Holger Czukay facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Holger Czukay
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Czukay in 1973
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Holger Schüring |
| Born | 24 March 1938 Free City of Danzig (present-day Gdańsk, Poland) |
| Died | 5 September 2017 (aged 79) Weilerswist, Germany |
| Genres |
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| Instruments | Bass, guitar, keyboards, percussion, drums, vocals, French horn |
| Years active | 1968–2017 |
| Labels |
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| Associated acts | Can |
Holger Schüring (born March 24, 1938 – died September 5, 2017), known as Holger Czukay, was a German musician. He was a co-founder of the famous krautrock band Can. People remember Czukay for mixing pop sounds with experimental music. He also created early ambient music and explored "world music" before it was a common term. He was a pioneer in sampling, which means using parts of other recordings in new music.
Contents
About Holger Czukay
Holger Czukay was born in the Free City of Danzig (now Gdańsk, Poland) on March 24, 1938. His family had to leave their home after World War II. Because of the war, Holger's early schooling was limited.
Early Experiences
When he was a teenager, Czukay worked at a radio repair shop. This job was very important for him. He started to love the sounds of radio broadcasts. This later led him to use shortwave radio sounds in his music. He also learned the basics of electrical repair and engineering there.
Music Studies and New Ideas
From 1963 to 1966, Czukay studied music with Karlheinz Stockhausen, a famous experimental composer. After that, he taught music for a while. At first, Czukay was not very interested in rock music. But this changed when a student played him "I Am the Walrus" by the Beatles in 1967. This song was psychedelic rock with unusual music and radio noise. It opened his mind to experimental rock artists like The Velvet Underground and Frank Zappa.
Joining the Band Can
Czukay helped start the band Can in 1968. He played bass guitar and was in charge of most of the recording for the group. In 1977, Rosko Gee joined the band as a bassist. Czukay then focused on tapes and sound effects for their album Saw Delight. This was his last album with Can before he started his solo career. He left Can because he had different ideas about music and felt he wasn't improving enough as a bassist. He had started playing bass "almost by accident" when Can first began.
Solo Career and Sampling
After leaving Can, Czukay made several albums on his own. One of his special ways of making music was using sounds from shortwave radio. He was also one of the first to use sampling. In those days, sampling meant carefully cutting and taping together pieces of magnetic tape. He would record different sounds and bits from shortwave radio. Then, he would add them into his songs.
He also used shortwave radio as a live musical instrument, like on his 1991 album Radio Wave Surfer. He called this way of making music "radio painting." Czukay believed that "If you want to make something new, you shouldn't think too far beyond one certain idea."
Working with Other Musicians
Czukay worked with many other musicians. He made several albums with Jah Wobble and David Sylvian. These younger British musicians also liked to mix pop music with experimental recording and sampling. He also worked with U.N.K.L.E., Brian Eno, Eurythmics, and the German band Trio.
In 2009, Czukay started working with the Claremont 56 record label. They released vinyl remixes of his older songs and some new recordings. This changed his plans for his older music. Albums like Der Osten ist Rot (1984), Rome Remains Rome (1987), and Moving Pictures (1993) were no longer reissued. Instead, many of the songs were remade and released as special vinyl editions.
In 2018, a new collection of Czukay's work was announced. It was a box set called Cinema. This five-disc set included both classic and unreleased music from his solo career. It also featured many of his famous collaborations with artists like Eno, Wobble, Sylvian, and Stockhausen.
Personal Life
Holger Czukay was married for over twenty years to the German painter and singer Ursula Kloss. She was known as Ursa Major, and later, as U-She. They worked together on many art and music projects. Ursula Kloss-Schüring passed away on July 28, 2017, at age 55, after being ill for a long time.
Death
Holger Czukay's body was found in his apartment on September 5, 2017. The New York Times reported that he had died on that day. His death was later believed to be from natural causes.
Discography
Solo Albums
- Canaxis 5 (1969, re-released 2006)
- Movies (1979, re-released 2007)
- On the Way to the Peak of Normal (1981)
- Der Osten ist Rot (1984)
- Rome Remains Rome (1987)
- Radio Wave Surfer (1991, re-released 2006) (Live recordings from 1984, 1986 & 1987)
- Moving Pictures (1993)
- Good Morning Story (1999, re-released 2006)
- La Luna (2000, re-released 2007)
- Linear City (2001, re-released and remixed 2006)
- 11 Years Innerspace (2015, limited edition vinyl and CD in Japan)
Collaboration Albums
- Biomutanten / Menetekel (as Les Vampyrettes with Conny Plank) (1981)
- Full Circle (1982) with Jah Wobble and Jaki Liebezeit
- Snake Charmer (1983) EP, with Jah Wobble, The Edge, and Ben Mandelson
- Brilliant Trees (1984), with David Sylvian
- Plight & Premonition (1988, re-released 2018) with David Sylvian
- Flux + Mutability (1989, re-released 2018) with David Sylvian
- Clash (1998, re-released 2007) with Dr. Walker
- The New Millennium (2003) with U-She
- Daemon In The Bar (2006) with Bob Humid
- Time and Tide (2001, re-released 2007) with U-She
- Freemix (2004)
- 21st Century (2007) with Ursa Major and Drew Kalapach
- Ode to Perfume / Fragrance (2009) 10 inch single
- Way to LA (2010) 10 inch single with Bison and Ursa Major
- Let's Get Hot / Let's Get Cool (2010) 12 inch single
- Persian Love (Remix) / My Persian Love (2010) 12 inch single
- Dream Again (2010) 10 inch double EP
- Hit Hit Flop Flop (Remix) / Hey Baba Reebop (2011) 7 inch single
With Can
See also
In Spanish: Holger Czukay para niños
- Krieg der Töne (experimental film, 1987)
- List of ambient music artists
