View source for Can (band)

{{Short description|German experimental rock band}}
{{About|the German band|the South Korean duo|Can (duo)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2014}}
{{Infobox musical artist
|name            = Can
|image           = File:Can_promo_71.jpg
|image_size      =
|caption         = Can {{circa|1972}}<br>From left: [[Michael Karoli|Karoli]], [[Irmin Schmidt|Schmidt]], [[Holger Czukay|Czukay]], [[Jaki Liebezeit|Liebezeit]], [[Damo Suzuki|Suzuki]]
|landscape       = yes
|birth_name      =
|alias           =
|origin          = [[Cologne]], West Germany
|genre           = {{flatlist|
*[[Krautrock]]
*[[experimental rock]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Erlewine |first1=Stephen Thomas |title=All Music Guide to Rock: The Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul |date=2002 |publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation |page=178 |isbn=9780879306533 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=1-pH4i3jXvAC}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Pareles |first1=Jon |title=Jaki Liebezeit, Influential Drummer for Can, Dies at 78 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/25/obituaries/jaki-liebezeit-influential-drummer-for-can-dies-at-78.html |work=The New York Times |date=25 January 2017 |access-date=28 April 2019 |archive-date=13 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913004045/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/25/obituaries/jaki-liebezeit-influential-drummer-for-can-dies-at-78.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
*[[avant-funk]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Williamson |first1=Nigel |title=The Rough Guide to the Best Music You've Never Heard |date=2008 |publisher=Rough Guides |page=211 |isbn=9781848360037 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=xZM4AQAAIAAJ}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Moores |first1=JR |title=Electric Wizards: A Tapestry of Heavy Music, 1968 to the Present |date=2021 |publisher=Reaktion |isbn=9781789144499 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ldg7EAAAQBAJ&q=avant-funk}}</ref><ref name="melody"/>
*[[art rock]]<ref>{{cite web |last1=Walker |first1=Ian |title=The New European |url=https://www.theneweuropean.co.uk/brexit-news-can-the-influence-the-german-rock-band-in-modern-music-20774/ |website=The New European |date=12 September 2017 |access-date=20 January 2022}}</ref>
*[[psychedelic funk]]<ref>{{cite web |last1=Maconie |first1=Stuart |title=Krautrock: Germany's coolest export that no one can quite define |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/2014/08/krautrock-germany-s-coolest-export-no-one-can-quite-define |website=[[New Statesman]] |date=22 August 2014 |access-date=19 January 2022 |archive-date=19 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220119193148/https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/2014/08/krautrock-germany-s-coolest-export-no-one-can-quite-define |url-status=live }}</ref>
}}
|occupation      =
|years_active    = {{flatlist|
*1968–1979
*1986
*1988
*1991
*1999
}}
|label           = [[Liberty Records|Liberty]], [[United Artists Records|United Artists]], [[Spoon Records|Spoon]], [[Mute Records|Mute]]
|website         = {{URL|http://spoonrecords.com}}
|past_members    = [[Michael Karoli]]<br>[[Jaki Liebezeit]]<br>[[Irmin Schmidt]]<br>[[Holger Czukay]]<br>[[Malcolm Mooney]]<br>[[Damo Suzuki]]<br>[[David C. Johnson]]<br>[[Rosko Gee]]<br>[[Rebop Kwaku Baah]]
}}

'''Can''' (stylized in [[all caps]]) were a German [[experimental rock]] band formed in [[Cologne]] in 1968 by [[Holger Czukay]] (bass, tape editing), [[Irmin Schmidt]] (keyboards), [[Michael Karoli]] (guitar), and [[Jaki Liebezeit]] (drums). They featured several vocalists, including American [[Malcolm Mooney]] (1968–70) and Japanese [[Damo Suzuki]] (1970–73).<ref name=all/> They have been hailed as pioneers of the German [[krautrock]] scene.<ref name=all>{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=can-mn0000645612|label=Can}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Hunt |first1=Elle |title=Jaki Liebezeit, drummer of seminal krautrock band Can, dies at 78 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/jan/23/jaki-liebezeit-drummer-of-seminal-krautrock-band-can-dies-at-78 |work=The Guardian |location=London |date=23 January 2017 |access-date=28 April 2019 |archive-date=24 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170124013859/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/jan/23/jaki-liebezeit-drummer-of-seminal-krautrock-band-can-dies-at-78 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The founding members of Can came from backgrounds in [[avant-garde music]] and [[jazz]]. They blended elements of [[psychedelic rock]], [[space rock]], [[funk]], [[samba]] and ''[[musique concrète]]'' on influential albums such as ''[[Tago Mago]]'' (1971), ''[[Ege Bamyasi]]'' (1972) and ''[[Future Days (album)|Future Days]]'' (1973).<ref name=all/><ref>{{cite web |last1=Mistry |first1=Anupa |title=Damo Suzuki |url=https://www.redbullmusicacademy.com/lectures/damo-suzuki |website=[[Red Bull Music Academy]] |access-date=28 April 2019 |archive-date=25 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191025120930/https://www.redbullmusicacademy.com/lectures/damo-suzuki |url-status=live }}</ref> Can also had commercial success with singles such as "[[Spoon (Can song)|Spoon]]" (1971) and "[[I Want More (Can song)|I Want More]]" (1976) reaching national [[single (music)|singles]] charts. Their work has influenced rock, [[post-punk]], [[indie rock]], [[post-rock]] and [[ambient music|ambient]] acts.<ref name="canniblism">{{citation
 |title       = Canniblism 1
 |url         = http://www.spoonrecords.com/anthol1.html
 |publisher   = [[Spoon Records]]
 |year        = 1986
 |access-date  = 16 June 2010
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20100403232322/http://www.spoonrecords.com/anthol1.html
 |archive-date = 3 April 2010
 |df          = dmy-all
}}</ref>

==History==

===1960s===
{{Listen
|filename=Can Father Cannot Yell.ogg
|title="Father Cannot Yell"
|description="Father Cannot Yell" from ''[[Monster Movie (Can album)|Monster Movie]]''
|format=[[Ogg]]}}
Can was formed in [[Cologne]], [[West Germany]], in 1968 by [[Holger Czukay]] (bass guitar), [[Irmin Schmidt]] (keyboards), [[Jaki Liebezeit]] (drums) and [[Michael Karoli]] (guitar).<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> Czukay and Schmidt were from academic backgrounds, having been students of the composer [[Karlheinz Stockhausen]], but were fascinated by the possibilities of rock music.<ref name=":1" /> The band initially used the name The Inner Space, sometimes abbreviated.<ref name=":0" />

