well as for Michael, a great guitarist, and the rest of the members.

[@PEGGLORE]

Irmin walked past me in the street after I saw The Can Project at The Barbican a few years ago. I met Michael Karoli's son there as well. He looked near identical to his dad. Good gig!

[@Pighood]

Thank you for being, Irmin

[@vinzclortho7766]

RIP Jaki. Micheal, Holger, i luv you1

[@prilljazzatlanta5070]

CAN is at the top of the modern music parabola. Everyone else is on various parts of the slope

[@LfunkeyA]

the vid is clearly showing Damo, i doubt they want to leave him out

[@caryheuchert]

Like Pink Floyd, one of rock’s most experimental and original sounding groups.

[@Karkawry1970]

But better...

[@qstreetac7795]

Strange comment

[@milesdufourny4813]

Pink Floyd couldn't get into a groove and still be experimental like these guys. Compared to Can, Pink Floyd are boring and predictable.

[@caryheuchert]

@@milesdufourny4813 Actually, Pink Floyd were an early influence on Can. “Saucerful of Secrets” was even compared to Stockhausen. Irmin Schmidt and Holger Czukay both studied under him.

[@TVLLER]

Noisey! We need to know where the audio at 0:34 is from.

[@adams115]

Its CAN'T without the original members

[@tomtrana3449]

When a metronome needs a metronome, it takes Jaki Liebezeit.

[@jamiebo100]

Under two minutes into the video I got hit with two adverts ...... KZbin totally taking the piss !

[@teufel333]

malcolm mooney came to cologne this summer. i think irmin wasn't there but malcolm sang some songs from "delay" with a band of local musician friends he asked to join, which was amazing!! of course no comparison to the Can itself but glad they brought out the songs from the 60s. so raw! and malcolm is such a charm!

[@stilodrom]

WoW!

[@universal8389]

Awesome!

[@lovea8231]

any idea what track is at 3:30? is this from essen live performance, would love to hear full track especially with irmins lovely synth intro

[@Granodeavena]

Dizzy Dizzy

[@dvdvideo10]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/nYDJiH6wgsyYl8U

[@erebousde]

Dizzy Dizzy in the 1977 live version

[@paolocaimmi2548]

Meravigliosa Band❤

[@nikolaosmosxakis3395]

very good.............................................................................................

[@Sebastianporeiro76]

In the year 2000 I sent a letter to Holger . then i met Damo in the year 2002 or 2003. I wish to meet Irmin or Malcolm before we will die.

[@ry.poopyman]

CAN the type of band that make you wait up 3am eat tabs drive to the desert and slap on some drums until the sun comes up

[@acemachine26]

Its funny that he mentions that there is no chance of a Can reunion when there actually is a Can reunion concert in April 2017 in London and I managed to get a ticket to the show.

[@renouncedequation3923]

acemachine26 This was published four years ago, that's why...

[@edwardfowler6663]

Jaki won't be there anymore :(, thurston moore is playing too i think

[@InfiniteRhombus]

not anymore unfortunately

[@thexamlop]

What did they play ? It was good ?

[@AlwaysSleepy13]

Damn fool what bad luck

[@michaelmanningly8984]

Yep , agree with Irmin , when Karoli left the planet , Can was done ! Only wish they,d been more industrious & recorded more in the 70,s when they were at their peak !

[@Lycanthropy54or]

I’ll do you’re entire archive for free, I’m not joking, please!!!!

[@temporoboto]

💙

[@Julian-gy3ql]

Whats the song after jakis drummin is praised?

[@dvdvideo10]

Where is that recording at 0:34 from?

[@nuclearferrets]

Audio or video?

[@dvdvideo10]

@@nuclearferrets The video is Paperhouse at Beatclub, no I mean the audio. I had never heard this before and I've pretty much listened to all albums and concert recordings that you can find online.

[@michaelmanningly8984]

Second comment ( opinion) from me . All you people who disparage Michael Karolis playing , name me ONE guitarist with Michaels wierd unearthly beautiful soloing capacity ? The ONLY one I can think of is Gilmore. To criticise him for his apparent lack of technical ability , which I cant frankly see, is to miss the point entirely. There are endless hundreds of shred artists who bore me shitless , only very few who can transmit sublime beauty even if it is nt high falutin exotic mode technicality . Listen to Ibis off Unlimited Edition & tell tell me the man couldnt play & I,ll just fart in all your collective pissily critical faces ! !

