Holger Czukay - "Movies" Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, 1982/1979 (EMI)

My first introduction to the world of Can is Holger Czukay's first solo album "Movies."  It took me a decade before I heard my first proper Can album, but that is another tale.  I purchased "Movies," which came out in 1979, and I immediately compared it to the more well-known album by David Byrne and Brian Eno, "My Life in the Bush of Ghosts."  Both albums used found sound, such as the Byrne/Eno recordings all used vocals from other recorded sources.  It's a nifty slightly experimental album, but hearing "Movies" seems to me to be the real deal.   Recorded around the same time, I feel Czukay's approach was more light-hearted, with great swaps of humor, compared to the Byrne/Eno, which had a sinister quality.   Both were natural groove orientated music, but I find beauty in such pieces by Czukay such as "Persian Love" that I don't find in "Bush of Ghosts."

The Czukay narrative is that he records all the jams from Can recordings, and never turns off the tape machine.  He then cuts, slices, and like a film, edits the aural aspect of the work.  Here he adds outside sounds/voices to the overall mix.  It must be time-consuming work, because the music doesn't sound disjointed or crazed, but structured in a manner that is, of course, listenable, but also catchy.  It was pop music with strong melodies but filtered through Czukay's knowledge of 20th century contemporary classical music.  Stockhausen is a significant influence on Czukay, and he even studied under the great composer.  A remarkable album that never sounds dated.  A joy from the first cut to the last.

Kraftwerk - "Trans-Europe Express" Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, 1980/1977 (Capital)

If someone approached me and said: "Kraftwerk is the most important band in the world," I would not dispute that.  In fact, I may agree with that mysterious someone.   I discovered Kraftwerk when "Autobahn" came out, but it was "Trans-Europe Express" that changed everything.   For one, they were the first band to me that didn't come from America or England.  They were hardcore German.  They looked German, sounded German, and the traces I picked up were European classical music, with a touch of Musique Concrete.  No blues, or Beach Boys which I think was an influence on their previous album.

I remember showing this album cover to my German (Hamburg born) grandmother, and she said: "ah, they look like young men from my youth."    "Trans-Europe Express" was my first gateway to a European aesthetic.  I admired European films, but this was (sort of) my contemporary entrance to the European aesthetic.  When I went to Europe for a huge traveling trip, it was Kraftwerk's music on this album that served as a soundtrack to my adventures in Italy, Germany, France and the UK.  At times when I was in Munich, I wasn't sure if what I was seeing was truly my experience, or I was re-living the imagery from "Trans-Europe Express."

There are many brilliant artists in the pop music world, but Kraftwerk seemed to me another or unique version of genius at play.   The icy perfection of their image/music (the same thing for me) as well as the beautiful melodies, made a huge dent in how I saw the world.   I love other Kraftwerk albums, especially "Radio-Activity," but "Trans-Europe Express" is my sonic version of someone else's "On The Road," or another romantic literary title.   Once bitten, you've changed.  Kraftwerk was the bite that keeps on giving.

Holger Czukay - "Der Osten Ist Rot"/Rome Remains Rome" 2 x Vinyl 10", Compilation, UK, 2014 (Grönland Records)

I'm not a total Can virgin, but I do have two Can albums and one Holger Czukay "Movies" LP.  Just recently I found some odd Holger releases that I know very little about, and I suspect that they were originally released as 12" LPs, but recently re-released by Grönland Records (out of Germany) as a trio of 10" double disc sets.   "Der Osten Ist Rot/Rome Remains Rome" is one such set.

I like Can a lot, but I prefer the solo music by Czukay.   Eccentricity rules the aural world, and I'm a huge fan of Czukay's mix-and-match style of music making, where I suspect he uses samples of classical music, voices, and outtakes from Can sessions.   This particular package of music is both catchy, danceable, and experimental in the Musique Concrete style of making music.  There are also moments of great beauty, that is like watching the sunrise or set, and not expecting to see that due that maybe a building or mountain is covering the rise and fall.  "Der Osten Ist Rot/Rome Remains Rome" is a joyful experience from Side A to the end of Side D.  

Kraftwerk - "Autobahn" Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, 1977/1974 (Mercury)

Not my favorite Kraftwerk album, but a very important piece of work from Germany's fab four.  Which at that time (1974) included, of course, Florian Schneider & Ralf Hütter, Wolfgang Flur, and the mysterious Klaus Roeder who played guitar (!) and violin on "Autobahn."   It's no large estimation on my part that Kraftwerk is one of the most important bands in the 20th century.   Their influence is just as large as Elvis or the British Fab Four.   Not only in image, which to this day, is full of wonder and mystery, but their musical concepts are equally fascinating.  

"Autobahn" is a narrative without a story.  It takes place on the famous German highway that is Federally controlled by that country.  It is also famous for not having a 'speed limit,' as such, but if you're in an accident going that speed, it can count against you in a court of law.   So, in a sense, it's a very libertarian landscape, and it takes you to point A to Point B.  Kraftwerk's "Autobahn" is a documentary at the very least, and at its most important level, an impressionistic aural painting of experiencing such a journey on the famed highway.  This is a band that doesn't deal with sexual matter or fantasy, but look at everyday life as an inspiration for their art.  