In late 1968, the band enlisted the American vocalist [[Malcolm Mooney]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Barton |first=Geoff |date=2020-07-07 |title=Krautrock, communism and chaos: the anarchic story of Can |url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/krautrock-communism-and-chaos-the-anarchic-story-of-can |access-date=2024-02-18 |website=[[Loudersound]] |language=en}}</ref> They recorded an album, ''Prepare to Meet Thy Pnoom,'' but could not find a recording company to release it.<ref name=":1"/> They appeared briefly in the 1969 film ''[[Kamasutra: Vollendung der Liebe]]'' backing the singer Margarete Juvan.{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}}

At Mooney's suggestion, the band changed their name to Can.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Holger Czukay 1938–2017 |url=https://www.thewire.co.uk/news/47962/holger-czukay-1938-2017 |access-date=2024-02-17 |website=[[The Wire (magazine)|The Wire]] |language=en |archive-date=17 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240217200121/https://www.thewire.co.uk/news/47962/holger-czukay-1938-2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> Mooney suggested the name for its positive meanings in various languages — for example, the English ''can'' ("be able to"); the Turkish [[wikt:can|''can'']] ({{IPA|tr|dʒan|pron}}),{{sfn|Young|Schmidt|2018|p=176}} meaning "soul", "spirit", or "life";<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nisanyansozluk.com/kelime/can|title=Can|website=Nişanyan Sözlük|access-date=2025-05-13|archive-date=2024-04-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240422181205/https://www.nisanyansozluk.com/kelime/can|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{cite book|author=[[Julian Cope|Cope, Julian]]|title=Krautrock Sampler|publisher=[[Head Heritage]]|date=1995|pages=51–52}}</ref> and the Japanese {{linktext|感}} (''kan'', "feeling, emotion") and {{Linktext|ちゃん}} (''[[-chan]]'', a suffix meaning "beloved").<ref>Dolgins, A. (2019). ''The Big Book of Rock & Roll Names: How Arcade Fire, Led Zeppelin, Nirvana, Vampire Weekend, and 532 Other Bands Got Their Names''. United States: ABRAMS, Incorporated.</ref> Liebezeit later suggested the [[backronym]] "[[communism]], [[Anarchism in Germany|anarchism]], [[nihilism]]", after an English magazine claimed that this was the intended meaning.<ref>{{cite book |last=Stubbs |first=David |title=Future Days: Krautrock and the Building of Modern Germany |publisher=[[Faber and Faber|Faber and Faber Rock Music]] |year=2014 |pages=74–77 |author-link=David Stubbs}}</ref>

Can accepted an invitation from art collector Christoph Vohwinkel to move into his castle, [[Schloss Nörvenich]], and use it as a recording studio.<ref name=":1" /> There, they recorded their debut album, ''[[Monster Movie (Can album)|Monster Movie]]'' (1969). It contained new versions of two songs previously recorded for ''Prepared to Meet Thy Pnoom'', "Father Cannot Yell" and "Outside My Door". ''Monster Movie'' received acclaim.<ref name=":1" />

During one live performance, Mooney shouted "upstairs, downstairs" for three hours, even after Can had stopped playing.<ref name=":0" /> On his psychiatrist's advice, with this episode being diagnosed as a [[mental breakdown]], he left Can and returned to the US at the end of 1969.<ref name=":0" /> He made his last recordings with Can that December.{{sfn|Young|Schmidt|2018|p=110}} In 1970, Czukay and Liebezeit found a young Japanese expatriate, [[Damo Suzuki]], busking outside a Munich café, and they invited him to join their performance that night at the [[Blow Up (club)|Blow Up]] club. He subsequently replaced Mooney as their lead vocalist.<ref name=":2" />

In 1970, Can and [[Cat Stevens]] recorded music for the soundtrack to the film ''[[Deep End (film)|Deep End]]'' (1970); Can contributed the fourteen-and-a-half-minutes [[Psychedelic rock|psychedelic]] opus "[[Mother Sky]]", which was utilized throughout the film's [[Soho]] sequence.<ref>{{Cite web |title=''Deep End'' (1970) and the Musical Emphasising of Narrative (Jerzy Skolimowski). |url=https://celluloidwickerman.com/2014/01/16/deep-end-1970-and-the-musical-emphasising-of-narrative-jerzy-skolimowski/ |last=Scovell |first=Adam |date=2014-01-16 |access-date=2025-06-07 |website=Celluloid Wicker Man |quote=This makes it perfect for the scene which not only shows a detached location but a moment of detachment between Susan and her, admittedly sleazy, fiancé as they argue and then go off in different directions.}}</ref> It was simultaneously released on Can's ''[[Soundtracks (Can album)|Soundtracks]]'' (1970) album alongside other music they had recorded for films.<ref>{{Cite web |title=CAN ''Soundtracks'' — Originally part 10 of my Krautrock series |url=https://monolithcocktail.com/a-z/archive/can-soundtracks/ |last=Valvona |first=Dominic |date=2013-11-15 |access-date=2025-06-06 |website=Monolith Cocktail |quote=CAN seem to have attracted a certain genre of film score work, one that fringes on the pornographic and surreal, this continues with the use of 'Mother Sky'.}}</ref>

===1971–1973===
[[File:Can 1972 (Heinrich Klaffs Collection 102).jpg|thumb|Performing in der [[Laeiszhalle|Musikhalle Hamburg]] in 1972.]]
The next few years saw Can release their most acclaimed works. While their earlier recordings were loosely based on traditional song structures, Can now developed a fluid improvisational style. The double album ''[[Tago Mago]]'' (1971) is often seen as groundbreaking, influential and deeply unconventional, based on intensely rhythmic jazz-inspired drumming, improvised guitar and keyboard solos, tape edits as composition, and Suzuki's idiosyncratic vocals. Czukay called the album "an attempt in achieving a mystery musical world from light to darkness and return".<ref name="Holger Czukay Can discography">{{cite web
 | title = Holger Czukay Can discography
 | url = http://www.furious.com/perfect/hysterie2.html
 | publisher = Perfect Sound Forever / furious.com
 | access-date = 27 January 2011
 | url-status = dead
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080420084358/http://www.furious.com/Perfect/hysterie2.html
 | archive-date = 20 April 2008
 | df = dmy-all
 }}</ref>

In 1971, the band composed the music for the three-part German-language television crime miniseries ''Das Messer'' ("The Knife"), directed by [[Rolf von Sydow]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Rose |first=Steve |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2011/mar/11/can-film-soundtrack |title=Can: the ultimate film soundtrack band? &#124; Music |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=11 March 2011 |access-date=27 July 2014}}</ref> The track "[[Spoon (Can song)|Spoon]]" was used as the theme song; released as a single, it reached number 6 in the German singles chart.{{sfn|Young|Schmidt|2018|pp=168–169}}

