RIP Jaki Liebezeit

That's awesome you played those songs. Someone will hear them for the first time! I'm still sad about his death. I just wasn't anticipating it at all. I wanted more
and more
and more
and more
and more
and more

and more

The thing about Jaki and the whole "Human Metronome" thing is that for the last 25 years he's been anything but. Certainly he traded on it a bit on the Rother records (tho I think he sounds more like he's doing a Klaus Dinger on those records than anything there). But as the Friedman stuff and a bunch of his other stuff show in the years since, Jaki became an increasingly supple percussionist on the back nine of his career. It was always there but increasingly much more "Quantum Physics" than "Hallelujah." And he was every bit as good as ever.

Thank you Jaki. What a musician.

xxp: again, the "metronome" aspect has nothing to do with boring regularity in the actual rhythm played. It's the pulse which anchors all his fluidity and adventurousness. It's exactly like the best Autechre, there are rhythm patterns bordering on chaos but the pulse is implied so strongly it's visceral.
Klaus Dinger played much more straight "motorik" beats for Neu! et al., but Jaki's metronome was like an atomic clock by comparison.

they are all super-distinctive

Who ever sounded like Irmin Schmidt either? The ferocious solos toward the end of "Halleluhwah?"

I feel like the metronome thing is insufficient. He didn't play on time or in time, he played with time. The beats were all in the right places, but there was a huge amount of elasticity between them.

Human metronome makes him sound super boring and he was so NOT boring.

He was powerful. And clever.

And had super chops.

We were lucky to have him.

He didn't play on time or in time, he played with time.

It's almost like he was in liebe with ziet

Human metronome makes him sound super boring and he was so NOT boring.

About to come here to post this, more or less. Several of the obits I've seen complimented Jaki along the lines of "human metronome," but that is so inaccurate. He swung like a motherfucker, and just as no one would describe Elvin Jones as a human metronome, or John Bonham, for that matter, the phrase makes no sense describing what Jaki did. Now, Klaus Dinger, sure, human metronome. But Jaki? No way.

i think it's because of those quotes from his bandmates saying he *wanted* to play like a machine.

"His deepest desire was to become a human machine," explains Czukay, "and he found the right guys to enforce that. He was The Can, he was the central figure; we all played around him."

"I didn't understand his aims in those days," adds Karoli, "because I still thought music was very much a human thing. But a drum machine could never play like Jaki: I know no other drummer who has such a sense of dosage for every single beat, how strong to hit it. The regularity of his snare drum work triggered off hallucinations."

What a fucked up metronome. I'm going to have my daughter practice her piano to Can and then blow her teacher's mind.

xxp: again, the "metronome" aspect has nothing to do with boring regularity in the actual rhythm played. It's the pulse which anchors all his fluidity and adventurousness. It's exactly like the best Autechre, there are rhythm patterns bordering on chaos but the pulse is implied so strongly it's visceral.
Klaus Dinger played much more straight "motorik" beats for Neu! et al., but Jaki's metronome was like an atomic clock by comparison.

― attention vampire (MatthewK), Tuesday, 24 January 2017 03:34 (twelve hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

^^^^

I think that's crazy, too, re: Autechre. I love Autechre beats, but "metronomic" is absolutely not the word I'd choose.

So I take it no one has listened to his playing on the Michael Rother records then? He is absolutely not swinging at all on those or deviating much from the set pattern. As noted above, he is almost doing a Klaus Dinger impression on those four records (all of which I love in part because of his Jaki's minimalist playing).

Just to be clear, my point was not that he was a human metronome – or that he was similar to Dinger. Rather, it was 1) that his reputation was perhaps influenced by those Rother records and, more importantly, 2) that his style and sound changed considerably in the second half of his career.

As amazing as something like "Hallelujah" was, there is a metric ton of James Brown in that performance that I haven't come across in any of his post-80s work. When I came across his performances on Nicky Skopelitis's Ecstasis, his sound had become much more Caribbean- and African-based, with tighter snares, more toms and odder time signatures. He continued that approach through much of the next two-plus decades.

That's all I was saying.

he is almost doing a Klaus Dinger impression on those four records

Not much almost about it tbh. I don't think they had much of an impact on his reputation one way or the other, his style had changed on Can records by then anyway.

yeah i think i assumed that the drummer on flammende herzen was dinger at first. seem to recall that Rother said Liebezeit was a genius, while Dinger was just "crazy."

Nicky Skopelitis's Ecstasis

wow I totally forgot about this album (and Jaki being on it). I bought so many of those Axiom records at the time.

Would someone be able to attempt a Jaki playlist? Realising how little of his post-Can work I'm aware of.

here's a good primer on his non-Can action: http://pitchfork.com/thepitch/1422-jaki-liebezeits-best-drumming-outside-of-can/

He's on every Holger Czukay album - except the ones that don't have drums. Plus, I keep mentioning this album in the hope that someone listens to it, the album "Alex" by, er, Alex.

Cheers for the primer link, Tyler. How have I never heard that Wobble track? Magnificent.

xxxxxp Josh - all I can say is playing Autechre in the car, my daughter observed "dad you are tapping to a beat which is not in the music". Maybe it's just me.

Search out the recent Can poll results thread, also includes extra-Canicular activity.

The Alex album is certainly notable for being Holger & Jaki in Can studio in 1973 rehearsing or reprising Future Days type stuff. One track has a rhythm section that's basically a version of Spray.

Also check an uncredited Jaki on a Samba-Trip / Samba-Session & Hello Beach-Girls on Richard Schneider Jr.'s Dreamlike Land album.

As amazing as something like "Hallelujah" was,

Someone should get their plunderphonic on and do a Handel halleluwah chorus

NP pluramon render bandits
This is delicious and I am excited that I've never over-listened to it despite having it awhile

it is so good!

