Damo Suzuki
Encyclopedia
, universally known as Damo Suzuki (ダモ鈴木), is a singer best known for his membership in the German
krautrock
group Can
.
.
When Malcolm Mooney
left Can
after recording their first album Monster Movie, Holger Czukay
and Jaki Liebezeit
encountered Suzuki busking in Munich, Germany whilst the two were sitting outside at a street café. They invited him to join the group, and he did, performing with them that evening.
Suzuki was with Can from 1970 to 1973, recording a number of well-regarded albums such as Tago Mago
, Future Days
and Ege Bamyasi
. Suzuki's first vocal performance with Can was "Don't Turn the Light On, Leave Me Alone" from Soundtracks
His freeform, often improvised lyrics, sung in no particular language gelled with Can's rolling, psychedelic
sound.
Suzuki converted to the Jehovah's Witness faith when he married his German girlfriend, who was also a Jehovah's Witness, after the release of the album Future Days
, and retired from music in 1974.
He returned to music in 1983, and currently leads what is known as Damo Suzuki's Network - as he tours, he performs live improvisational music with various local musicians (so-called "Sound Carriers" ) from around the world, thus building up a 'network' of musicians with whom he collaborates. As far as more recent recorded material is concerned, Damo is featured on electronic/hip-hop producer Sixtoo
's album, "Chewing on Glass and Other Miracle Cures" (Ninja Tune
, 2004).
Among the musicians in his live shows have been Michael Karoli
and Jaki Liebezeit
of Can, Mani Neumeier
of Guru Guru
, Dustin Donaldson of I Am Spoonbender
, Cul De Sac, Passierzettel, The Early Years, The Bees
, Do Make Say Think
, Broken Social Scene
, Airiel
, Acid Mothers Temple
, The Holy Soul
, Steve Dinsdale, The Sandells, Tay Zonday
, the Omar Rodriguez-Lopez Quintet (with whom he has recorded the 2007 EP Please Heat This Eventually
), The Skull Defekts, AIDS Wolf
, Radio Massacre International, Edmondo Ammendola and Dave Williams of Augie March
, Gordon J Watson & Simon Doling of Terminal Cheesecake
, Jonny Williams, Stephen McBean from Black Mountain
, The Prestidigitators, Gary Jeff of God, Calamalka, Karl Asa of J>A>W>, Hamish Black, tynder, Neočekivana Sila Koja Se Iznenada Pojavljuje i Rešava Stvar and many, many others.
Suzuki has been recognised by name by at least three different bands. The Fall's 1985 album This Nation's Saving Grace
features a song "I Am Damo Suzuki," inspired by and dedicated to the singer. The rock band The Mooney Suzuki
takes its name from Damo Suzuki and Can's earlier vocalist Malcolm Mooney
. UK based psych/prog rockers Dudes Of Neptune have dedicated an album, Jamming For Damo, to Suzuki.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
krautrock
Krautrock
Krautrock is a generic name for the experimental music scenes that appeared in Germany in the late 1960s and gained popularity throughout the 1970s, especially in Britain. The term is a result of the English-speaking world's reception of the music at the time and not a reference to any one...
group Can
Can (band)
Can was an experimental rock band formed in Cologne, West Germany in 1968. Later labeled as one of the first "krautrock" groups, they transcended mainstream influences and incorporated strong minimalist and world music elements into their often psychedelic music.Can constructed their music largely...
.
Biography
As a teenager, Suzuki spent the late 1960s wandering around Europe, often buskingBusking
Street performance or busking is the practice of performing in public places, for gratuities, which are generally in the form of money and edibles...
.
When Malcolm Mooney
Malcolm Mooney
Malcolm Mooney is an American singer, poet, and artist, probably best known as the original vocalist for German krautrock band Can.-Biography:Mooney began singing in high school, and was a member of an a cappella vocal group known as the Six Fifths...
left Can
Can (band)
Can was an experimental rock band formed in Cologne, West Germany in 1968. Later labeled as one of the first "krautrock" groups, they transcended mainstream influences and incorporated strong minimalist and world music elements into their often psychedelic music.Can constructed their music largely...
after recording their first album Monster Movie, Holger Czukay
Holger Czukay
Holger Czukay is a German musician, probably best known as a co-founder of the krautrock group Can. Described by critic Jason Ankeny as "successfully bridg[ing] the gap between pop and the avant-garde," Czukay is also notable for creating early important examples of ambient music, for exploring...
and Jaki Liebezeit
Jaki Liebezeit
Jaki Liebezeit is a drummer probably best known as a founding member of Can who has been called "one of the few drummers to convincingly meld the funky and the cerebral"....
encountered Suzuki busking in Munich, Germany whilst the two were sitting outside at a street café. They invited him to join the group, and he did, performing with them that evening.