''Tago Mago'' was followed in 1972 by ''[[Ege Bamyasi]]'', a more accessible but still avant-garde record which featured "Spoon" and the follow-up single "[[Vitamin C (song)|Vitamin C]]". Czukay said, "We could achieve an excellent dry and ambient sound... [''Ege Bamyasi''] reflects the group being in a lighter mood."<ref name="Holger Czukay Can discography"/>

It was followed by ''[[Future Days (album)|Future Days]]'' in 1973, including the single "[[Moonshake (song)|Moonshake]]" placed between long, drawn out atmospheric songs. Czukay said, "'Bel Air' [the 20-minute track that takes up all of side two on the original ''Future Days'' LP] showed Can in a state of being an electric symphony group performing a peaceful though sometimes dramatic landscape painting", in a manner that has been retroactively compared to [[ambient music]].<ref name="Holger Czukay Can discography"/>

Suzuki left soon after the recording of ''Future Days'' to marry his German girlfriend and become a [[Jehovah's Witness]].<ref>Ulrich Adelt, "Machines with a Heart: German Identity in the Music of Can and Kraftwerk", ''Popular Music and Society'', 2012, DOI:10.1080/03007766.2011.567908.</ref> Vocals were taken over by Karoli and Schmidt,<ref name="mute">{{citation |title=Can |df=dmy-all |url=http://www.mutelibtech.com/mute/can/canbiog.htm |access-date=25 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071010023001/http://www.mutelibtech.com/mute/can/canbiog.htm |archive-date=10 October 2007 |url-status=usurped |publisher=Mute Liberation Technologies}}</ref> but after Suzuki's departure, fewer of Can's tracks featured vocals, as the band experimented with the ambient music it had begun with ''Future Days''.

===1974–1979===
''[[Soon Over Babaluma]]'' from 1974 continued in the atmospheric style of ''[[Future Days (album)|Future Days]]'', but with some of the abrasive edge of ''Tago Mago'' and ''Ege Bamyasi'' returning. In 1975, Can signed with [[Virgin Records]] in the UK and EMI/Harvest in West Germany, appearing the same year on the BBC's ''[[The Old Grey Whistle Test|Old Grey Whistle Test]]'' in a memorable performance of "Vernal Equinox" in which Schmidt played one keyboard section with a series of rapid [[karate chop]]s. Shortly after the appearance, Schmidt suffered a broken leg which led to cancellation of the band's UK tour.

{{Listen
|filename=I Want More.ogg
|title="I Want More"
|description="I Want More" (sample) from ''[[Flow Motion]]'' (1976)
|format=[[Ogg]]}}
''[[Landed (album)|Landed]]'' (1975) and ''[[Flow Motion]]'' (1976), saw Can moving towards a somewhat more conventional style as its recording technology improved. The disco-influenced single "[[I Want More (Can song)|I Want More]]" from ''Flow Motion'' became their only hit record outside of West Germany. Co-written by live sound mixer Peter Gilmour, it reached No 26 in the UK charts in October 1976, which prompted an appearance on ''[[Top of the Pops]]''. In 1977 Can was joined by former [[Traffic (band)|Traffic]] bassist [[Rosko Gee]] and percussionist [[Rebop Kwaku Baah]], both of whom also provided vocals; they appeared on the albums ''[[Saw Delight]]'' (1977), ''[[Out of Reach (album)|Out of Reach]]'' (1978) and ''[[Can (album)|Can]]'' (1979).

During this period, Czukay was pushed to the fringes of the group's activity due to disagreements about the band's creative direction and his limited abilities on his instrument. Bass guitar was something Czukay had "taken up almost by default" and he readily admitted his limitations.{{sfn|Young|Schmidt|2018}} After Gee joined, Czukay primarily made sounds using [[shortwave|shortwave radios]], [[Morse code|Morse code keys]], [[tape recorder]]s and other sundry objects. He left Can in late 1977 and did not appear on the albums ''Out of Reach'' or ''Can'', although he was involved with production work for the latter album.

===After the split and reunion===
After the split, all the former members were involved in musical projects, often as session musicians for other artists. Czukay recorded several ambient albums and collaborated with [[David Sylvian]] among others. Jaki Liebezeit played extensively with bassists [[Jah Wobble]] and [[Bill Laswell]], with a drum ensemble called Drums off Chaos<ref>{{Cite web |title=Drums Off Chaos |url=http://drums-off-chaos.de/ |access-date=4 December 2021 |website=Drums-off-chaos.de |archive-date=6 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211206012515/http://drums-off-chaos.de/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and in 2005 with Datenverarbeiter on the online album ''Givt''.<ref name="jaki">{{citation |title=Givt |url=http://www.datenverarbeiter.com/givt.html |access-date=16 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070604123241/http://www.datenverarbeiter.com/givt.html |archive-date=4 June 2007 |url-status=dead |publisher=Datenverarbeiter vs. Jaki Liebezeit}}</ref>

In 1986, Can briefly reformed with Mooney to record ''[[Rite Time]]'' (released in 1989). There was a further reunion in 1991 by Karoli, Liebezeit, Mooney and Schmidt to record a track for the [[Wim Wenders]] film ''[[Until the End of the World]]'' and in August 1999 by Karoli, Liebezeit and Schmidt with [[Jono Podmore]] to record a cover of "[[The Third Man Theme]]" for [[Grönland Records]]' compilation album ''Pop 2000''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.spoonrecords.com/history/can.php |title=Spoon Records |publisher=Spoon Records |access-date=25 April 2014 |archive-date=6 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131206163148/http://spoonrecords.com/history/can.php |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ultratop.be/nl/song/12ed4/Can-Der-dritte-Mann|title=Can - Der dritte Mann|website=ultratop.be|access-date=19 March 2018|archive-date=7 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170907201726/http://www.ultratop.be/nl/song/12ed4/Can-Der-dritte-Mann|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1999, the four core members of Can (Karoli, Liebezeit, Schmidt and Czukay) performed live at the same show, although playing separately with their current solo projects (Sofortkontakt, Club Off Chaos, Kumo and U-She respectively). Can have since been the subject of numerous compilations, live albums and samples. In 2004, the band began a series of [[Super Audio CD]] remasters of its back catalog, which were finished in 2006.

