Malcolm Mooney facts for kids

Malcolm "Desse" Mooney, born in 1944, is an American singer, poet, and artist. He is famous for being the first singer of the German band Can. Can is known for its unique style of music called krautrock.

Malcolm Mooney's Life Story

Growing Up and Early Adventures

Malcolm Mooney's father was a jazz piano player. He had learned music from a teacher who also taught Nina Simone. Malcolm spent his early years in Westchester County. He loved music from a young age and tried learning the accordion, clarinet, and saxophone. In high school, he joined an a cappella group called the "Six-Fifths."

Later, Mooney moved to Boston to live with his sister. There, he studied art at Boston University. He wanted to become a painter and sculptor. While in Boston, he met composer Ivan Tcherepnin and his wife.

After Boston, Mooney moved to New York City. He became known as a sculptor there. In 1967, Mooney and his friend, Joshua Zim, left the United States. They wanted to avoid military service during the Vietnam War. They flew from New York to Reykjavík, then to Luxembourg. From there, they hitchhiked to Paris.

In Paris, they stayed at an apartment belonging to Serge Tcherepnin, Ivan's brother. They shared the space with a Portuguese composer. After a short stay, Mooney and Zim continued their journey. They hitchhiked south through France to the coast of Spain. They hoped to cross to Morocco and travel across North Africa by camel. However, the Strait of Gibraltar crossing was closed, and they were stuck in Algeciras.

Mooney and Zim spent three weeks on the island of Formentera. They then traveled across the Mediterranean Sea to Bombay (now Mumbai). After a brief visit, they hitchhiked back to Europe. They arrived in Paris in late 1966. There, Mooney met Hildegard Schmidt, whose husband, Irmin Schmidt, was a German composer. Hildegard learned Malcolm was an artist. She invited him to Cologne, Germany, to meet other artists. In April 1968, Mooney flew to Cologne and stayed with the Schmidt family.

Joining the Band Can

While in Cologne, Malcolm Mooney became good friends with Irmin Schmidt and Holger Czukay. They were starting a band and asked him to be their lead singer. The band was first called "Inner Space." But Mooney came up with the name "The Can," which was later shortened to Can.

Can showed him some instrumental music. They asked him to write lyrics for it. This led to the song "Father Cannot Yell" on their album Monster Movie. The song was inspired by his travels and his friend Zim's relationship. Holger Czukay later said that when Malcolm sang, he pushed the band into a strong rhythm. Irmin Schmidt added that Malcolm's arrival gave the group the final push towards rock music.

Mooney recorded enough songs with Can for their first album. It was first called Prepared To Meet Thy Pnoom. No record company wanted to release it at the time. But it was finally released in 1981 as Delay 1968. Can's second album, Monster Movie, became their first released album in 1969. It was popular in the German underground music scene. Other songs Mooney recorded with the band appeared on albums like Soundtracks and Unlimited Edition.

Soon after recording Monster Movie, Mooney left the band and returned to America. A doctor suggested that leaving Can's intense music would be better for his well-being.

Later Music and Art

Mooney reunited with Can in 1986 to record a special album called Rite Time. He also released three albums with a band from San Francisco called Tenth Planet. One of these albums included a new version of "Father Cannot Yell."

In 2002, Mooney sang on Andy Votel's "All Ten Fingers" album. He sang on the song "Salted Tangerines," which was based on his own poem. Mooney now mostly focuses on his visual art. In 2007, he showed one of his art pieces at White Columns in New York.

In 2013, Mooney started working with drummer Sean Noonan. They recorded an album called Pavees Dance: There's Always the Night. The group performed in France in 2014 before the album and a book of Mooney's art and lyrics were released.

In April 2017, Mooney performed at the Barbican Centre in London. He was the lead singer for The Can Project, a reunion concert. Irmin Schmidt was there, along with Thurston Moore from Sonic Youth and Debbie Googe from My Bloody Valentine. The concert happened after Can's drummer, Jaki Liebezeit, had passed away.

In 2021, Mooney's art was shown at the Aspen Art Museum in an exhibition called Winterfest. In 2022, he had an exhibition in New York called "Works 1970-1986." Mooney created his first geometric artworks in 1970 for a play. He later made silk screens at his father’s print shop in Yonkers, New York. He said these pieces were inspired by a close-up image of kente cloth. This image influenced his grid paintings and drawings throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Mooney's interest grew after seeing an exhibition of African textiles in 1972. He also became friends with textile expert Sara Penn.

Mooney's work often mixes practical objects with fine art. He has worked on stage designs, graphic design, textiles, and even fashion shows. This shows how he combines different types of art.

Malcolm Mooney's Music

Malcolm Mooney has appeared on these albums:

With Can:

• Monster Movie (1969)
• Soundtracks (1970)
• Unlimited Edition (1976)
• Delay 1968 (1981)
• Rite Time (1989)
• Anthology (1994)
• The Lost Tapes (2012)

With Tenth Planet:

• Malcolm Mooney and the Tenth Planet (1998)
• Hysterica (2006)
• inCANtations (2011)

With Luis Tovar and Alex Marcelo:

• Malcolm Mooney (2011)

With Andy Votel:

• All Ten Fingers (2002)

With Dave Tyack:

• Rip Van Winkle (2003)

With Sean Noonan:

• Pavees Dance: There's Always the Night (2014)
• Tan Man's Hat (2019)

With Jane Weaver:

• Modern Kosmology (2017)

Videos Featuring Malcolm Mooney

• Romantic Warriors IV: Krautrock (2019)