Suzuki was with Can from 1970 to 1973, recording a number of well-regarded albums such as Tago Mago
Tago Mago
Tago Mago is the third studio album by the German experimental rock band Can, and was originally released as a double LP in 1971 by United Artists...
, Future Days
Future Days
Future Days is the fifth studio album by the rock music group Can. This is the last album to feature Japanese vocalist Damo Suzuki. On Future Days, the band employs more of an ambient sound than on their previous efforts, especially on the title track and the twenty-minute "Bel Air".-Track...
and Ege Bamyasi
Ege Bamyasi
Ege Bamyası is the fourth studio album by the German experimental rock band Can which was originally released as an LP in 1972 by United Artists. The album contains the single "Spoon", which charted in the Top 10 in Germany, largely because of its use as the theme of a German TV thriller series...
. Suzuki's first vocal performance with Can was "Don't Turn the Light On, Leave Me Alone" from Soundtracks
Soundtracks (Can album)
Soundtracks is a soundtrack album by the Krautrock group Can. It was first released in 1970 and consists of tracks written for various films. The album marks the departure of the band's original vocalist Malcolm Mooney, who sings on two tracks, to be replaced by new member Damo Suzuki...
His freeform, often improvised lyrics, sung in no particular language gelled with Can's rolling, psychedelic
Psychedelic
The term psychedelic is derived from the Greek words ψυχή and δηλοῦν , translating to "soul-manifesting". A psychedelic experience is characterized by the striking perception of aspects of one's mind previously unknown, or by the creative exuberance of the mind liberated from its ostensibly...
sound.
Suzuki converted to the Jehovah's Witness faith when he married his German girlfriend, who was also a Jehovah's Witness, after the release of the album Future Days
Future Days
Future Days is the fifth studio album by the rock music group Can. This is the last album to feature Japanese vocalist Damo Suzuki. On Future Days, the band employs more of an ambient sound than on their previous efforts, especially on the title track and the twenty-minute "Bel Air".-Track...
, and retired from music in 1974.
He returned to music in 1983, and currently leads what is known as Damo Suzuki's Network - as he tours, he performs live improvisational music with various local musicians (so-called "Sound Carriers" ) from around the world, thus building up a 'network' of musicians with whom he collaborates. As far as more recent recorded material is concerned, Damo is featured on electronic/hip-hop producer Sixtoo
Sixtoo
Sixtoo was the main project of a Canadian hip hop DJ, MC and producer Vaughn Robert Squire between 1996-2007. He has since retired the Sixtoo name pursuing other directions in electronic music, with a large genre shift from experimental hip hop to deeper club sounds of various temposSquire rose to...
's album, "Chewing on Glass and Other Miracle Cures" (Ninja Tune
Ninja Tune
Ninja Tune is a London-based independent record label started by DJs Matt Black and Jonathan More, better known as Coldcut and managed by Peter Quicke. The label has a strong leaning towards mostly Electronic Music...
, 2004).
Among the musicians in his live shows have been Michael Karoli
Michael Karoli
Michael Karoli was a German guitarist, violinist and composer. He was a founding member of the influential krautrock band Can....
and Jaki Liebezeit
Jaki Liebezeit
Jaki Liebezeit is a drummer probably best known as a founding member of Can who has been called "one of the few drummers to convincingly meld the funky and the cerebral"....
of Can, Mani Neumeier
Mani Neumeier
Mani Neumeier is a German rock musician, free jazz-drummer, artist, frontman of the German Krautrock-band Guru Guru....
of Guru Guru
Guru Guru
Guru Guru is a German Krautrock band formed in 1968 as The Guru Guru Groove by Mani Neumeier , Uli Trepte and Eddy Naegeli later replaced by American Jim Kennedy...
, Dustin Donaldson of I Am Spoonbender
I Am Spoonbender
I Am Spoonbender is an American/Canadian multimedia group formed in San Francisco in early 1997 by composer/multi-instrumentalist/producer Dustin Donaldson, with Brian Jackson and cub guitarist Robynn Iwata I Am Spoonbender is an American/Canadian multimedia group formed in San Francisco in early...
, Cul De Sac, Passierzettel, The Early Years, The Bees
The Bees
The Bees can refer to:* The Bees , an indie group from the Isle of Wight, known in the US as A Band of Bees* The Bees , a Nashville, Tennessee-based acoustic pop band, now called The Silver Seas...
