The co-founder of legendary krautrock band CAN, and a musique concrete experimentalist, veteran musician Holger Czukay has died at the age of 79.
As Fact Reports: “Czukay was an active musician for over 40 years. He studied with visionary composer Karlheinz Stockhausen from 1963 to 1966 before founding Can with guitarist Michael Karoli in 1968. Inspired by the Velvet Underground and Frank Zappa – but otherwise not that interested in rock music – Can established themselves as innovators of genre-hybridization, mixing jazz, world music and ambient to make some of the most avant-garde pop and rock of the ’70s.”
Czukay’s later career was defined by musique concrete and sound splicing, pioneering the use of samplers such as the Emu Emulator, which would eventually influence late 20th century pop.
Czukay’s death follows the passing of fellow band member Jaki Liebezeit earlier this year.