I've seen it spelled both ways, Halleluwah/jah

Halleluwhuh?

Been listening all week to all five volumes of the Secret Rhythms records on Spotify. Not sure which I like best (5 is pretty great) but this goes down very well as I mourn the guy.

Been listening all week to all five volumes of the Secret Rhythms records on Spotify. Not sure which I like best (5 is pretty great) but this goes down very well as I mourn the guy.

I know no other drummer who has such a sense of dosage for every single beat,

so rad to read this, amid the other medically-inflected can lexicon picks; dosage

Trying to get a drummer friend into Jaki. Can you give me a POX of highlights?

Halleluwah and Pinch are my first options.

Live version of Yoo Doo Right
Mother Sky
This person should not need a lot of convincing imo!

Live version of Yoo Doo Right
Mother Sky
This person should not need a lot of convincing imo!

Those are overdubs not duplicate posts btw ;)

Played Can for the first time to an older friend of mine who is mostly into jazz and more obvious rock, but who has been receptively (at the least from an academic stance) to weirder, more experimental stuff, and he was fascinated.

I put back up a mix I did in 2009 of post-Can music by Can folks from 1979-1984, as 17 out the 22 tracks feature Jaki. Somebody should do a further volume from 1985-2016. . .

Can – ‘The Church of Latter-Day Can, Book Two’
(Beyond Can, 1977-1984)

01 Michael Rother (with Liebezeit & Plank) – “Karussell” (Edit) – [‘Flammende Herzen,’ 1977] (3:22)
02 Michael Rother (with Liebezeit & Plank) – “Zeni” (Edit) – [‘Flammende Herzen,’ 1977] (3:38)
03 Czukay (with Liebezeit & Rebop Baah) – Cool in the Pool” – [‘Movies,’ 1979] (5:03)
04 Phantom Band (with Liebezeit) – “Without Desire” – [‘Phantom Band,’ 1980] (2:38)
05 Phantom Band (with Liebezeit & Rosko Gee) – “You Inspired Me” – [‘Phantom Band,’ 1980] (4:00)
06 Eurythmics (with Liebezeit) – “Take Me To Your Heart” – [‘In The Garden,’ 1981] (3:35)
07 Eurythmics (with Czukay & Liebezeit) – “Never Gonna Cry Again” – [‘In The Garden,’ 1981] (3:05)
08 Les Vampyrettes (Czukay & Plank) – “Biomutanten” (Edit) – [‘Biomutanten‘ EP, 1981] (3:32)
09 Phantom Band (with Liebezeit) – “Experiments” – [‘Freedom of Speech,’ 1981] (3:34)
10 Liebezeit, Czukay & Jah Wobble – Trench Warfare” – [‘How Much Are They?‘ EP, 1981] (4:50)
11 Czukay (with Liebezeit) – “Fragrance” – [‘On the Way to the Peak of Normal,’ 1981] (4:13)
12 Phew (with Liebezeit & Czukay) – “Fragment” – [‘Phew,’ 1981] (3:59)
13 Schmidt (with Bruno Spoerri) – “Toy Planet” – [‘Toy Planet,’ 1981] (3:04)
14 Schmidt (with Liebezeit, Karoli & Gee) – “Endstation Freiheit” – [‘Filmmuzik Vol. 2,’ 1981] (3:37)
15 Dunkelziffer (with Liebezeit) – “Strom” (Edit) – [‘Stil Der Neuen Zeit’ EP, 1982] (3:03)
16 Czukay, Jah Wobble, The Edge & Francois Kevorkian – “Snake Charmer” – [‘Snake Charmer’ EP, 1983] (4:07)
17 Gabi Delgado (with Liebezeit) – “Victim” – [‘Mistress,’ 1983] (3:30)
18 Phantom Band (with Liebezeit) – “The Party” – [‘Nowhere,’ 1984] (1:31)
19 Phantom Band (with Liebezeit) – “Loading Zone” – [‘Nowhere,’ 1984] (3:50)
20 Dunkelziffer (with Suzuki) – “Watch On My Head” – [‘In The Night,’ 1984] (2:52)
21 Karoli & Polly Eltes (with Liebezeit) – “Yours & Mine” – [‘Deluge,’ 1984] (4:28)
22 Karoli & Polly Eltes – “Watch On My Head” (Edit) – [‘Deluge,’ 1984] (3:47)

[Total Time: 78:37]

https://musicophilia.wordpress.com/2009/06/16/one-off-can-the-church-of-latter-day-can-book-two-beyond-can-1977-1984/

thanks, looks great

https://soundcloud.com/kumo/sets/jaki-cassette-excerpts

please someone please help put this book project up to goal so we can hear more of these
i could listen to this all day tbh

"Jaki used cassettes as a notepad – a rehearsal tool, recording not just himself for reference but also the groups who would play together in his room.
He enjoyed the simplicity of one button each for record and playback and that there was no complex set up with microphones.
He also experimented with the auto record levelling system of cheap recorders."

Update:

Manuscript received!
Tuesday, 7 August 2018
Hi Everyone
Just a quick note to let you know that the manuscript for the book has been submitted and received by Unbound; which means the painstaking but now irrevocable process of publishing now begins!
The book will slowly become a reality over the next 12 months and I'll keep you updated at various milestones along the way. It was a very exciting moment when we pieced a ll the chapters from the various contributors together and got a feel for what a wonderful thing we're creating here.
More soon.... and thanks again for your support over the last 12 months
Jono

yaaaay finally it is going to happen!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNrV_pnamQ4

That's a good jam.

My it is a good jam

the rhythm goes on!