, Do Make Say Think
Do Make Say Think
Do Make Say Think is a Canadian instrumental post-rock band from Toronto, Ontario. Their music combines jazz style drums, distorted guitars and wind instruments, as well as a prominent use of the bass guitar.-Biography:...
, Broken Social Scene
Broken Social Scene
Broken Social Scene is a Canadian indie rock band, a musical collective including as few as six and as many as nineteen members, formed in 1999 by Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning. Most of its members currently play in various other groups and solo projects, mainly based around the city of Toronto...
, Airiel
Airiel
Airiel is an American shoegaze band from Chicago, Illinois, characterized by their melodic take on the shoegaze style.-Biography:Airiel was formed as Airiel Project One in 1997, in Bloomington, Indiana, by Jeremy Wrenn and former bandmate Shawn Delaney. This followed the break-up of Wrenn's...
, Acid Mothers Temple
Acid Mothers Temple
Acid Mothers Temple & the Melting Paraiso U.F.O. is a Japanese psychedelic band, the core of which formed in 1995. The band is led by guitarist Kawabata Makoto and early in their career featured many musicians, but by 2004 the line-up had coalesced with only a few core members and frequent guest...
, The Holy Soul
The Holy Soul
-Biography:The Holy Soul is Trent Marden , Sam Worrad , Jon Hunter & Kate Wilson .Their first ep ‘Love Has Left The City Limits’ featuring Tim Malfroy and Owen Penglis was a raw collection of swampy cassette recordings, and the debut album ‘Sign of The Triangle’ was only a short step to the left...
, Steve Dinsdale, The Sandells, Tay Zonday
Tay Zonday
Adam Nyerere Bahner , better known by the pseudonym Tay Zonday, is an American musician, YouTube personality and voice actor. He is well known by listeners for his deep baritone voice whilst singing. He garnered mainstream exposure when his song "Chocolate Rain", and accompanying video on YouTube,...
, the Omar Rodriguez-Lopez Quintet (with whom he has recorded the 2007 EP Please Heat This Eventually
Please Heat This Eventually
Please Heat This Eventually is a 12" EP from Gold Standard Laboratories and is a collaboration between Omar Rodríguez-López Group and Damo Suzuki of the group Can. It features both live performance from a date of the group's first "Quintet" tour of Europe in 2005, and studio recorded elements...
), The Skull Defekts, AIDS Wolf
AIDS Wolf
AIDS Wolf is a Canadian noise rock band, who debuted on Pasalymany tapes but are currently on Skin Graft Records and Lovepump United.-Name:According to singer Chloe Lum, the name "AIDS Wolf" comes from an urban legend wherein wolves carry AIDS and pass it to house pets who then pass it on to...
, Radio Massacre International, Edmondo Ammendola and Dave Williams of Augie March
Augie March
Augie March are an Australian indie/pop rock band. Formed in 1996 in Shepparton, Victoria, the band currently consists of vocalist and rhythm guitarist Glenn Richards, lead guitarist Adam Donovan, bassist Edmondo Ammendola, drummer David Williams, and keyboardist Kiernan Box...
, Gordon J Watson & Simon Doling of Terminal Cheesecake
Wiiija
Wiiija was a British independent record label. It was founded in 1988 by staff from the Rough Trade Shop in Notting Hill, London. The name Wiiija is a corruption of W11 1JA, the postcode of the Rough Trade Shop in Talbot Street....
, Jonny Williams, Stephen McBean from Black Mountain
Black Mountain (band)
Black Mountain is a Canadian rock band from Vancouver, British Columbia. The band is composed of Stephen McBean, Amber Webber, Matt Camirand, Jeremy Schmidt and Joshua Wells.-Overview:...
, The Prestidigitators, Gary Jeff of God, Calamalka, Karl Asa of J>A>W>, Hamish Black, tynder, Neočekivana Sila Koja Se Iznenada Pojavljuje i Rešava Stvar and many, many others.
