On February 9, 2024, we lost a decidedly innovative and truly experimental vocalist. Most widely known as the singer for Can in the early Seventies, Damo Suzuki was born Kenji Suzuki on January 16, 1950, in Kobe, Japan. At 18, he moved to Europe and began busking to earn bread. He was heard on the streets of Munich by Can’s Holger Czukay and Jaki Liebezeit and was asked to work with the band. Original vocalist Malcolm Mooney had just departed the band and moved back to New York after suffering a mental breakdown. Though Damo only performed on four of Can’s studio albums, the weight of his performances was massive. 1971’s double album Tago Mago is a major influence on me and countless other artists globally. I consider the song “Mushroom” THE go-to track for anyone discovering Can for the first time. It is perfectly punctuated by the next track “Oh Yeah”—a continuation of the innovative and driving Motorik beats of drummer Liebezeit. By contrast, “Aumgn”, which takes up all of side three, is a monstrous seventeen-and-a-half-minute freakout.

Though Damo only performed on four of Can’s studio albums, the weight of his performances was massive.

The following two albums Ege Bamyasi (1972) and Future Days (1973) round out the most definitive era of Can’s studio output. Such classic tracks as “Vitamin C” and “Sing Swan Song” on Ege Bamyasi, plus “Moonshake” and the title track on Future Days, are standouts amongst the canon of Can. The insistent bassline of Holger Czukay and Liebezeit’s stuttering drumbeat on “Vitamin C” contrasts with the legato organ lines and squiggly synths of Irmin Schmidt and Michael Karoli’s jangling guitar lines. The musical flow, odd sound effects, and the sweet melodic vocals of Suzuki on the song “Moonshake” blend all the key elements of Can’s music into a concise three-minute track. Of course, for those more into freakouts, “Soup” on Ege Bamyasi is eager to provide that outlet for the listener.