[@NOWtheband]

Can.

[@macodepremier]

rip damo

[@michaelmanningly8984]

Damn Suzuki gone too ? Only Mooney & Irmin left ? Human life span sucks a bit aye !

[@AnthonyMonaghan]

Irmin has the chops.

[@agustinriestra9594]

It's a shame that he has never valued what Malcolm and Damo have brought to the group. The latter was essential for their prime, and he was so mistreated... A shame not even today Irmin realizes this (or at least out loud)

[@lazer3548]

how was Damo mistreated I am a pretty new fan of Can

[@roamlikekane]

Not even an utterance of Damo Suzuki's role as singer-improvisor, must be some bad blood between them. Or, he must be speaking from just the original members timeline.

[@borispolonski]

There is no "bad blood" between Irmin and Damo.Damo got married, changed his religious beliefs and left the group out of personal reasons.I think this interview was cute down.I´m sure in the whole Interview Armin mentioned Damo for good, of course.

[@dvdvideo10]

I mean it'd be understandable, the four definitely were not fond of Damo leaving when the band was at its peak, success-wise and (arguably) musically as well. And Damo left very suddenly, out of the blue, as Jaki once said.

[@roamlikekane]

@@dvdvideo10 Still that doesn't render or justify them to completely delete his existence from the band. He was a significant part of their musical legacy inspite of his abrupt departure. Boo-hoo their feelings were hurt. Come on! Have some integrity ! At least it wasn't over money! Which is the typical wedge that pulls bands apart.

[@milesdufourny4813]

Irmin Schmidt and Damo Suzuki are the only members still with us.

[@melmel6253]

Malcolm and Rosko too

[@josejones7025]

I AM DAMO SUZUKI

[@Lycanthropy54or]

I will be cans archivist! I swear!

[@tb-cg6vd]

Sadly he's right; it's all just nostalgia now, there's simply no band operating with the same talent, freedom and groove in the 21st century.

[@mackereltacos2850]

Deerhoof :)

[@glauberdossantossousa1296]

check it out King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, dude they are freaking awesome and is the best band of this 21st century by far, with a strong CAN influence on their sound

[@tb-cg6vd]

@@glauberdossantossousa1296 I did a few years ago & they are lots of fun. Great videos as well!

[@jermyhopkisn9654]

Try black midi.

[@nuclearferrets]

I think, even though not that groovy, Beak> are doing a good job walking in their footsteps

[@Pighood]

IRMIN-RA

[@devinkhoury4490]

somebody make music with me :( i hate how i have 2 always look back to the past for good tunes. lets make some cool shit now

[@nicolasmrn]

where do you live bro?

[@devinkhoury4490]

@@nicolasmrn Oakland california but im in the boston area for school

[@nicolasmrn]

@@devinkhoury4490 I'm from Perú but I have an uncle living in Massachussets.

[@Schwertfisch13]

@@devinkhoury4490 ​ @devin khoury Im from Germany, let's jam ^^ soundcloud.com/user-317396784 keeping the spirit of freeform improvisation alive. ( All on my own tho, too :( ) Just hang in there. You'll find some mates when the time is right.

[@MotorikBit]

@@nicolasmrn Viva el Perú y Can, carajo

[@bmdola]

he sounds just like werner herzog

[@dondobbs9302]

Nice job on the microphone levels there,hipster music channel. (not.)

[@Nicozeno]

Precursors.

[@billytrack]

HI - JA?

[@10jhud]

I noticed this too, bit strange.

[@roamlikekane]

Oh, to the contraire, "they"... or rather HE did leave him out by not mentioning him at all in the interview. The vid clips are inconsequential, they're just filler scavenged by Vice-editors. What's telling is the interviewee's omission (the founder and chief honcho of CAN) where he mentions everyone else - except Damo. The question is..why?

