From: ad520@freenet.buffalo.edu (Daniel M. Dumych) Date: Thu, 9 Sep 93 16:21:26 EDT Holger Czukay Possibly the only thing more complex and mystifying than Holger Czukay's music is Holger Czukay himself. Here is a man who studied at a scientific school as a pupil of Gerhard Mercator (who also had rocket scientist Werner von Braun as a student), later studied music theory for five years under Karlheinz Stockhausen, and then took up playing an electric bass pin-cushioned with acupuncture needles! Czukay joined the legendary German rock band Can in June, 1968, and became their sound engineer and bassist. He developed a playing style which was minimal and percussive. In the autumn of 1976, Rosko Gee replaced Holger as Can's bass player, leaving him free to add the short-wave radio, telephone, and tape recorders to the group's sound. Can slowly drifted off into a new musical direction with Rosko Gee. Holger later recalled, "I saw where Can was headed and I couldn't see how I could go along with them." In June, 1977, Holger left the group, switched on his tape recorder, and got to work. ------------------------------------------------- Canaxis (Holger Czukay and Rolf Dammers) Music Factory SRS 002 (1968), re-issued by Spoon Records SPOON 015 (1981) personnel: Holger Czukay - bass, tapes, editing, engineering Rolf Dammers - co-producer, general support featuring two unknown traditional singers from Vietnam on "Boat-Woman-Song" Recorded at Inner Space, Cologne 1968 tracks: Boat-Woman-Song 17:28 Canaxis 20:15 Canaxis is, essentially, a "serious" avant-garde musical album. The album is largely "found" material, both orchestral and ethnic. Holger uses a good amount of tape loops, and seems to use his bass to unify each piece. One would think that, given that found materials are used, there would be a lot of discordant, jarring sounds and rhythms, but it actually flows along quite well. "Boat-Woman-Song" is so eerie that it borders on the frightening. Part of it may be that we Americans have a latent sense of guilt when we here a Vietnamese woman singing in what is to my ears a very sorrowful song. Given that this was composed during the height of the VietNam war, this could have indeed been Holger's very intention. The second piece, "Canaxis", uses more tape manipulation, via splicing, looping, tape reversal, and speed alterations, than "Boat-Woman Song". Its music seems to be constructed in blocks of sound which are then assembled into a linear sequence. ------------------------------------------------- Movies Electrola 1C 064-45-754 (LP - Germany), EMI EMC 3319 (LP - UK), Trio AW 25007 (LP - Japan), Electrola 1C 538 7 94806 2 (CD- Germany) personnel: Holger Czukay (words, vocals, guitar, keyboards and synthesizer, short waves, bass), Jaki Liebzeit (drums, congas), Michael Karoli (guitar on "Oh Lord Give Us More Money"), Irmin Schmidt (grand piano on "Oh Lord Give Us More Money"), Reebop Kwaku Baah (chicken organ on "Cool In the Pool") Composed, recorded, mixed, edited and produced by Holger Czukay, advised by Conny Plank; recorded at Inner Space Studio (1975 - 1979), mixed at Conny's Studio tracks: Cool In The Pool (4:48) Oh Lord Give Us More Money (13:18) Persian Love (6:20) Hollywood Symphony (15:14) With "Movies", Holger hits the big time. He leaves the strait- jacket that Can has imposed upon itself with the addition of Rosko Gee, turns on his shortwave radio, sets his tape splicer on the table in front of him, and gets to work. "Movies" is the mass media pop culture of the 1970s thrown into a blender, whipped viciously, and then poured neatly onto magnetic recording tape. Holger proves himself a master chef with this recording. ------------------------------------------------- On the Way to the Peak of Normal Electrola 1C 064-46 400 (LP - Germany), EMI EMC 3394 (LP-UK), Trio AW 25013 (LP-Japan), Electrola 1C 538 7 94805 2 (CD-Germany) personnel: Holger Czukay (vocals, guitar, organ, vocoder, bass, French Horn, flute, radio, mouthorgan, congas, and drums), Jaki Liebzeit (drums), Jah Wobble (bass on "Hiss 'N' Listen"), Conny Plank (cemetery synthesizer violin on "Witches Multiplication Table"); S.Y.P.H. (Uwe Jahnke, Ulli Putsch, Jurgen Wolter, and Harry Rag) play on "On the Way to the Peak of Normal" Recorded at Inner Space Studios (1976-1981), mixed at Conny's Studio, edited at Czukay's Laboratory, and produced by Holger tracks: Ode to Perfume On the Way to the Peak of Normal Witches' Multiplication Table Two Bass Shuffle Hiss 'N' Listen This recording by Holger is not as rich in found sounds as "Movies". Rather, the album finds him experimenting with the sounds of instruments and the effect of edits. As he writes in the liner notes of the initial LP release: "Recording tape has been widely used with the emphasis on achieving maximum high fidelity. However, its special character lies more in the artificial possibilities it offers. Just as film footage is invariably modified or adapted in some way before it reaches the screen, so the tapes of this album were extensively treated, a process involving thousands of edits and much enriched copying. Both the uniqueness of any studio (its `sound', precise dimensions, etc.) and the development of such electronic components as recording machines and sound systems mean that a musician can organize his work in specifically individual way. Just as a painter