Pop Nr. 16
Germany's selfmade-supergroup continues to grow: After the production of soundtracks for movies like "Mädchen mit Gewalt", "Deadlock" and "Deep End", after the first LP's "Monster Movie" and "Soundtracks" and after the release of the double album "Tago Mago" as well as the can-hit "Spoon" from the TV-Durbridge music, Irmin Schmidt (organ), Michael Karoli (guitar), Holger Szukay (bass), Jacki Liebezeit (drums) and Damo Suzuki (vocals) gave a spectacular free concert in the Cologne Sporthalle. 10000 came to experience Germany's secret supergroup, - and in the breathtaking atmosphere the five rock avant-gardists shot their first film under their own direction. The planned tour of Germany and twenty-five appearances by Can in England had to be postponed until early 1973 due to Michael Karoli's serious medical condition. But Can is still on the advance. At the same time as the new "Ege Bamyasi" recording, the five supermusicians are now starting their monster movie - "Can"
"Can" - a film about five musicians. A film by Peter Przygodda about Can. Sixty minutes of colour on the screen - Can at the free concert in the Cologne sports hall: Irmin, Michael, Holger, Jacki and Damo, a juggler and a gymnastics group. Action and happening on stage - then technical calculus and precision work in the studio. "Can" - a film production by Peter Przygodda and Can. A film, how Peter Przygodda and Can make a film together and an experience. POP spoke with Irmin Schmidt.
РОP: Can started with film music years ago and then became widely known with the soundtrack for the Durbridge television series and the song "Spoon" which was released as a single. How did Can come into contact with the medium film?
Irmin: Long before the group was founded, I wrote the music for some stage plays and short films. These points of contact to the medium film remained of course also in the time of Can. Therefore it was quite obvious for the group to approach film music as well.
РОP: How does Can approach the musical arrangement of a film?
Irmin: The starting point for us is the film material that is not set to music. Before we start thinking about musical details, we look at the entire cinematic process. When we put on the music, we then follow the rhythm of the picture exactly. The whole camera work, the way someone moves - it all has a certain flow. Our music is supposed to support this flow, and at the editing table we later work very closely with the film editor. Sometimes it depends on a tenth of a second: whether the music starts within a hand movement, whether it starts when the hand is still up and then supports the gesture, or whether the music starts after the movement and completes the process. Can's soundtracks have little in common with the background music typical of Hollywood films. Film music fulfils a whole range of different functions.
РOP: How did you make your first own film - "Can"?
Irmin: We have always thought about making our own movie. During the preparations for our free concert at the beginning of the year we remembered our film plans. We decided to do without any concept and simply film the concert first. Peter Przygodda, with whom we had already worked together on several occasions, helped us to carry out the project. And on February 4, four cameramen filmed our free concert in the Cologne sports hall. Nothing was planned. The cameramen had complete freedom, and each of them filmed during those hours exactly how they personally felt at the time. When we later listened to the sound recordings of the concert, we noticed that the recordings had huge quirks at various points. One time the microphone failed, another time the guitar was too quiet or missing completely. So we decided to continue working on the sound material. We went to our studio to add some new material and remix it. Now it would have been very dishonest to do beauty operations on the recordings and let people believe that this is how it sounded "live". That's why we filmed our studio work as well and show the process of manipulation. You can see our live performance, and then suddenly we are in the studio - but the tune continues. It becomes very clear that we have made changes in these parts and also improved the sound quality. Then we said to ourselves: "Now we're in the studio already, so let's do a real studio production and film it again! That's how the two playbacks came about, which then suddenly stood all alone.
РOP: Due to the lack of any information about Can, the film will remain incomprehensible for many!
Irmin: It is certainly not the task of this film to give information about every single person of us and about our private life. This could lead to a completely wrong identification with us. In our film we really don't offer anything that can be understood as a role. If you tell in a film about when someone was born, where they have been and what they have already done, then that is exactly the kind of information you usually get about someone in such films nowadays. Then you think you know everything about them. You're done with the guy. But to be done with a person means - to kill them. If you want to know everything about somebody, you've practically dissected them. Everything is neatly arranged, but you don't know shit about the guy. In fact, you've been deceived, because the guy lives on. It is a big mistake to assume that superficial information can tell you something about a person. It does not! And that's why in our film we have omitted a whole heap of information and don't convey anything but ourselves. This is a film in which we make music. We stand up and there we are: Michael, Holger, Jacki, Damo and Irmin. This film is a momentary picture of us - like a snapshot. Five musicians make their very personal music, and the audience can create a very personal relationship to it - each one can have an experience with us. And the film is an experience for us, too. Filmmaking itself became an experience for us, where in the end the process of human experience between cameramen, Peter Przygodda and us becomes comprehensible in the film product. In many other films this does not become apparent because there is far too much alienation between the filmmakers, between the equipment and the viewers of the film. But in the making of the Can film, every action was shaped by our direct experience with the material.
Not a total world of experience, but indescribably fragmentary, broken, splintered: And in these splinters are very clear, crystalline elements that sparkle.