Karoli died of cancer on 17 November 2001. Liebezeit died of pneumonia on 22 January 2017. Czukay died of natural causes on 5 September 2017.{{sfn|Young|Schmidt|2018|pp=328-330}} Suzuki died of cancer on 9 February 2024.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |last=Sweeting |first=Adam |date=2024-02-12 |title=Damo Suzuki obituary |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2024/feb/12/damo-suzuki-obituary |access-date=2024-02-18 |work=[[The Guardian]] |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

== Archive releases ==
Can released a compilation album ''Limited Edition'' in 1974, and expanded it to a double album ''[[Unlimited Edition (album)|Unlimited Edition]]'' in 1976 from their unreleased studio recordings. ''[[Delay 1968]]'', released in 1981, was a compilation of unreleased 1968–1969 recordings. ''Cannibalism 2'', a compilation album of album and single material, also included one unreleased song, "Melting Away", from the 1960s.

In 1995, ''[[The Peel Sessions (Can album)|The Peel Sessions]]'' was released, a compilation of Can recordings at the BBC. In 1999, ''Can Box'' was released, with a Can video documentary, a concert recording from 1972 and a double live CD compiled by Michael Karoli and later released separately as ''[[Can Live Music (Live 1971–1977)]]''. Unreleased live music by Can was also released on the 40th Anniversary Edition of ''[[Tago Mago]]'' in 2011 and 17 LP collection box ''Can'' in 2014.

''[[The Lost Tapes (Can album)|The Lost Tapes]]'', released in 2012, was overseen by [[Irmin Schmidt]] and [[Daniel Miller (music producer)|Daniel Miller]], compiled by Schmidt and [[Kumo (musician)|Jono Podmore]], and edited by Podmore.{{Cn|date=July 2025}} A series of releases of live recordings began in 2021 and had reached 6 releases as of November 2024, with the recording dates ranging from 1973 to 1977.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mutebank.co.uk/collections/can|title=Can - Mute Bank Official Store &#124; Can|website=Mutebank.co.uk|access-date=22 November 2024|archive-date=27 November 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241127060409/https://mutebank.co.uk/collections/can|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Style==
Can developed a repetitive, rhythmic style with influences of [[North African music]], [[Stockhausen]], and American [[Minimal music|minimalists]] such as [[Steve Reich]] and [[Terry Riley]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Thomson |first=Ian |date=2014-08-17 |title=Future Days review – an absorbing history of Krautrock and 1970s Germany |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/aug/17/future-days-krautrock-review-david-stubbs-kraftwerk-can |access-date=2024-02-18 |work=[[The Observer]] |language=en-GB |issn=0029-7712}}</ref> Czukay and Schmidt were both pupils of Stockhausen, and Can inherited a grounding in his musical theory. Schmidt was trained as a classical pianist, while Karoli brought the influence of [[gypsy style|gypsy music]] through his [[esoteric]] studies. Liebezeit had strong jazz leanings. The band's sound was originally intended to be based on the sound of ethnic music, so when the band decided to pick up the [[garage rock]] sound, original member [[David C. Johnson|David Johnson]] left. This [[world music]] trend was later exemplified on albums such as ''[[Ege Bamyasi]]'' (the name meaning "[[Aegean Islands|Aegean]] [[okra]]" in [[Turkish language|Turkish]]), ''[[Future Days (album)|Future Days]]'' and ''[[Saw Delight]]'', and by incorporating new band members with [[multiculturalism|different nationalities]]. A series of tracks on Can albums, known as "Ethnological Forgery Series", abbreviated to "E.F.S", demonstrated the band's ability to successfully recreate ethnic-sounding music. They constructed their music largely through collective spontaneous composition, [[music sample|sampling]] themselves in the studio and editing down the results.<ref name="composition">{{citation
| last = Payne
| first = John
| title = Hiss 'n' Listen: Holger Czukay and the rhythms of a secret life
| url = http://www.bluefat.com/1001/Holger_Czukay97.htm
| date = February 1997
| access-date = 11 August 2010
| archive-date = 3 July 2011
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110703195445/http://www.bluefat.com/1001/Holger_Czukay97.htm
| url-status = live
}}</ref> Czukay referred to Can's live and studio performances as "instant compositions".<ref name="czukay">{{citation
 | last = Unterberger
 | first = Richie
 | title = An Interview With Holger Czukay
 | url = http://www.krautrock.com/articles/int_czukay.html
 | publisher = Krautrock.com
 | year = 1997
 | access-date = 16 June 2010
 | archive-date = 4 July 2008
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080704060333/http://www.krautrock.com/articles/int_czukay.html
 | url-status = live
 }}</ref>

The band's early rock influences include [[the Beatles]] and [[the Velvet Underground]]<ref name="czukay" /> as well as [[Jimi Hendrix]], [[Sly Stone]] and [[Frank Zappa]].<ref name="schmidt">{{citation
 |last        = Hollow
 |first       = Chris
 |title       = Interview With Irmin Schmidt
 |url         = http://www.brella.org/sandpebbles/Can.htm
 |publisher   = Sand Pebbles
 |date        = 1 March 2004
 |access-date  = 16 June 2010
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20110719094618/http://www.brella.org/sandpebbles/Can.htm
 |archive-date = 19 July 2011
 |df          = dmy-all
}}</ref> The band have admitted that the beginning of Can's "Father Cannot Yell" was inspired by the Velvet Underground's "[[European Son]]". [[Malcolm Mooney]]'s voice has been compared to that of [[James Brown]] (an acknowledged hero of the band members) and their early style, rooted in psychedelic music, drew comparisons with [[Pink Floyd]]. Czukay's extensive editing has occasionally been compared to the late-'60s music of trumpeter [[Miles Davis]] (such as ''[[In a Silent Way]]'' and ''[[Bitches Brew]]''):<ref name="krautrock">{{citation
 |last        = Reynolds
 |first       = Simon
 |title       = The History of Krautrock
 |url         = http://www.pry.com/magicfly/new_mf_page_themusic_krautrock.htm
 |access-date  = 9 October 2007
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20071013031637/http://pry.com/magicfly/new_mf_page_themusic_krautrock.htm
 |archive-date = 13 October 2007
 |df          = dmy-all
}}</ref> Can and Davis both would record long groove-intensive improvisations, then edit the best bits together for their albums. Czukay and [[Teo Macero]] (Davis's producer and editor) both had roots in the ''[[musique concrète]]'' of the 1940s and '50s. Irmin Schmidt stated in a discussion with Michael Karoli in 1996 concerning the various citations of influences upon their music: "You know, it's funny that in spite of all the supposed influences on us that have been written about, the one overriding influence has never been mentioned: [[Michael von Biel]]."

