Vocalist Damo Suzuki featured on the krautrock legends’ classic albums, “ Tago Mago “, ” Ege Bamyasi ” And ” Future Days “.
Damo Suzuki, lead singer of krautrock legends Can, has died at the age of 74.
The German group announced Suzuki’s death on social networks on Saturday; Although the cause of death was not released, Suzuki had been battling colon cancer for a decade, and revealed in a 2022 documentary that he previously had only a 10% chance of survival.
“ It is with great sadness that we must announce the passing of our wonderful friend Damo Suzuki, yesterday, Friday February 9, 2024Can said in a statement. His boundless creative energy has touched so many people around the world, not only with Can, but also with his Network Tour which spans the entire continent. We will forever miss Damo’s kind soul and cheeky smile. »
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The group added: “ He will join Michael, Jaki and Holger for a fantastic jam », referring to members Michael Karoli, Jaki Liebezeit and Holger Czukay, also deceased.
Suzuki was a teenager when he left his native Japan and began performing in Europe. By chance, he was performing on a street in Munich, Germany, when Liebezeit and Czukay spotted him and invited him to join Can on stage that evening; Can’s original singer, Malcolm Mooney (who appeared on their debut album Monster Movie in 1969) had already left the experimental rock group.
In 1970, Suzuki officially joined Can, first appearing on their song ” Don’t Turn the Light On, Leave Me Alone » before serving as lead vocalist on the group’s series of now-classic albums: Tago Mago in 1971, Ege Bamyasi in 1972, and Future Days in 1973. On the first two albums, Suzuki’s free vocals and seemingly stream-of-consciousness lyrics (for example, on ” Halleluhwah “, he recites the names of the other songs on the album) punctuated the krautrock grooves.
“ I don’t like playing the same song over and over againSuzuki told the Guardian in 2022. Repetition is boring. Each performance should be a unique experience. »
After Future Days, Suzuki left Can after marrying a German woman and converting to Jehovah’s Witnesses, devoting the next ten years to that religion. After leaving the church, he returned to music in 1983 with a project alternately called Damo Suzuki’s Network and Damo Suzuki Band. Although Suzuki remained musically active until his death, he, unlike Mooney, never joined Can in their occasional reformations over the following decades.
