Last month Record label MUTE announced the release of CAN – The Singles. Whilst I was aware this was, as the press release said, a unique document and the first time the singles have been presented together, the album still took me by complete surpprise.
These singles are spread over time from 1969-1990 rather than a key milestone in CAN’s musical history. Collectively they make a huge impact on a listener making you very aware of how ridiculously inventive and ahead of their time they were. Newcomers to their music might assume upon listening to Vitamin C that this was from the 80s rather than 1972! Josh Graham at Suspended In Light has created a triptych of films for the release, watch the latest for Vitamin C below:
MUTE have created something of a fanfare for this release and rightly so. The significance of this music can’t be lost on anyone with an interest in music history. It’s impact has been huge, especially on music that was came much later on.
Can have been sampled and covered extensively. To illustrate the point WhoSampled.com, in collaboration with Mute and Spoon Records, have put together The Story Of Can, illustrating the breadth of their incredible legacy through sampling, remixes and cover versions.
Listen to their special playlist below (via Spotify) and read The Story of Can: http://www.whosampled.com/the-story-of-can/
Can, founded in 1967 released their debut album Monster Movie (1969) which set them apart from the mainstream, carving out a sound that transcended the boundaries of experimental electronic, jazz and modern classical music. Can’s influence extends from post-punk musicians such as Joy Division and Primal Scream, through avant-garde composers including Bernhard Lang, to Radiohead. Schmidt himself began his musical career as a pupil of Stockhausen and Ligeti, and conducted numerous high-profile orchestras in his native Germany and abroad. Hearing the sounds of Jimi Hendrix and Frank Zappa in the 60s led to the formation of Can but Schmidt never lost touch with his avant-garde classical upbringing, and it is to Schmidt that Can owed much of its musical eclecticism.
In spring 2018, Faber & Faber are publishing a new book devoted to Can, All Gates Open. The special edition will come in two volumes: one will be the first complete, authorised biography of the band written by Rob Young and the second, Can Kiosk by Irmin Schmidt, is a collage of thoughts, visuals and interviews (interviews collated by Max Dax and Robert Defcon).
CAN – THE SINGLES – TRACKLISTING:
Soul Desert
She Brings The Rain
Spoon
Shikako Maru Ten
Turtles Have Short Legs
Halleluwah (Edit)
Vitamin C
I’m So Green
Mushroom
Moonshake
Future Days (Edit)
Dizzy Dizzy (Edit)
Splash (Edit)
Hunters And Collectors (Edit)
Vernal Equinox (Edit)
I Want More
…And More
Silent Night
Cascade Waltz
Don’t Say No (Edit)
Return
Can Can
Hoolah Hoolah (Edit)
Pre-order now:
Buy: http://smarturl.it/CanTheSinglesBuy
Stream: http://smarturl.it/CanTheSinglesStream