Suzuki was a very different singer from Mooney, with a multilingual (he claimed to sing in "the language of the Stone Age") and often inscrutable vocal style. With Suzuki, the band made their most critically and commercially successful albums. The rhythm section's work on ''Tago Mago'' has been especially praised: one critic writes that much of the album is based on "long improvisations built around hypnotic rhythm patterns";<ref name="trouser">{{citation
 | last = Grant
 | first = Steven
 | title = CAN
 | url = http://www.trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=can
 | publisher = [[Trouser Press]]
 | access-date = 16 June 2010
}}</ref> another writes that "[[Halleluhwah]]" finds them "pounding out a monster trance/funk beat".<ref name="allmusic">{{citation
 | title = Tago Mago > Review
 | url = {{AllMusic|class=album|id=r3217|pure_url=yes}}
 | publisher = [[AllMusic]]
 | access-date = 16 June 2010
}}</ref>

===Improvisation, recording and live shows===
Much of Can's music was based on [[free improvisation]] and then edited for the studio albums. Karlheinz Freynik, after visiting one of Can's sessions described them as "very anarchic", as if they were "turning away from the others, and diving into their subconscious, and playing their things", but after a while they moved into the centerpiece of the improvisation, "they gathered and their minds kind of connected to each other." The band, commenting on their style, said the core of their synergy is a spiritual communication in contrast to intellectual communication—they doesn't hear what the other members play, but playing by themselves. If their individual direction worked out, "everything melted together".{{sfn|Young|Schmidt|2018|pp=86-87}}

Malcolm Mooney, describing the band's daily routine in early 60s, said the band worked every day for about thirteen hours a day with a lunch break. After the recording, they reviewed the recent tapes at home and take notes. Malcolm listened to the tracks, and "planned a change of lyric, or tell Irmin. Because Irmin for me was a tutor in this music."{{sfn|Young|Schmidt|2018|pp=83}}

When preparing soundtracks, only Irmin Schmidt would view the film and then give the rest of the band a general description of the scenes they would be scoring. This assisted in the improvised soundtrack being successful both inside and outside the film's context.<ref name="czukay2">{{citation |last=England |first=Phil |title=Holger Czukay Interview |year=1994 |url=http://media.hyperreal.org/zines/est/intervs/czukay.html |access-date=16 June 2010 |publisher=ESTWeb |archive-date=4 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120804182246/http://media.hyperreal.org/zines/est/intervs/czukay.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
 
Can's live shows often spontaneously melded improvisational snippets with sonical fragments from their albums. The track "Colchester Finale", appearing on the ''[[Can Live]]'' album, incorporates portions of "[[Halleluhwah]]" into a composition lasting over half an hour. Early concerts found Mooney and Suzuki often able to shock audiences. The actor [[David Niven]] was asked by Czukay what he had thought of a concert, Niven replied: "It was great, but I didn't know it was music."<ref>{{cite web|title=Interview with Holger Czukay (February 1997)|url=http://www.furious.com/perfect/holger.html|access-date=27 January 2011|publisher=Perfect Sound Forever / furious.com|archive-date=2 January 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110102022344/http://www.furious.com/PERFECT/holger.html|url-status=live}}</ref> After the departure of Suzuki, the music grew in intensity without a vocal centre. The band maintained their ability to collectively improvise with or without central themes for hours at a time (their longest performance, in Berlin, lasted over six hours), resulting in a large archive of performances. Can made attempts to find a new vocalist after the departure of Damo Suzuki, although no one quite fit the position. In 1975, folk singer [[Tim Hardin]] took the lead vocal spot and played guitar with Can for one song, at two gigs, performing his own "[[The Lady Came From Baltimore]]". Malaysian vocalist Thaiga Raj Raja Ratnam played six dates with the band between January and March 1976. Another temporary vocalist, Englishman Michael Cousins, a.k.a. "Magic Michael", toured with Can from March (France) to April (West Germany) 1976.{{sfn|Young|Schmidt|2018|pp=86-87}}

== Legacy and influence ==
In the late 1970s, Can influenced major artists working in the post-punk genre such as [[Siouxsie and the Banshees]], [[The Fall (band)|the Fall]], [[Public Image Ltd]], [[Teardrop Explodes]]'s [[Julian Cope]],{{sfn|Young|Schmidt|2018|pp=311}} and [[Joy Division]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Reynolds |first=Simon |author-link=Simon Reynolds |year=2005 |title=Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978–1984 |location=London |publisher=[[Faber and Faber]] |isbn=978-0-14-303672-2 |title-link=Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978–1984 }}</ref> In the 1980s, Can were referenced by British [[New wave music|new wave]] acts such as [[Pete Shelley]], [[Gary Numan]], [[Ultravox]], [[The Jesus and Mary Chain]] and [[Primal Scream]].{{sfn|Young|Schmidt|2018|pp=86-87}} The [[Lumerians]]<ref name="twsO22">{{cite news
 |author= Ian S. Port
 |title= Lumerians Talk Video Projections, Recording in a Church, and "Space-Rock"
 |newspaper= SF Weekly
 |date= 22 April 2011
 |url= http://blogs.sfweekly.com/shookdown/2011/04/lumerians_talk_video_projectio.php
 |access-date= 15 May 2011
 |archive-date= 25 April 2011
 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110425051357/http://blogs.sfweekly.com/shookdown/2011/04/lumerians_talk_video_projectio.php
 |url-status= dead
 }}</ref> and [[Happy Mondays]]<ref>{{cite news|url = http://larecord.com/interviews/2009/09/17/happy-mondays-interview-see-were-groundbreaking|title = Happy Mondays: See, We're Ground Breaking!|date = 17 September 2009|access-date = 19 July 2013|website = [[L.A. Record]]|last = Collins|first = Dan}}</ref> have cited Can as an influence. Critic [[Simon Reynolds]] wrote that "Can's pan-global [[avant-funk]] anticipated many of the moves made by sampladelic dance genres like [[trip hop]], ethnotechno and [[jungle (genre)|ambient jungle]]."<ref name="melody">{{cite news|last1=Reynolds|first1=Simon|title=Krautrock Reissues|work=[[Melody Maker]]|date=1995}}</ref> Brian Eno made a short film in tribute to Can, while [[John Frusciante]] of the [[Red Hot Chili Peppers]] appeared at the Echo Awards ceremony, at which Can were awarded the most prestigious music award in Germany.<ref name="intuitive">{{citation
 |title       = Can – Biography
 |url         = http://www.intuitivemusic.com/can-biography
 |publisher   = Intuitive Music
 |date        = 16 August 2003
 |access-date  = 16 June 2010
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20110309114931/http://www.intuitivemusic.com/can-biography
 |archive-date = 9 March 2011
 |df          = dmy-all
}}</ref>

