Can • Dizzy Dizzy • 1974

Restoration of the 1974 promo video for this classic Can track.

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Dizzy Dizzy is the opening track from Soon Over Babaluma, the 6th album by German band Can. The album continued the ambient yet rhythmic style of its predecessor, Future Days. Vocalist, Damo Suzuki, had departed in ’73, so now vocal duties were shared between guitarist Michael Karoli & keyboardist Irmin Schmidt. On Dizzy Dizzy it’s Karoli on vocals. As Dominique Leone nicely puts it, in his 2005 review of the remastered edition of Soon Over Babaluma, “His (Karoli’s) refrain of "got to get it up, got to get it over" serves the insistent, space-bounce of the track”.

Can was a German experimental rock band formed in Cologne, Germany, in 1968 by Holger Czukay (bass), Irmin Schmidt (keyboards), Michael Karoli (guitar), and Jaki Liebezeit (drums). The band drew from backgrounds in avant-garde and jazz. Can incorporated minimalist, electronic, and world music elements into their often psychedelic and funk-inflected music. They have been widely hailed as pioneers of the German krautrock scene.

Much of Can’s early music came from free improvisations recorded direct to 2-track, during long jam sessions at the bands Inner Space studio in Cologne. The recordings were later edited down and constructed into tracks for the studio albums.

Can exerted a considerable influence on avant-garde, experimental, post-punk, ambient, new wave and electronic music. They were an influence on artists such as David Bowie, Talking Heads, The Fall, Public Image Ltd, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Joy Division, Suicide, Pavement, The Stone Roses, Sonic Youth, Happy Mondays, Talk Talk, The Jesus and Marychain and Primal Scream. 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 ambient jungle."

Can came to me in the mid-80’s. My colleague at Virgin Records High Street Croydon, Richard Bentley, from the band Circus Circus Circus, had made me a compilation tape, and featured on it was the track, “Moonshake” by Can, from their 1973 Future Days album. I was blown away by Future Days. The Side One’s of Future Days and Soon Over Babaluma soon became a mainstay of many smashed out of my brain post-rave all-nighters, throughout the 80’s and 90’s. Their extraordinary music is so profundly etched into my subconscious from those deep, deep listening sessions.

Some of the very early work, and the latter Can albums, and some of their more far-out tracks don’t work for me. But the incredible trio of albums, Tago Mago (’71), Ege Bamyasi (’72) and the aforementioned Future Days (’73) contain some of the greatest music I have ever heard.

I met Can keyboardist, Irmin Schmidt once. It was in the early 90's at Midem, the annual music industry convention is Cannes. The music distributor I worked for was buying vinyl from Can's label, Spoon Records, and my boss knew I was a huge Can fan. He sprung a surprise on me... and suddenly I'm shaking the hand of the guy who had contributed such an important part of the soundtrack of my life with his euphoric music. I did what I always do when I meet a personal hero: I was dumbstruck, and mumbled something to Mr. Schmidt that was I guess pretty incoherent.

I was lucky enough to see one of the Can-Solo-Projects shows, in '99. Michael Karoli, Irmin Schmidt, and Jaki Liebezeit played separate sets. Two years after that show, Michael Karoli passed away, and this year we lost both Jaki Liebezeit, and Holger Czukay, leaving Irmin Schmidt as the only surviving long-term member of Can.

This edit is made from the partial video of Dizzy Dizzy, featured on the 1999 Can Documentary. Most of the music clips from the documentary are already online, but not Dizzy Dizzy. To me, the footage is a fascinating glimpse of the band in their Inner Space studio, where they jammed and experimented to produce the music for their early, important albums.

Thanks for watching, hope you dig it!

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Credits

Audio:
Can • Dizzy Dizzy • from the album Soon Over Babaluma • Recorded August 1974 • Released November 1974 • Produced by Can • Engineered & edited by Holger Czukay

Video:
Dizzy Dizzy promo video • 1974 • Directed by P. Przygodda / R. Müller • from Can Documentary • 1999

Musicians:
Michael Karoli • vocals, violin, guitar
Irmin Schmidt • organ, electric piano, alpha 77
Jaki Liebezeit • drums, percussion
Holger Czukay • bass

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Always more videos to follow, so please keep your electric eye on me babe!

I don't own the rights, and I'm not making any money out of this etc. Just a fan making videos for other fans.

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#Can #SoonOverBabaluma

[richleonard]

Can was the only band I ever heard in the Cambridge Corn Exchange. I mean, I SAW lots of bands there, but the acoustics were so bad you couldn't hear a damn thing. You might as well have stuck your head in a jet engine. Can, on the other hand delivered a pristine, coherent sound with every detail clear. How? I don't know but they did, and it was a mesmerising concert. Magnificent band.

[mohomoho]

The greatest rock band ever and most people have never heard of them

[canadianroot]

Wow. It’s like they took multiple genres, put them in a blender, and created their own new genre.

[theseventhfolder]

I watch this video everyday before going to sleep.

[JamesJones-iv]

I remember discovering Can on YT like 15 yrs ago. Still think they might just be the greatest band ever

[taffyjones]

In all honesty, Can could go from the sublime to the ridiculous! This is SUBLIME 👍

[noahalliston]

This is an amazing video of them in the recording studio, had no idea it even existed. Watching stuff like this makes you realize that every single member of CAN were absolute masters of their craft and of their instruments, every single one of them firing on every cylinder.

[fleetingglimpse]

The best live gig I ever experienced (London mid-70's) complete with wind (machine) blown palm trees on stage !

[hifibrony]

Can = genius. There has never been anyone like them before or since. And there never will be.

That Echoplex on the bass is brilliant.

[bent]

It's just one of those songs that comes out of nowhere. I don't think there have been made a song like this before or since. It's THAT unique.

[Verwurster-jeel]

My favourite song, the barkeeper had to play it every weekend from 1977 to 1979. Can and Zappa are the best for me.

[NormAppleton]

Don't throw ashtrays at me.


Love seeing the gang together, Schmidt, Holger, Karoli, Jaki. It really hit me to see this.

[stevendphoto]

When I was 15, my uncle took me to Licorice Pizza and I bought Future Days, cause I liked the look on it...

[jgoldwhite]

Long term LOVER of Can, first time seeing this live footage, many thanks for posting this beautiful historic artifact! What can I say (that won't violate community guidelines 😱), except that they were and remain prescient in their immaculate funkiness; there is something in their music that I find is psychedelic beyond "psychedelic music", the repetitive web of overlaying rhythm trips the neurons...

[klaus]

Muito triste pois o baterista violonista e baixista já faleceram porém deixaram este som magistral fenomenal fantástico sensacional estupendo

[soppdrake]

Glad to have seen them live in London (just after the release of Landed). Still one of my favourite bands 🥰

[JohnMcsherry-okhq]

I bought this album when it came out. I still dig it.

[chrisbinckes]

the total album 'soon over babaluma' is so enigmatic its 2000 light years ahead of its time... viva CAN eternal

[Crispy]

I was introduced to Can in the mid 70's when a friend lent me the single edit of Moonshake and Future days. Soon Over Babaluma followed with Dizzy Dizzy and Chain Reaction getting a lot of plays in my bedroom at deafening levels much to the annoyance of parents and neighbours alike.

[samspookyrice]

Nice.
Always happy to see footage of these guys. Wish there were more.