With an ironic and funny (total respectful) take on The Beach Boys' "Fun Fun" this is a band that does not hide from its Germanistic characteristics.  The album is also very Musique Concrete than an electro-pop album.   "Autobahn" as an album is a bridge between the old Experimentation of Kraftwerk into their more polished mode of music making.  Side one is "Autobahn" and side two is more of the impressionistic view of a 24-hour day, perhaps in nature.  There is something very 'being in the country' about Kraftwerk.  This is a band that loves nature, and life between the major cities.  For instance, they make an album about going to Berlin, but rarely it's about Berlin itself, it's more about the travel to a major city than anything else. Their music is about movement, and it has a touch of the Situationists need to travel without a map.    

Holger Czukay - "Movies" Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, 1982 (EMI)

It seems silly but I discovered the actual music by Can only in 2017!   On the other hand, I know Holger Czukay's solo album "Movies" since the early 1980s.   I also know his music and name due that he worked with David Sylvian around the same time that era.  "Movies" is a perfect snapshot when I lived in Hollywood, and listening to this album it brings back memories of my little studio apartment on Martel Avenue.   It's an easy record to get into, due that there is an endless groove among its experimental cut-ups and sound wise one never knows what is going to appear inside your stereo speakers. 

I don't know the history of this album, but I suspect that it was recorded during Can (the band he was in) recording sessions, due that all of the musicians are on "Movies."  It's very much a happy album, and it doesn't have the tension of sadness, but more of a beautiful exploration of the world through sound and rhythm.  There's a purity in its purpose, and my favorite cut is "Persian World," which features vocals from a radio station somewhere in that part of that world.  Czukay would do cut-ups of different cultures sound wise, and yet, both feet are on Western grounds.  The album is almost exotica territory in that it relays a sense of community and pleasure.  "Movies" is the inspiration for musicians like Brian Eno and David Byrne.   A great album.  

Can - "The Singles" Vinyl, LP, Compliation, 2017 (Spoon Records)

I purchased my first Can album this year (2017).  "Singles" is my second purchase of the year with respect to Can.  I mostly know Can from Holger Czukay's work with David Sylvian, Jah Wobble, and his superb solo album "Movies."  Why it took me so long in obtaining two Can (at the very least) is a mystery to me.  Nevertheless, late as I am, I greatly admire their music.  Jaki Liebezeit is the glue that keeps the groove on, with respect to their recordings.  They could have called this collection of singles "Can Dance Party."   

Liebezeit is an incredible drummer.  There is something mechanical about the beat, but it has a touch of eccentricity as well.   I especially like it when there are bongos or some sort of hand drums added to the mix.  "Singles" cover the entire Can career, and therefore an introduction to their basic sound.  What's left out are the experimental/noise of some of the "Taga Mago" pieces, and more of a focus of their driven funk/groove with superb melodies on top of it.  There are four stages of Can:  The first with lead singer Malcolm Mooney, then Japanese vocalist Damo Suzuki took over those duties.  He left, and then the band's guitarist Michael Karoli did some vocals, and toward the end of Can, they added Rebop Kwaku Baah on additional percussion and Rosko Lee on bass.  Czukay was very much the bass player, but later added electronic touches as well as engineering and editing the music afterward the recording.   Irmin Schmidt was the keyboard player - and all went in the same direction and page as the others.  

Some of their instrumental passages remind me of Miles Davis during his electric band period. Especially with Kwaku Baah and Lee in the band.  Not with respect to the free form of the music but the tightness and focus on the rhythm and groove.  Also like Czukay, Miles' producer/engineer Teo Macero was famous for editing and splicing the long jams.  So there is a live aspect to the band, but also equally devoted to the studio as an instrument with the help of the engineer (Czukay in Can's case and Macero in Miles world).  

"Singles" is a collection of all the Can 45 rpm 7" records.   So, in theory, this is music for commercial/radio or DJ's.  It's an incredible entrance to the Can planet, and one can also explore the differences between Mooney and Suzuki as well as when they worked as a four-man band, and of course, the addition of Lee and Kwaku Baah.   The strong sense of melody is the sweetener and its catchiness is pure candy that is digestible and still leaves you hungry for more.  

Karlheinz Stockhausen - ELECTRONIC MUSIC "Song of the Youths" / "Contact" (Deutsch Gramopon)

Karlheinz Stockhausen's first electronic piece, which he wrote in 1955/56.  What I have read is that it is a personal, even spiritual music for the composer.  "Song of Youths" have children singing in German, with intrusive electronic sounds  - cutting in and out of the children's chorus.  Abstract, and quite remarkable in scope.   The live version was supposed to take place in a church, but due to the electronic/speakers issue, it never happened.  Still, the original set piece is five speakers.  This recording was reconstructed for two speakers.    My first listen to this piece I found it cold, but by the second time around, I find it emotional.  There is a Wagnerian feel, in that it's quite grand.  Still, big sounds can bring deep emotions to the table. 

The score to "Song of the Youths."

"Contact" (Kontakte) was realized 1958-60.  A more meditative piece of music than "Song of the Youths."  Still, there are loud krangs among the hums, so it keeps one's toes in operation.  To me, Stockhausen's music deals very much with space.  The actual space that the music or speakers are placed as well as the sound becoming either a sculpture or architectural model of some sort.  In other words, I don't think this music would be good on YouTube or through your computer speaker.  You need two big speakers, nice room, and a glass of wine (of course).  

The spectacle of Stockhausen's compositions is a big part of the overall experience.  In that sense, I think he shares that quality with Wagner.  The 1950s, which is often thought of as a conservative era, brought electronics into music in a very thoughtful and serious manner.  Stockhausen and others were truly the light coming out of the 20th-century headlights.