[@periurban]

Irmin really cannot seriously be claiming that Michael was a leading musician in his field. He was Holger's student, and he really did obviously struggle at times. God rest his soul!

[@joaopedrorodriguesdeolivei5382]

So? He still played guitar in a specific way. Jimmy Page also struggled lmao

[@periurban]

@@joaopedrorodriguesdeolivei5382 Michael hardly made music outside Can, so he never became any kind of leading musician, unless I missed a few albums or something...

[@omoncon3941]

@@periurban Even if Karoli wasn't up to much after Can, it seems like all of the band singled Holger out as the one struggling. From Wikipedia's section on Can's waning years (the source is the 2018 book on the band): "During this period Czukay was pushed to the fringes of the group's activity due to disagreements about the band's creative direction and his failure as a bass guitarist to keep up with the growth of the other musicians. Bass guitar was something Czukay had "taken up almost by default" and he readily admitted his limitations on the instrument." Struggling or not, it seems like there was no Can without Holger. I also recall that he (Jaki and Michael said this too) attributed the band's decline to the rise of multi-track recording, which kinda killed the collaborative spirit behind the band.

[@periurban]

@@omoncon3941 Oh, you raise some very interesting issues here. Just so you know, I've read everything I've ever seen on Can, and I've met Irmin Schmidt, although I did not hassle him at any length about these issues. The boxed set "The Lost Tapes" really did reveal Karoli to be the weak link. His playing was often out of key, and his dexterity was limited. Those two things combined would rule him out of the "leading musician" category in my book. To expand on my previous point, he was very young when his charismatic guitar teacher (Holger) brought him into Can. Michael showed no great desire to be in the music business either before Can (he was too young) or after. He had nearly 20 years after the first demise of the band and produced only one album. However, we can agree to disagree if you like! One factor here is that Irmin clearly loved Michael dearly, in a brotherly kind of way, and does want to iconize him a bit. Holger's influence within the band was as a studio engineer/producer. Although Irmin now claims to have produced everything alongside Holger that cannot reasonably be the case. The entire sound of the band depended upon Holger's expert arrangement of the instruments in the physical space. The first 6 albums were recorded without any multitrack, and I think up to Ege Bamyasi with no mixing desk, relying only on microphones capturing the sound in a physical space (hence all the mattresses on the walls and ceiling!) With the introduction of mulititrack Holger's role was reduced. Indeed, for most of his solo career Holger continued to record on two track, bouncing between recorders to achieve the layered sound. The rest of the band may have wanted a more active bass player, but it seemed to me from what Holger said that it was more or less mutual. Yes, when the rest of the band embraced multitrack they effectively neutered their greatest asset. But that's hindsight for you! Interesting points!

[@omoncon3941]

@@periurban Oh wow, thanks so much for your insight! It's awesome that you've met Irmin. I don't think I'm in disagreement with you having read your comment--based on what you've said here it may really be the case that there were probably some disagreements betwern Irmin and Holger that seem like they're weighted far more towards Irmin's interpretation/perspective (lionizing Michael Karoli, maybe downplaying Holger's contributions and elevating his own?) considering how much more often he's spoken or written about the band in retrospect at least in recent years. I think my only remaining question is if Karoli was the weakest link, why was it Holger that stepped away from playing bass rather than Karoli stepping away and introducing different guitarists? I guess his other strengths you've mentioned made him gravitate towards other ways of contributing to the band, but this seemed a bit short-lived. Was it a case of Karoli "outgrowing" his mentor, at least with guitar playing (I feel there might be bits of the truth in this, insofar as Michael Karoli starting off in the band as the youngest and least experienced/technically skilled musician, but developing at a steady rate, maybe)? Or maybe band politics? I genuinely have no idea..

[@Rocksoff79]

The only similarity I can hear is their german accent, nothing else is similar.

[@JM-co6rf]

the most german thing ever

[@ben-c5t]

No, as like as Amon Düül, The Can sung in Pirate-language. And not Neubauten never, but Palais Schaumburg was the trve german Musical Masterminds. First they rolled in on Square wheels, but the next song was a cour de elegance. And vocals in Teutsch.

[@SteveGouldinSpain]

@Producelikeapro