1. LIVE PERFORMANCE
IRMIN SCHMIDT & KUMO: MASTERS OF CONFUSION
Aptly titled, Masters Of Confusion is the first recorded fruit of the collaboration between Irmin Schmidt,
founder member of the legendary German avant garde rock group Can, and Kumo, the artist name of drum programmer,
sound engineer and producer Jono Podmore. For this album Kumo spontaneously constructs, collapses and reshuffles
towercards of rhythms sprayed with pointillist beats, over, under and between which Irmin's grand piano and keyboards
dance with the poise of a Nuevo Tango player, the reflex of a gymnast and the wit of a joker on the run.
Quite naturally the music carries traces of their combined experiences, which range over raging rock and
incantatory trance improvisations, contemporary composition, Techno and drum 'n' bass. But fully aware of
the failure of the Fusion con of mid 70s jazz-rock, these two Masters of Confusion characteristically create
running dialogues between the different components they bring into play. The most immediately noticeable
contrast is that between the very specific cultural/classical resonances of Irmin's grand piano
(his main instrument, which went untouched through all his years with Can) and Kumo's
dancehall-trained electronic circuit rhythms.
2. SOUND INSTALLATION
FLYS, GUYS AND CHOIRS
This installation, specially comissioned by the Barbican Centre and now available for further performance,
focuses on the idea of transformation - transformation of sound, transformation of space, transformation of
perception. A loudspeaker array sonically defines the installational space and familiar soundworlds dissolve
into the imaginary through electronic processing. The babble of conversation becomes the buzz of insects,
private spaces become public, one voice becomes many.
16 channels of sound on tape are projected through over 30 loudspeakers and in addition several microphones
will capture the ambient sounds of the space. This real-time material will be processed by the artists and
fed into the system creating layers of temporal shifting much like the 'Studio Conversation' in Region II of
Hymnen. The presence of the artists and their manipulation of live sound lends a strong element of performance
to the installation. There is also a layer of pre-recorded choral material that Irmin Schmidt compares to
Roman columns plundered and recycled in later European building work. Again this material is presented
as 'found' and then transformed into a completely new artefact. A strata of rhythmic material, with a
regular underlying pulse, is generated from electronic and concrete sounds but this pulse is grouped into
irregular metres creating isometric and polyrhythmic structures that glide in and out of the texture.
System for the sound installation as used for the originial comission at the Barbican Centre, London -
as part of the "Electronik" festival : 13 - 18th October 2001
SPEAKERS AND AMPLIFICATION
30 full range speakers running from 10 separate circuits arranged across three levels of
the building
5 Low frequency cabinets running from 1 circuit
CONTROL AND PLAYBACK
Midas XL3 desk
2 x Tascam DA-88 tape machines for playback
2 x Eventide DSP4000 effects generators
MICROPHONES
4 X AKG 414 ULS with stands
2 x Shure hand-held radio mics
3. UNIVERSITY LECTURES
Irmin and Kumo visit leading Arts/New Media/Music Universities discussing all facets of their work to date,
and holding workshops in subjects including Composing for Film, Opera/Classical composition, CAN, Improvisation etc..
4. DVD SCREENING
IRMIN SCHMIDT'S FANTASY OPERA: GORMENGHAST
(Promotional DVD) and CAN DVD
Irmin Schmidt, founder of the legendary group CAN, has written an opera: Gormenghast
Inspired by Mervyn Peake's masterpiece of gothic fantasy, English novelist Duncan Fallowell wrote the libretto
in St. Petersburg, combining romance, comedy and futurism into an adventure of epic strangeness peopled by
unforgettable characters.
The opera is in 3 acts and centres on the rise and fall of Steerpike, a courageous, clever
and charming kitchen-boy who becomes by degrees the murderous tyrant of Gormenghast Castle and
its domain. In the process he bewitches and destroys Fuchsia the daughter of Gormenghast's
opium-addicted ruler. Finally he meets his own dramatic death as the other inhabitants of
this vivid decaying realm are drawn into the terrible tale.
In both libretto and music, the integration of high culture and popular culture is
not like anything which has gone before: it is achieved with perfect naturalness,
carrying the art of opera forward into a new phase. The result is both accessible and magically unexpected:
Gormenghast is a major addition to the world of musical theatre.
Gormenghast CD (extracts of the opera) available on EMI/MUTE (Spoon 44).
CAN DVD
Always at least three steps ahead of contemporary popular music, Can was the leading
avant-garde rock group of the 70s. From their very beginning, their music didn't conform
to any commonly held notions about rock & roll -- not even those of the counter-cultures.
Inspired more by 20th century classical music than Chuck Berry, their closest contemporaries
were Frank Zappa or possibly the Velvet Underground. Yet their music was more serious and
inaccessible than either of those artists. Instead of recording tight pop songs or satire,
Can experimented with noise, synthesizers, non-traditional music, cut-and-paste techniques,
and, most importantly, electronic music; each album marked a significant step forward than the
previous album, investigating new territories that other rock bands weren't interested in exploring.
Released in 2004, The Can DVD has received rave reviews worldwide further cementing their universal
cult status. A screening of the DVD followed by a Question and Answer session with Irmin Schmidt and
Kumo will take place in connection with the Live Performance Tour.
Contents
- 2 DVDs/1 Audio CD: Total of Film Footage = 256 Min. including:
- Can-Free-Concert: A film by Peter Przygodda. Filmed live at the Cologne Sporthalle in 1972 .
- Can Notes: An intimate film by Hildegard Schmidt, edited and compiled by Peter Przygodda
- Can - Documentary: Compiled by Rudi Dolezal & Hannes Rossacher
- A short tribute film to Can by Brian Eno / Echo Awards Presentation Footage / Award speech by
Herbert Grönemeyer / Presentation by The Red Hot Chili Peppers
- 5.1 Remixes:
Smoke by Holger Czukay
Get The Can by Holger Czukay
Below This Level by Jaki Liebezeit
Half Past One by Irmin Schmidt
plus The Making of... and Interviews.
5. DJ-ING
Spoon Records, in collaboration with Mute/EMI Records London, are releasing world wide remastered
versions of the classic CAN albums. All 14 remastered CDs will also play on SACD players and SACD compatible
DVD players, and will include exclusive unseen photos from the time and new sleeve notes. The release of the
first four albums Monster Movie, Tago Mago, Ege Bamyasi and Soundtracks in October 2004 has been a great
critical and commmercial success. The rest of the catalogue is scheduled for release in 2005 and 2006.
The albums were all remastered from the original master tapes and were overseen and attended by Holger,
Irmin and Jono Podmore, so that they finally sounded on CD how they were always intended to sound.
The sound of this high class product makes ideal DJ material for clubs or venues, and Irmin and Kumo
successfully DJ'ed with the 1st 4 albums as part of the Scottish Triptych Festival 2004:
Irmin Schmidt & Kumo DJing The Sound Of CAN.
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