[[Radiohead]] cited Can as an influence on their albums ''[[Kid A]]'' (2000) and ''[[Amnesiac (album)|Amnesiac]]'' (2001). Inspired by Can, they constructed their own studio and worked by recording jams and editing the recordings.<ref name="monsters">{{cite journal |last=Cavanagh |first=David |author-link=David Cavanagh |date=October 2000 |title=I can see the monsters |journal=[[Q (magazine)|Q]] |pages=96–104}}</ref><ref name="REYNOLDS">{{cite web |last=Reynolds |first=Simon |date=July 2001 |title=Walking on thin ice |url=https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/radiohead-walking-on-thin-ice |url-access=subscription |access-date=10 March 2024 |work=[[The Wire (magazine)|The Wire]] |archive-date=22 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122183234/https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/radiohead-walking-on-thin-ice |url-status=live }}</ref> Radiohead covered "The Thief" in live performances in the early 2000s.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bartleet |first=Larry |date=2016-10-04 |title=11 times Radiohead covered other artists' songs brilliantly |url=https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/11-brilliant-covers-by-radiohead-1188521 |access-date=2024-02-17 |website=[[NME]] |language=en-GB |archive-date=4 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231204133319/https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/11-brilliant-covers-by-radiohead-1188521 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Mark E. Smith]] of the Fall paid tribute to Suzuki with the track "[[I Am Damo Suzuki]]" on the 1985 album ''[[This Nation's Saving Grace]]''.<ref>{{cite magazine|author=Johnson, Craig|url=https://spikemagazine.com/0205damosuzuki/|title=Damo Suzuki : HollyAris : I Am Damo Suzuki|magazine=[[Spiked (magazine)|Spiked]]|date=1 February 2005|access-date=1 May 2022|archive-date=27 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211027090246/https://spikemagazine.com/0205damosuzuki/|url-status=live}}</ref> The Jesus and Mary Chain covered "Mushroom" live in the mid-1980s.<ref>{{cite book |last=Robertson |first=John |year=1988 |title=The Jesus and Mary Chain – a Musical Biography |publisher=Omnibus Press |isbn=0-7119-1470-2|page=77}}</ref> [[Mark Hollis]] of [[Talk Talk]] had mentioned Can several times as an influence for their later albums, ''[[Spirit of Eden]]'' and ''[[Laughing Stock]]''.{{sfn|Young|Schmidt|2018|pp=311}} Avant-pop band [[Stereolab]] often incorporate a repetitive [[motorik]] beat, promoted by Can.<ref name="Klein (2001)">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2001/08/29/what-the-bleep-stereolab-does-some-actual-tunes/f5ecba58-415b-4394-aac6-9ebf56f59e6e/|title=What the Bleep? Stereolab Does Some Actual Tunes|last=Klein, Joshua|date=29 August 2001|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=10 October 2019|archive-date=12 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112114142/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2001/08/29/what-the-bleep-stereolab-does-some-actual-tunes/f5ecba58-415b-4394-aac6-9ebf56f59e6e/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Shapiro (1996)">{{cite news|last=Shapiro, Peter |author-link=Peter Shapiro (journalist) |url=http://www.thewire.co.uk/archive/interviews/stereolab.html |work=[[The Wire (magazine)|The Wire]]|publisher=The Wire Magazine Ltd  |title=Laboratory Secrets—Stereolab |date=July 1996 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070630172144/http://www.thewire.co.uk/archive/interviews/stereolab.html |archive-date=30 June 2007 }}</ref>

At least five notable bands have named themselves in tribute to Can: [[the Mooney Suzuki]] for Malcolm Mooney and Damo Suzuki; the [[indie rock]] band [[Spoon (band)|Spoon]] after the hit "[[Spoon (Can song)|Spoon]]"; the electronic band Egebamyasi, formed by Scottish musician [[Mr Egg]] in 1984, after Can's album ''[[Ege Bamyasi]]''; [[Hunters & Collectors]] after a song on the ''[[Landed (album)|Landed]]'' album; and [[Moonshake]], named for a track on ''[[Future Days (album)|Future Days]]'', and formed by ex-Wolfhounds frontman David Callahan. The Scottish writer [[Alan Warner (novelist)|Alan Warner]] has written two novels dedicated to several Can members (''[[Morvern Callar]]'' to Holger Czukay, ''[[The Man Who Walks]]'' to Michael Karoli, ''Kitchenly 434'' to Irmin Schmidt), as well as publishing ''Tago Mago: Permission to Dream'', about their album ''[[Tago Mago]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/cans-tago-mago-9781628921083/ |title=Can's Tago Mago:: 33 1/3 Alan Warner Bloomsbury Academic |access-date=20 December 2024 |archive-date=24 December 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241224080410/https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/cans-tago-mago-9781628921083/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The ''[[Sacrilege (album)|Sacrilege]]'' remix album features remixes of Can tracks by artists who were influenced by Can and krautrock in general, including [[Brian Eno]], [[The Orb]], [[Sonic Youth]], and [[U.N.K.L.E.]]<ref name="lollipop">{{citation
 | last = Rainey
 | first = Nik
 | title = Can – You Dig It?
 | url = http://www.lollipop.com/issue38/38-2-05.html
 | publisher = Lollipop Magazine
 | access-date = 16 June 2010
 | archive-date = 4 April 2009
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090404041647/http://www.lollipop.com/issue38/38-2-05.html
 | url-status = dead
 }}</ref> Their ethnomusicological tendencies pre-date the craze for [[world music]] in the 1980s. While not nearly as influential on electronic music as [[Kraftwerk]], they were important early pioneers of [[ambient music]], along with [[Tangerine Dream]] and the aforementioned band. Many groups working in the [[post-rock]] genre can look to Can as an influence as part of the larger krautrock scene, as can [[New Prog]] bands such as [[The Mars Volta]]. ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' called the group a "pioneering [[space rock]] band".<ref name="r">{{cite magazine|last1=Sprague|first1=David|title=Can Guitarist Dies in France|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/can-guitarist-dies-in-france-20011120|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=7 March 2017}}</ref> [[Kanye West]] has sampled "Sing Swan Song" on his song "Drunk & Hot Girls" from his 2007 album ''[[Graduation (album)|Graduation]]''. The UK band [[Loop (band)|Loop]] was deeply influenced by Can for their repetitive polyrhythmic style, covering Can's "Mother Sky" on their ''Black Sun'' EP.<ref name="nme">{{cite book | quote = The UK shoegaze band The Faith Healers also cover "Mother Sky" on its 1991 recording ''Lido''. | title = Loop | url = https://www.nme.com/artists/loop | publisher = [[NME]] | access-date = 16 June 2010 | archive-date = 5 June 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110605130702/http://www.nme.com/artists/loop | url-status = live }}</ref> The Yugoslav progressive/psychedelic rock band [[Igra Staklenih Perli]], heavily influenced by Can, on their self-titled debut album released the song "Pečurka" ("Mushroom") as a tribute to Can.<ref name="janjatović136">{{cite book|last=Janjatović|first=Petar|title=Ex YU rock enciklopedija 1960–2023|year=2024|publisher=self-released|location=Belgrade|page=136}}</ref>

