Holger Czukay

Holger Czukay, former CAN bassist, sonic visionary and avant-garde master, leaves behind an inspiring legacy full of experimental soundscapes that continues to shape the music world.

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Intro

Czukay's multifaceted nature and his spontaneous, situational approach, which earned him much admiration, for example in his much-acclaimed collaborations with Can colleague Jaki Liebezeit, Jah Wobble and The Edge (Full Circle 1982, Snake Charmer 1983), showed the likeable musician as the linchpin of some of the most groundbreaking records in the history of music in the late 20th century – and not just in Germany. Eurythmics, Brian Eno, Conny Plank, Phew, David Sylvian, SYPH – the list of collaborations is long, and the list of those he inspired with his art would be even longer. Damon Albarn, for example, met Czukay and through him found his idea for the Gorillaz. But that is just one of countless anecdotes from an eventful life.

What was interesting about Czukay's work was the imagery that his acoustic work always brought with it. In 1979, shortly after the dissolution of Can, with whom he had released twelve studio albums as a founding member, »Movies« was released, his second solo album after »Canaxis 5« (which he had secretly recorded with Rolf Dammers in Cologne's Stockhausen Studio in 1969 at the beginning of his musical career). In »Movies« he was more concrete than ever: his method of integrating supposed sound accidents into his pieces based on the recording situation, for example by using radio waves found by chance, created musical chains of association that brought the erratic visuals of post-modernism to sound in a way that was otherwise only known from experimental cinema. »Movies« was also a consequence of the affinity for film music that had accompanied Can's history since the »Soundtracks« compilation (1970). This is where Holger’s status as a grand master of analog editing technology became apparent.

Holger Czukay died on September 5, 2017, just a few weeks after the death of his partner Ursa Major. Until the end, he lived surrounded by his instruments in the old cinema in Weilerswist near Cologne, where so much music history was written.

(Hendrik Otremba)

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