‘Having limits is boring’: experimental survivor Damo Suzuki on Can, cancer and krautrock



‘Music is continually a communication’ … Damo Suzuki performing successful Leeds.‘Music is ever a communique’ … Damo Suzuki acting successful Leeds.

Now the contented of a documentary, the Japanese instrumentalist persisted with his by nary means-finishing planetary circuit portion contiguous process forty surgical procedures for astir cancers successful 3 years. ‘Music is restoration,’ helium says

In 2014 Damo Suzuki go identified with colon astir cancers and fixed a ten% hazard of survival. It go astir precisely 30 years successful advance, whilst Suzuki changed into 33, that helium was archetypal recognized with the disease. The adjacent crab had killed his begetter portion helium became five.

When facing cardinal surgical process successful 1983, his script go made each the much lifestyles-threatening: due to the fact that of Suzuki’s past religion arsenic a Jehovah’s Witness, helium couldn’t judge the humor transfusion helium desperately required.

He survived each bouts of cancer. Now seventy two, helium smiles warmly implicit Zoom from his location successful Cologne, nonchalantly describing his authorities of affairs. “Everything is OK,” helium says. “I’m affirmative and erstwhile you person precocious prime thoughts past the entirety whitethorn beryllium accurate.”

The trailer for Energy: A Film About Damo Suzuki – video

Suzuki’s zen, positivity, dogged tone and highly bully persistence is astatine the bosom of a marque caller documentary, Energy: A Film About Damo Suzuki, via Michelle Heighway. Shot implicit 5 years, it follows Suzuki arsenic helium attempts to support a neverending planetary excursion adjacent arsenic mounting a herculean conflict towards a crab that could spot him operated connected forty times betwixt 2014 and 2017. “The religion and resilience successful his idiosyncratic is infinite and I emotion that,” says Heighway. “It became truthful inspiring however helium lived each time and infinitesimal find it irresistible turned into his lone one. He go usually wrong the now.”

Being wrong the now's the essence of Suzuki. Ever the itinerant, helium near Japan successful his teenage years to circuit Europe to unrecorded successful hippy communes. He is besides a performer for whom improvised tune is the champion benignant of song. Since surviving crab successful 1983 helium has been performing without intermission arsenic the Network, playing enactment experimental improvisational way with ever-changing adjacent musicians – his ensembles person blanketed participants of Mogwai, Black Midi and Bo Ningen – that helium refers to arsenic his dependable companies. It’s a ceaseless enactment tally that adjacent outweighs Bob Dylan’s celebrated traveling agelong beneath the aforesaid banner.

Music is excessively indispensable to bespeak onconsideration connected arsenic a commercialized enterprise

Yet it’s arsenic frontman of the pioneering German set Can that Suzuki remains first-class known. Between 1970 and 1973 helium led the set done its unquestionable height, which includes a trio of albums arsenic bold and progressive arsenic immoderate successful the 20th-century stone canon: Tago Mago, Ege Bamyasi and Future Days. But nary substance the band’s untouchable popularity due to the fact that the archetypal krautrock outfit, cashing successful connected the legacy, nostalgia and presumption of Can is of small involvement to Suzuki. “I’m present not krautrock, I’m not German,” helium says wrong the movie, alternatively suggesting that reporters request to beryllium other originative with their genre-labelling, supplying “sushirock oregon sashimirock”.

He regularly refers to Can sincerely arsenic “that German band” and could casually prevaricate astir his clip successful them, claiming helium can’t instrumentality into relationship overmuch owed to the information “I go perpetually perfectly stoned”. Suzuki near the set to give other clip to faith, though a fewer individuals claimed he’d been brainwashed done the Jehovah’s Witnesses. After his departure helium stopped making euphony for a decennary but re-emerged aft improving from crab – and leaving the church.

Damo Suzuki (second proper) with Can successful the aboriginal 1970s. Photograph: Pictorial Press/Alamy

He rapidly became locked into a perpetual quest for improvement successful music. “I’m not funny successful striking connected to the beyond,” helium says. “Because I cannot alteration it. If I cannot speech it, I don’t request to walk clip there. I privation to walk clip wrong the present owed to the information determination I tin make thing caller but wrong the beyond I can't.”

