Holger Czukay
Canaxis

LA RECENSIONE

When talking about electronic music, one cannot overlook the name Holger Czukay.
A student of Stockhausen, founder of CAN, Czukay made a fundamental contribution to the development of sound manipulation methods, mixing, and production. If Stockhausen invented the avant-garde classical, Czukay managed to make it accessible to rock listeners, continuing the mission of the Velvet Underground.
Even before the first album with CAN, in 1968, Czukay composed "CANAXIS" (originally CANAXIS 5), with the technical assistance of Rolf Dammers. The album consists of two long suites, "Boat-Woman-Song" and "Canaxis" both derived from a tape commercially available in those years of traditional Vietnamese songs. The result is astounding considering the sparse equipment used, and the insights contained are countless.

"Boat-Woman-Song" can be likened in mysticism to the suites of Popol Vuh, the chants are expertly bounced from one channel to another, overlapped with curious vocal loops and long keyboard textures. The central phase of the suite is highly experimental, entirely focused on noise, gradually dissipating to allow the reinsertion of the initial motif.
Even more surprising is "CANAXIS", similar to "Saucerful of Secrets" in structure, but even more alien thanks to the use of sounds that seem to come from a mechanical workshop. The voices are so filtered that they become obscure murmurs, the result is obsessive, dark.
But as in the Pink Floyd masterpiece, "CANAXIS" is also about to reveal itself as sublime, as a delicate synth gradually sweeps away the noisy chaos, serving as a backdrop to an extraordinary oriental-tinged arpeggio. In addition to the original album, a brief composition from 1960, the first by CAN, "Mellow Out" was included.

Apart from the curiosities and oddities that such an experimental work contains, CANAXIS is an album of great artistic value. And it is truly a snapshot of the great artistic ferment bubbling in Germany during those years.