In the 21st century, the band has been name-checked as a formative influence in [[LCD Soundsystem]]'s debut single "[[Losing My Edge]]".<ref>{{cite magazine|author=Fox, Killian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/sep/30/james-murphy-lcd-soundtrack-my-life|title=James Murphy: soundtrack of my life|magazine=[[The Guardian]]|date=30 September 2012|access-date=1 September 2019}}</ref> [[Oasis (band)|Oasis]]' 2008 single "[[The Shock of the Lightning]]" was inspired by Can and [[Neu!]].<ref>{{cite web|first=Tom|last=Porter |url=http://www.musicradar.com/us/news/guitars/noel-gallagher-on-the-shock-of-the-lightning-its-krautrock-175233 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131218102041/http://www.musicradar.com/us/news/guitars/noel-gallagher-on-the-shock-of-the-lightning-its-krautrock-175233 |title=Noel Gallagher on The Shock of the Lightning: "It's Krautrock" &#124; Oasis Noel Gallagher &#124; Guitar News |publisher=MusicRadar |date=28 September 2008 |archive-date=18 December 2013 |access-date=25 April 2014}}</ref> The Japanese psych/krautrock band [[Minami Deutsch]] is heavily influenced by Can, and band member Kyotaro Mitula performed with Damo Suzuki at the Roadburn Festival.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.psychedelicbabymag.com/2021/11/minami-deutsch-interview-japanese-motorik-beat.html|title=Minami Deutsch &#124; Interview &#124; "Japanese Motorik Beat"|first=Klemen|last=Breznikar|website=Psychedlicbabymag.com|date=1 November 2021|access-date=20 May 2024|archive-date=20 May 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240520191225/https://www.psychedelicbabymag.com/2021/11/minami-deutsch-interview-japanese-motorik-beat.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Members==
*[[Michael Karoli]] – guitar, vocals, violin (1968–1979, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1999; died 2001)
*[[Jaki Liebezeit]] – drums, percussion, double bass, piano (1968–1979, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1999; died 2017)
*[[Irmin Schmidt]] – keyboards, vocals (1968–1979, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1999)
*[[Holger Czukay]] – bass, sound engineer, electronics, vocals, French horn (1968–1977, 1986, 1988; died 2017)
*[[David C. Johnson]] – reeds, winds, electronics and tape manipulation (1968; died 2021)
*[[Malcolm Mooney]] – vocals (1968–1970, 1986, 1988, 1991)
*[[Damo Suzuki]] – vocals, percussion (1970–1973; died 2024)
*[[Rosko Gee]] – bass, vocals (1977–1979)
*[[Rebop Kwaku Baah]] – percussion, vocals (1977–1979; died 1983)

===Additional collaborators===
*Margarethe Juvan - vocals (1968)
*Manni Löhe – vocals, percussion and flute (1968; died 1978)
*[[Duncan Fallowell]] – lyrics (1974)
*[[René Tinner]] – recording engineer (1973–1979, 1986, 1991)
*Olaf Kübler of [[Amon Düül]] – tenor saxophone (1975; died 2024)
*[[Tim Hardin]] – vocals & guitar (November 1975) (died 1980)
*Thaiga Raj Raja Ratnam – vocals (January–March 1976)
*Michael Cousins – vocals (March–April 1976)
*Peter Gilmour – lyrics, live sound mixing (later 1970s)
*[[Jono Podmore]] – recording engineer, bass (1999), soundprocessing and editing engineer (1999, 2003, 2011–2012)

====Timeline====
<timeline>
ImageSize  = width:800 height:auto barincrement:20
PlotArea   = left:100 bottom:90 top:0 right:10

Alignbars  = justify
DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy
Period     = from:01/01/1968 till:30/08/1999
TimeAxis   = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy
Legend     = orientation:horizontal position:bottom
ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1968
ScaleMajor = increment:5 start:1968

Colors =
 id:Vocals value:red       legend:Vocals
 id:Wind   value:tan2      legend:Wind_instruments
 id:Guitar value:green     legend:Guitars,_violin
 id:Keys   value:purple    legend:Keyboards
 id:Bass   value:blue      legend:Bass
 id:Drums  value:orange    legend:Drums,_double_bass,_piano
 id:Perc   value:claret    legend:Percussion
 id:Sound  value:skyblue   legend:Sound_manipulation
 id:studio value:black     legend:Studio_album

Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:3

LineData =
 layer:back
 color:studio
 at:15/08/1969
 at:15/09/1970
 at:15/02/1971
 at:15/11/1972
 at:15/08/1973
 at:15/11/1974
 at:15/09/1975
 at:15/10/1976
 at:15/03/1977
 at:15/07/1978
 at:15/07/1979
 at:15/10/1989

BarData =
 bar:Malc text:"Malcolm Mooney"
 bar:Damo text:"Damo Suzuki"
 bar:Dave text:"David C. Johnson"
 bar:Mike text:"Michael Karoli"
 bar:Ir   text:"Irmin Schmidt"
 bar:Cz   text:"Holger Czukay"
 bar:Gee  text:"Rosko Gee"
 bar:Jaki text:"Jaki Liebezeit "
 bar:Bop  text:"Rebop Kwaku Baah"

PlotData=
 width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4)
 bar:Malc from:01/08/1968 till:01/01/1970 color:Vocals
 bar:Malc from:01/12/1986 till:30/12/1986 color:Vocals
 bar:Malc from:01/09/1991 till:30/09/1991 color:Vocals
 bar:Mike from:start      till:01/09/1979 color:Guitar
 bar:Mike from:01/12/1986 till:30/12/1986 color:Guitar
 bar:Mike from:01/09/1991 till:30/09/1991 color:Guitar
 bar:Mike from:01/08/1999 till:end        color:Guitar
 bar:Ir   from:start      till:01/09/1979 color:Keys
 bar:Ir   from:01/12/1986 till:30/12/1986 color:Keys
 bar:Ir   from:01/09/1991 till:30/09/1991 color:Keys
 bar:Ir   from:01/08/1999 till:end        color:Keys
 bar:Jaki from:start      till:01/09/1979 color:Drums
 bar:Jaki from:01/12/1986 till:30/12/1986 color:Drums
 bar:Jaki from:01/09/1991 till:30/09/1991 color:Drums
 bar:Jaki from:01/08/1999 till:end        color:Drums
 bar:Cz   from:start      till:01/10/1976 color:Bass
 bar:Cz   from:01/10/1976 till:01/12/1977 color:Sound
 bar:Cz   from:01/12/1986 till:30/12/1986 color:Bass
 bar:Gee  from:01/10/1976 till:01/09/1979 color:Bass
 bar:Bop  from:01/03/1977 till:01/09/1979 color:Perc
 bar:Dave from:start      till:01/12/1968 color:Wind
 bar:Damo from:01/04/1970 till:01/10/1973 color:Vocals

