walking upstream…
Can
Formed in Cologne by classically trained musicians and jazz players, Can fused Karlheinz Stockhausen's tape experiments, James Brown's groove, and vocalist Damo Suzuki's stream-of-consciousness delivery into the long, hypnotic jams that defined krautrock. Tago Mago and Ege Bamyasi remain foundational texts for building rock music out of repetition, edit, and groove rather than verse-chorus form.
the sound in question
1971
HalleluwahCan
walk the tributaries ↓
Karlheinz Stockhausen1950s–60s · Electronic / Avant-garde / Musique concrete
Founders Irmin Schmidt and Holger Czukay both studied composition under Stockhausen and carried his tape-splicing, musique-concrete methods directly into Can's studio process.
listen: upstream & here
1956
Gesang der JünglingeKarlheinz Stockhausen
1972
Peking OCan
listen forSudden edits, spliced-together fragments, and studio-collage textures that don't behave like a band simply playing live in a room.
James Brown1960s–70s · Funk / Soul / R&B
Guitarist Michael Karoli's fondness for James Brown fed directly into Can's rhythm section, and drummer Jaki Liebezeit built his playing around the same tight, repeating funk pocket.
listen: upstream & here
1967
Cold SweatJames Brown
1972
Vitamin CCan
listen forA drum-and-bass groove that locks into one tight repeating pattern and rides it, funk-style, underneath all the studio weirdness layered on top.
The Beatles1960s · Rock / Pop rock
Irmin Schmidt has said he discovered The Beatles alongside James Brown and the Velvet Underground on a formative New York trip, and Can's members pointed to Revolver's tape-loop experiments among their touchstones.
listen: upstream & here
1966
Tomorrow Never KnowsThe Beatles
1970
Mother SkyCan
listen forA long, droning jam built around a single loop rather than a chorus — the psychedelic tape-loop idea of 'Tomorrow Never Knows' stretched out to its extreme.