Jaki Liebezeit, December 2011 | |
Background information | |
---|---|
Birth name | Hans Liebezeit |
Born | 26 May 1938 Dresden, Germany |
Died | 22 January 2017 (aged 78) Cologne, Germany |
Genres | Krautrock, electronic, European free jazz |
Occupation(s) | Musician |
Instruments | |
Years active | 1961–2017 |
Associated acts | Manfred Schoof, Can, Michael Rother, Brian Eno, David Sylvian, Phantomband, Jah Wobble, Phew, Philip Jeck, Depeche Mode, Eurythmics, Bernd Friedmann, Cyclopean, Robert Coyne |
Jaki Liebezeit (born Hans Liebezeit; 26 May 1938 – 22 January 2017) was a German drummer, best known as a founding member of experimental rock band Can. He was called 'one of the few drummers to convincingly meld the funky and the cerebral'.[1]
Biography[edit]
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Hans 'Jaki' Liebezeit[2] was born in Dresden, Germany.[3][4] In the mid-1960s, he was part of Manfred Schoof's quintet, who were early exponents of European free jazz.[5]
He subsequently moved towards the new possibilities being opened by psychedelic music as a member of Can. His drumming was prominent in the band's sound, particularly in his much-admired contribution to the side-long 'Halleluhwah' on Tago Mago. Liebezeit is best known for his exceptional 'metronome' style of playing; other members of Can have suggested that he sounds as though he is 'half-man, half machine'.
Liebezeit provided drums, in the form of the distinctive 'Motorik beat', for Michael Rother's late-1970s solo albums.[6]
In 1980, he became a member of Phantomband,[5] and formed drum ensembles such as Drums off Chaos and Club off Chaos.[5] Later he recorded with numerous musicians, such as Jah Wobble[5] and Philip Jeck, with whom he produced an album for Jah Wobble's 30 Hertz Records, and contributed drums and percussion to many albums as a guest musician over the years, such as the Depeche Mode album Ultra and Brian Eno's album Before and After Science. In later years, he worked with Burnt Friedman on the Secret Rhythms[7] albums and with Schiller on the Atemlos album.
He also worked on the Cyclopean EP, released on 11 February 2013 on 12' and download for Mute Records. Cyclopean was a project that involved, other than Liebezeit, Irmin Schmidt from Can alongside long time collaborators Jono Podmore (Kumo / Metamono) and musician and producer Burnt Friedman.[8] from Faust an album called Flut released 18 July 2014.
In 2013 he recorded the album The Obscure Department with British singer-songwriter Robert Coyne. Two more albums with Coyne, Golden Arc (2014) and I Still Have This Dream (2016), followed.[9][10]
Liebezeit died of pneumonia on 22 January 2017.[11]
A tribute concert to Liebezeit, at the Philharmonic Hall, Cologne took place on 22 January 2018.[12]
![Burnt friedman discogs Burnt friedman discogs](/uploads/1/2/6/2/126291009/378824865.jpg)
Videography[edit]
- Romantic Warriors IV: Krautrock (2019)
References[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jaki Liebezeit. |
- ^'Jeff Norman's website'. Uwm.edu. 23 September 1999. Archived from the original on 30 April 2009. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
- ^JON PARELES. 'Jaki Liebezeit, Influential Drummer for Can, Dies at 78'. www.nytimes.com. New York TImes. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
- ^'Jaki Liebezeit Discography'. Discogs.com. 2015. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
- ^Krämer, Ralf (10 December 2008). 'Techno, im Prinzip ein flotterer Marsch: Jaki Liebezeit im Interview'. Spex – Magazin für Popkultur.
- ^ abcd'Biography at Spoon Records'. Spoonrecords.com. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
- ^'Michael Rother'. Michaelrother.de. 2015. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
- ^'Burnt Friedman & Jaki Liebezeit Discography'. Discogs.com. 2015. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
- ^'EP Release – 12″ & Download Out 11 Feb 2013'. Mute Records. 1 February 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
- ^'Robert Coyne – laut.de – Band'. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
- ^'robertycoyneintervew'. MUDKISS FANZINE. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
- ^'Can Drummer Jaki Liebezeit Dead at 78'. Pitchfork. 22 January 2017. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
- ^Philharmonie, Kölner. 'Jaki Liebezeit – A Tribute'. Kölner Philharmonie. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
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By the cover, this is Friedman's album: he's the label boss, the producer, the arranger; hes (probably) the cartoonist, artworker, instigator. The cd cover is in the recent Friedman housestyle:
- white cardboard (gets mucky quick unless you're careful),
- artwork sticker which you have to TEAR or CUT to access the music (transgressive; chosen method says a lot about you),
- cartoon insert with scientific Friedman alter-ego addressing the listener (reader).
On the other hand, Jaki is clearly present in the rhythms which are straightforward but tricksy, deliberate but playful. And where the hell is Burnt? What's he playing or programming once you tick off Jaki's drums, Josef Suchy's guitar and Morten Gronvad's 1965 Deagan Aurora Vibraharp?
Okay, he's there according to the instrumentation in the liner notes (including use of Monstertech Power Socket, Illogical Audio Sequencer and Pro Fools Software, to name only a few), but he seems more like a ghost in the musical machine. Morten Gronvad? hmmmm.
I've struggled with this album and I have to confess that if I weren¹t such a Friedman fan I wouldn't have worked as hard as I have. The struggle has been to stay engaged with music that is enjoyable, melodic but somehow anonymous.
What fascinates about his other work is the playfulness, the incredibly musical detail, but also the fact that Friedman chooses to engage with/express his ideas in lounge music, fusion, cocktail jazz. He uses these as vehicles to question the validity of musical fashion, of what is taken seriously and why, to feint with the listener, shadow boxing to see whether well duck out of the way.
Secret Rhythms posits a new addition to Friedman's style gallery: electronic muzak with a strong rhythmic base and hints of dub.
A friend summed this album up very perceptively as a Burnt Friedman date where somebody told him to strip all the rhythmic detail out to see what remains. If you're wondering what this CD actually sounds like, I cant tell you; its like everything and nothing. (Listen to the samples). I return to previous Friedman/Flanger albums again and again, each time discovering new details. Secret Rhythms keeps me returning, this time trying to grasp hold of Friedman's ghost as it dissolves in the air.