[Column] Sonic horizons opened up through repetition and improvisation - the pop skeleton redefined by CAN

Column en 70s Experimental Krautrock

24 Apr 2026

[Column] Sonic horizons opened up through repetition and improvisation - the pop skeleton redefined by CAN

Who was CAN?

Text: mmr｜Theme: The trajectory of a collective improvisational band born in post-war Germany that rewrote the very structure of rock.

A community for deconstructing existing lock grammars

CAN is a music group formed in West Germany in 1968. The core members, Irmin Schmidt and Holger Czukay, had studied under contemporary music composer Karlheinz Stockhausen, and had a perspective on music as a matter of ““structure” and ““time.”

This background became an important foundation for establishing CAN’s music as a sonic experiment rather than a mere extension of rock music. Guitarist Michael Karoli brought a rock sensibility, while drummer Jaki Liebezeit introduced extremely homogeneous rhythms developed from jazz.

From the beginning, they were more interested in ““creating the conditions that generate sound” than in ““writing songs.” As a result, they were more like an experimental unit centered around the studio than a band.

Furthermore, in the cultural vacuum of post-war Germany, there was a strong desire to break away from imitations of Anglo-American rock. This became the core of what would become known as Krautrock.

CAN was not a ““rock group” but an ““experimental device for redesigning the way music is made.”

Methodology of improvisation and editing

Music completed on recorded tape

CAN’s production method was thorough. They recorded hours of improvisation, from which they extracted and edited fragments to complete the piece. In this process, post-recording editing is just as important, if not more so, than composing.

Holger Czukay used shortwave radio and other external sound sources and collaged them onto tape. This is said to be the forerunner of later sampling and loop culture.

Jaki Liebezeit’s drumming is especially important. He believed in “not hitting emotionally,” and maintained the rhythm with almost machine-like precision. This style was called ““motorik,’’ and by keeping the flow of time constant, it created a foundation on which other instruments could change freely.

Anecdotally, it has been said that Liebezeit “could keep hitting one beat for hours.” Even in actual recordings, his rhythm was sustained for a long time with almost no fluctuation, and his precision was outstanding among rock drummers of the time.

In addition, their studio ““Inner Space’’ was a renovated former movie theater, and the echoes and spatiality of the sound itself became part of the music. The recording at this location was not just a record, but a sound design that included the space.

For CAN, the studio was not a recording device, but an “instrument” for generating music.

Changes in vocalists and their acoustic roles

Voices that dismantle language

Early vocalist Malcolm Mooney had a style of fragmentary, repetitive phrases. His songs function more as devices for creating rhythm and tension than for meaning.

Mooney left the band due to mental strain, but with Damo Suzuki who joined afterwards, CAN’s music moved to a new level.

Suzuki has almost no formal lyrics, instead adopting an improvisational vocal style. There is an anecdote that they met him by chance on the street and were taken straight to the stage. This event itself symbolizes the improvisation and serendipity of CAN.

His vocals are multilingual, sometimes a string of meaningless syllables. This embodies CAN’s philosophy of treating the voice as a pure acoustic element.

Furthermore, Suzuki sometimes sang while walking around the audience during live performances, blurring the line between performance and music.

In CAN, the voice existed not as a ““means to convey lyrics,” but as an ““element that changes the flow of sound.”

Representative works and their background

The trajectory of experiments carved into the album

1971’s Tago Mago, released as a two-disc set, is a work that shows the limits of improvisation and editing. In particular, the latter half of the track is a mixture of noise and repetition, and deviates greatly from the framework of rock.

At the time of production, a huge amount of recorded material existed, from which selected fragments were reconstructed. This process itself is the essence of the work.

1972’s Ege Bamyasi shows a more condensed song structure. “Spoon” was used in a German television drama and was a commercial success for the band.

1973’s ““Future Days’’ is a work that incorporates environmental sounds and sustained sounds, and has elements that are similar to later ambient music.

As an anecdote, it is said that during the recording of ““Future Days’’ there was extremely little communication between the members, and the performance proceeded almost solely through eye contact. This shows that music was shared on a level that transcended language.

CAN’s album is not only a work of art, but also an experimental record that examines the possibilities of music.

Chronology

From formation to demise

1968: Formed
1969: “Monster Movie” released
1970: Damo Suzuki joins
1971: “Tago Mago” released
1972: “Ege Bamyasi” released
1973: “Future Days” released
1979: Suspension of activities

timeline 1968 : 結成 1969 : Monster Movie 1970 : Damo Suzuki加入 1971 : Tago Mago 1972 : Ege Bamyasi 1973 : Future Days 1979 : 活動停止

During their short period of activity, CAN marked a decisive turning point in music history.

Schematic diagram of musical structure

Simultaneous repetition and deviation

graph TD A[motorik beat] --> B[fixed time] B --> C[stable] A --> D[improvised layers] D --> E[change] E --> F[tape editing] F --> G[final structure]

CAN’s music is created by layering ever-changing sounds over a fixed rhythm.

The structure of change occurring within a stable time is the core of CAN’s music.

Anecdotes and legends

A place where chance and necessity intersect

There are many anecdotes about CAN. For example, Damo Suzuki was scouted by band members while singing on the streets of Munich, improvised on stage that night, and became an official member.

Additionally, Holger Czukay sometimes incorporated shortwave radio noises he happened to pick up during recording into his works, believing that ““sounds that appear by chance are part of the music.’’

It is said that once Jaki Liebezeit decided on a rhythm, he rarely changed it, and the other members even got lost in it. This shows his philosophy of treating rhythm as a “fixed axis.”

Furthermore, they had a unique style in which they performed and produced music simultaneously, making editorial decisions on the spot while recording their live performances.

At the CAN site, even chance was controlled and incorporated as part of the music.

Impact and reassessment

Methodology that extends over time

CAN’s influence extends to post-punk, new wave, electronic music, and even modern beat music. In particular, the ideas of repetitive structure and studio editing are fundamental to contemporary music production.

Their method is genre-agnostic, and continues to be reinterpreted in different contexts such as techno and hip-hop.

In addition, the rediscovery of archived sound sources has further increased its reputation in recent years. Unreleased tapes and live recordings are considered important as evidence of their high level of improvisation.