Suzuki has been recognised by name by at least three different bands. The Fall's 1985 album This Nation's Saving Grace
This Nation's Saving Grace
This Nation's Saving Grace is a 1985 LP by The Fall. It reached number 54 in the UK charts. The album is frequently cited as one of the group's strongest and most consistent...
features a song "I Am Damo Suzuki," inspired by and dedicated to the singer. The rock band The Mooney Suzuki
The Mooney Suzuki
The Mooney Suzuki is an American garage rock band that formed in New York City in 1996. Originally comprising vocalist and guitarist Sammy James, Jr., guitarist Graham Tyler, bassist John Paul Ribas and drummer Will Rockwell-Scott, the band has released four studio albums – People Get Ready ,...
takes its name from Damo Suzuki and Can's earlier vocalist Malcolm Mooney
Malcolm Mooney
Malcolm Mooney is an American singer, poet, and artist, probably best known as the original vocalist for German krautrock band Can.-Biography:Mooney began singing in high school, and was a member of an a cappella vocal group known as the Six Fifths...
. UK based psych/prog rockers Dudes Of Neptune have dedicated an album, Jamming For Damo, to Suzuki.
Discography
Damo Suzuki is present on the following albums:- Can SoundtracksSoundtracks (Can album)Soundtracks is a soundtrack album by the Krautrock group Can. It was first released in 1970 and consists of tracks written for various films. The album marks the departure of the band's original vocalist Malcolm Mooney, who sings on two tracks, to be replaced by new member Damo Suzuki...
1970 - Can Tago MagoTago MagoTago Mago is the third studio album by the German experimental rock band Can, and was originally released as a double LP in 1971 by United Artists...
1971 - Can Ege BamyasiEge BamyasiEge Bamyası is the fourth studio album by the German experimental rock band Can which was originally released as an LP in 1972 by United Artists. The album contains the single "Spoon", which charted in the Top 10 in Germany, largely because of its use as the theme of a German TV thriller series...
1972 - Can Future DaysFuture DaysFuture Days is the fifth studio album by the rock music group Can. This is the last album to feature Japanese vocalist Damo Suzuki. On Future Days, the band employs more of an ambient sound than on their previous efforts, especially on the title track and the twenty-minute "Bel Air".-Track...
1973 - Can Unlimited EditionUnlimited Edition (album)Unlimited Edition is a compilation album by the band Can. Released in 1976 as a double album, it was an expanded version of the 1974 LP Limited Edition on United Artists Records which, as the name suggests, was a limited release of 15,000 copies...
1976 (compilation) - Dunkelziffer In The Night 1984
- Dunkelziffer III 1986
- Dunkelziffer Live 1985 1997
- Damo Suzuki's Network Tokyo On Air West 30.04.97 1997
- Damo Suzuki's Network Tokyo On Air West 02.05.97 1997
- Damo Suzuki's Network Osaka Muse Hall 04.05.97 1997
- Damo Suzuki Band V.E.R.N.I.S.S.A.G.E. 1998
- Damo Suzuki Band P.R.O.M.I.S.E. (7CD Box) 1998
- Damo Suzuki's Network Seattle 1999
- Damo Suzuki's Network OdysseyOdyssey (Damo Suzuki album)Odyssey is an album by Damo Suzuki's Network. The first CD is entitled -Input- and the second CD is entitled -Output-.-Track listing:CD 1# Love Behind Mirror - 13:52# Amazing - 9:17...
2000 - Damo Suzuki's Network JPN ULTD Vol.1 2000
- Damo Suzuki's Network Metaphysical Transfer 2001
- Damo Suzuki's Network JPN ULTD Vol.2 2002
- Cul De Sac / Damo Suzuki Abhayamudra 2004
- Sixtoo Chewing On Glass and Other Miracle Cures 2004
- Damo Suzuki's Network Hollyaris 2005 (2CD)
- Damo Suzuki's Network 3 Dead People After The Performance 2005
- Damo Suzuki and Now The London Evening News 2006 (CD)
- Damo Suzuki's network Tutti i colori del silenzioTutti i colori del silenzioTutti i colori del silenzio is a live studio album by Damo Suzuki's Network which was recorded in 2006. The live album is their unique performance recorded in Italy...
2006 (CD) - Omar Rodriguez-Lopez & Damo Suzuki Please Heat This EventuallyPlease Heat This EventuallyPlease Heat This Eventually is a 12" EP from Gold Standard Laboratories and is a collaboration between Omar Rodríguez-López Group and Damo Suzuki of the group Can. It features both live performance from a date of the group's first "Quintet" tour of Europe in 2005, and studio recorded elements...
2007 - Audioscope Music For A Good Home 2010 (CD)
- Damo Suzuki & The Holy Soul Dead Man Has No 2nd Chance 2010 (CD)
- Damo Suzuki & Cuzo Puedo Ver Tu Mente 2011(CD/LP)
- Radio Massacre International "Lost in Transit 4: DAMO" 2010 (CD)