works with his brushes and colours, so the music here is `painted' onto the tapes - rather than merely `produced' in the old sense of the term." ------------------------------------------------- Der Osten Ist Rot Virgin Records, Ltd., V 2307 (LP - UK), 1984 personnel: Holger Czukay (dictaphone, vocals, guitar, bass, organ, french horn), Jaki Liebzeit (drums, harmonium, trumpet, piano, organ), Conny Plank (emu/synth), Michy (vocals, organ), Gandhi (telephone, news) Recorded by Rene Tinner and Holger Czukay at the Can Studio. Mixed and processed by Holger in his laboratory. tracks: The Photo Song (3:40) Bankel Rap '82 (5:27) Michy (3:41) Rhonrad (1:36) Collage (3:27) Esperanto Socialiste (1:38) Der Osten ist Rot (5:55) Das Massenmedium (3:52) Schaue vertrauensvoll in die Zukunft (2:23) Traum mal wieder (7:26) This album finds Holger striking out new boundaries for his compostions. Especially memorable here are "The Photo Song" (this could actually make it as a pop song!), "Der Osten ist Rot" ("The East is Red"), which uses portions of the Chinese national anthem (and improves upon it), and "Traum mal wieder" ("Dream a little again"), which sounds like a downfeed from a radio telescope aimed at a dimension inhabited by radio waves. ------------------------------------------------- Rome Remains Rome Virgin Records, Ltd., V 2408 (LP - UK), TCV 2408 (chrome cassette), 1987 personnel: Holger Czukay (guitar, organ, abs-bass, french horn, vocals, synth, radio), Jaki Liebzeit (drums, trumpet, piano, perc.), Michael Karoli (guitar), Sheldon (Kelly) Ancel (vocals), Jah Wobble (vocals, bass), Olli Marland (guitar, piano) Produced and processed by Holger in his studio fur entarte musik; recorded by Rene Tinner and Holger at Can Studio. tracks: Hey Baba Rebop (3:49) Blessed Easter (8:52) Sudetenland (7:21) Hit Hit Flop Flop (3:34) Perfect World (11:29) Music in the Air (5:14) Here, we find Holger using found sound sources with a vengeance, incorporating them into fairly straightforward (for Holger, at least) song structures. On "Sudetenland" we hear the haunting voices of the Bulgarian Women's Folk Choir, "Blessed Easter" features guest vocals by "Popestar" John Paul II and "his Swinging Nuns" (a truly blessed treat!), and miscellaneous shortwave radio broadcast extracts are found throughout, floating within the music like clouds. "Music in the Air" is a delicately beautiful piece, sounding as though it holds a mysterious, melancholy secret. ------------------------------------------------- Radio Wave Surfer Virgin Records, Ltd., CDV 2651 (CD - UK), 1991 personnel: Holger Czukay (radio, dictaphone, organ, french horn, dubbed bass (1 - 7), Sheldon Ancel (vocals, megaphone), Michael Karoli (guitar), Jaki Liebzeit (drums) Tracks 1 - 7 recorded live, Can Studio, January 21-22, 1987. Tracks 8 - 13 recorded in concert, Martin Gropius Bau, Berlin, December 2, 1984. Recorded with only one stereo mike, no mixes necessary; all pieces carefully edited; music played in teamwork, spontaneously tracks: Rhine Water (1:06) It Ain't No Crime (4:26) I Get Weird Dreams (3:36) Saturday Night Movie (2:36) Dr. Oblivion (0:49) We Can Fight All Night (1:22) Get It Sweet (2:10) Ride a Radio Wave (5:36) Atmosphere Tuning (3:11) Voice of Bulgaria (1:39) Late Night Radio (3:40) Through the Freezing Snow (1:34) Encore (2:15) This album is essentially a live album, half being recorded "live" in a studio, half being recorded in concert. All of the pieces are improvisational in nature, especially those played for the live audience. Ancel has some clever lyrics and chit-chat here, and Holger finally realizes his dream of using a shortwave radio as an instrument before a concert audience. It makes for good listening, but has an unpolished sound in comparison with Holger's other recordings. Holger's liner notes make it plan that this was his very intention. ------------------------------------------------- Moving Pictures Mute Records, Ltd., CDSTUMM 125 (UK Release, not available in US), 1993. personnel: Holger (vocals on 3 and 6, bass, double bass, radio, piano, synth, guitar, french horn, recording, mixing, and postproduction), Romie Singh (vocals on 2 and 6), U-She (vocals on 1 and 4), Sheldon Ancel (vocals on 2, 4 and 6), Jah Wobble (bass on 2), Jaki Liebzeit (drums on 6), Michael Karoli (guitar on 6), Helmut Zerlett (synth on 6), Rene Tinner (arp on 5), All tracks were recorded, mixed and edited in Holger Czukay's lab on Akai DD 1000. Tracks no. 2 and 6 were recorded by Rene Tinner at Can Studio, Weilerswist. Mixed and produced by Holger Czukay tracks: Longing for Daydreams (5:20) All Night Long (4:57) Radio in an Hourglass (5:55) Dark Moon (4:46) Floatspace (3:14) Rhythms of a Secret Life (20:15) "Moving Pictures" IS different than his other recent work, and yet it is still vintage Holger. It is often more mood than music (maybe this is representative of Eno's idea of being on the "edge" of music). There is a reflective, meditative feel to the pieces here. Each piece seems to have a life of its own, and if it is difficult to understand, it is only because it is an "alien" life)form, an offspring of Holger's mental synapses. This sounds much like a collaboration between Holger and his machines. If electricity and magnetism could sing, it would sound like this. This music is the electrical interplay between the lobes of Holger's brain.