 width:7 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4)
 bar:Cz   from:start      till:01/10/1976 color:Wind
 bar:Cz   from:01/12/1986 till:30/12/1986 color:Wind

 width:5 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4)
 bar:Cz   from:start      till:01/08/1968 color:Sound
 bar:Cz   from:01/01/1970 till:01/04/1970 color:Sound

 width:3 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4)
 bar:Malc from:01/08/1968 till:01/01/1970 color:Wind
 bar:Damo from:01/04/1970 till:15/09/1970 color:Perc
 bar:Mike from:start      till:01/08/1968 color:Vocals
 bar:Mike from:01/01/1970 till:01/04/1970 color:Vocals
 bar:Mike from:01/10/1973 till:01/09/1979 color:Vocals
 bar:Mike from:01/08/1999 till:end        color:Vocals
 bar:Ir   from:start      till:01/08/1968 color:Vocals
 bar:Ir   from:01/01/1970 till:01/04/1970 color:Vocals
 bar:Ir   from:01/10/1973 till:01/09/1979 color:Vocals
 bar:Ir   from:01/08/1999 till:end        color:Vocals
 bar:Cz   from:start      till:01/08/1968 color:Vocals
 bar:Cz   from:01/01/1970 till:01/04/1970 color:Vocals
 bar:Cz   from:01/10/1973 till:01/12/1977 color:Vocals
 bar:Cz   from:01/08/1968 till:01/01/1970 color:Sound
 bar:Cz   from:01/04/1970 till:01/10/1973 color:Sound
 bar:Cz   from:01/12/1986 till:30/12/1986 color:Sound
 bar:Jaki from:start      till:01/03/1977 color:Perc
 bar:Jaki from:01/12/1986 till:30/12/1986 color:Perc
 bar:Jaki from:01/09/1991 till:30/09/1991 color:Perc
 bar:Jaki from:01/08/1999 till:end        color:Perc
 bar:Gee  from:01/10/1976 till:01/09/1979 color:Vocals
 bar:Bop  from:01/03/1977 till:01/09/1979 color:Vocals
 bar:Dave from:start      till:01/12/1968 color:Sound
</timeline>

==Discography==
{{Main|Can discography}} (US labels in parentheses)
{{div col}}
*''[[Monster Movie (Can album)|Monster Movie]]'' ([[Liberty Records|Liberty]], 1969)
*''[[Tago Mago]]'' (first of four albums on [[United Artists Records|United Artists]], 1971)
*''[[Ege Bamyasi]]'' (1972)
*''[[Future Days (album)|Future Days]]'' (1973)
*''[[Soon Over Babaluma]]'' (1974)
*''[[Landed (album)|Landed]]'' ([[Virgin Records|Virgin]], 1975)
*''[[Flow Motion]]'' (first of four albums on [[Harvest Records|Harvest]], 1976)
*''[[Saw Delight]]'' (1977)
*''[[Out of Reach (album)|Out of Reach]]'' (1978)
*''[[Can (album)|Can]]'' (1979)
*''[[Rite Time]]'' ([[Mercury Records|Mercury]], 1989)
{{div col end}}

==Videography==
*''[[Romantic Warriors IV: Krautrock]]'' (2019)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Works cited==
*{{cite book |last1=Young |first1=Rob |last2=Schmidt |first2=Irmin |author-link2=Irmin Schmidt |title=All Gates Open: The Story of Can |title-link=All Gates Open: The Story of Can |year=2018 |publisher=[[Faber and Faber]] |location=London |isbn=978-0571311491 }}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book |first1=Pascal |last1=Bussy |first2=Andy |last2=Hall |title=The Can Book |publisher=Tago Mago |year=1986}}
* Bussy, Pascal and Andy Hall. ''The Can Book''. Saf Publishing, 1989.
* Bussy, Pascal. ''Kraftwerk: Man, Machine and Music''. SAF Publishing, 2005. {{ISBN|0-946719-70-5}}
* ''The New Musical Express Book of Rock'', Star Books, 1975, {{ISBN|0-352-30074-4}}.
* ''Rock: The Rough Guide'' (2nd edition). Penguin, 1999.
* Strong, Martin C. ''Great Rock Discography''. (5th edition), MOJO Books, 2000.
* [[David Stubbs|Stubbs, David]]. ''Future Days: Krautrock and the Building of Modern Germany''. Faber & Faber Rock Music, 2014.
* {{cite book |last1=Young |first1=Rob |last2=Schmidt |first2=Irmin |author-link2=Irmin Schmidt |title=[[All Gates Open: The Story of Can]] |year=2018 |publisher=[[Faber and Faber]] |location=London |isbn=978-0571311491 |ref=none}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* [http://www.spoonrecords.com Official website (Spoonrecords.com)]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20081220040104/http://www.mute.com/artists/publicArtistLoad.do?id=3248&forward=longBio Biography at Mute Records]
* {{AllMusic|class=artist|id=can-mn0000645612|label=Can}}
* {{discogs artist|Can}}
* [http://all-blues.de/music/kraut/can.htm Full discography including solo albums and a breakdown of every gig played]
* {{IMDb name|0133453}}

{{Can (band)}}
{{Holger Czukay}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Can}}
[[Category:Can (band)| ]]
[[Category:Krautrock musical groups]]
[[Category:German free improvisation ensembles]]
[[Category:German art rock groups]]
[[Category:German experimental rock groups]]
[[Category:Mute Records artists]]
[[Category:Musical groups established in 1968]]
[[Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1999]]
[[Category:Psychedelic funk music groups]]
[[Category:1968 establishments in West Germany]]
[[Category:1999 disestablishments in Germany]]
[[Category:Musical groups from Cologne]]
[[Category:German experimental musical groups]]
[[Category:German psychedelic rock music groups]]
[[Category:Liberty Records artists]]
[[Category:United Artists Records artists]]
[[Category:Virgin Records artists]]
[[Category:Harvest Records artists]]
[[Category:Restless Records artists]]
[[Category:English-language musical groups from Germany]]