Perhaps this ever-gift cognition is reinforced by utilizing the world that Suzuki ne'er sincerely acceptable retired to beryllium successful which helium ended up – he’s by nary means had a plan. “I didn’t person immoderate ambition to beryllium a musician,” helium says. It turned into portion busking astatine the streets, performing utmost vocal improvisations, that helium by accidental ended up successful Can. They saw his show and invited him to sing with them that precise nighttime clip arsenic an test. After the latest departure of erstwhile vocalist Malcolm Mooney, Suzuki became a imperishable member.

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This movie is simply a connection to antithetic radical who person dense illness

His peculiar benignant of making a opus – astatine hazard of fervent and uedictable shrieks, gliding betwixt aggregate languages (including invented ones) with a lyrical manner that favours the indirect arsenic opposed to the narratively coherent – created a wildly exploratory sonic model and set dynamic. This allowed Can to displacement betwixt stretched psychedelic grooves, eruptive blasts of avant-rock and a fashionable amalgamation of specified saltation sounds and strategies – merging the bare-bones primitive with classically trained players – that stays a singular and inimitable unit successful song.

Suzuki has carried connected this experimental attack implicit time, embracing improvisation – regularly done 1 agelong philharmonic portion performed for an hr oregon – successful bid to support distant from stagnation. “I don’t privation to play the identical portion clip and again,” helium says. “Repetition is dull. Every wide show should beryllium a wholly unsocial enjoy.” He offers a shot analogy to picture his creator philosophy. “If you ticker Sheffield Wednesday, you don’t recognize the people earlier the athletics begins,” helium says. “Music, for me, is signifier of similar recreation successful which you don’t cognize immoderate results earlier than. People shouldn’t travel to a performance and person already got expectancies. It ought to beryllium an bask that we each spell done collectively – a verbal exchange. Music is usually a verbal exchange.”

‘Music is recuperation me’ … Damo Suzuki successful Brighton successful 2016. Photograph: Michelle Heighway

For this motive Suzuki doesn’t papers way oregon motorboat albums himself. If the bands helium plays with arsenic his dependable companies privation to motorboat a unrecorded medium past that’s arsenic overmuch arsenic them. “I privation wealth but the foremost origin of my lifestyles isn’t to marque breadstuff from song,” helium says. “Music is excessively captious to deliberation astir arsenic a business. I’ve by nary means worked with immoderate managers. I’m my idiosyncratic one-man agency. I really person full state and nary duties to each people.”

This is successful nary mode other wide wrong the movie than erstwhile Suzuki embarks connected excursions of DIY venues crossed the UK, sitting successful small, shabby and palpably bloodless down the curtain areas, arsenic helium watches shot oregon reads connected an iPad whilst looking to disguise the ache his crab is inflicting him. “Music is recuperation me,” helium justifies astatine 1 factor. “At home, if I don’t bash immoderate thing, I’m overmuch greater unwell.” At 1 constituent helium plays a stunning 24 unrecorded shows successful 10 nations implicit 8 weeks, each carried retired with superior operations taking spot either broadside of that clip frame.

One 2016 unrecorded show for the duration of his attraction proved to beryllium enormous. “I changed into successful the halfway of my dense instances with astir cancers,” helium says. “I had bags successful my framework and everybody became progressive astir me. I hadn’t completed a unrecorded show for 2 years. But this time became 1 of the maximum beauteous days I really person ever skilled. Even I was doubting myself if I ought to marque this look nevertheless it truely turned into 1 of the happiest moments of my life. I should person cried.”

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At 1 constituent wrong the movie Suzuki says “having limits is dull” – nevertheless adjacent Covid drew a enactment for this seemingly unstoppable artist. He hasn’t toured since the pandemic struck and successful the intervening clip has shifted his innovative forces determination else. “I paint,” helium says. “Before I joined Can I desired to beryllium a comedian publication creator but I gave it up astir 50 years ago. It became my imagination to beryllium a creator arsenic a babe and present astatine 72 I’m doing that.”

Despite a lifelong willpower to impulsive and groundbreaking philharmonic adventures, helium views the documentary that has been made astir him arsenic little of a tune movie and greater of a record of hope. “It’s a connection to different humans who've dense sickness,” helium says. “I survived this and if anyone watches this movie they whitethorn observe information oregon power. When I was ill, astatine times it felt similar being successful jail, I wasn’t allowed to devour thing for 2 weeks astatine 1 point. But present I tin spot a destiny this is perfectly vivid. I fearfulness not anything.”

Energy: A Film About Damo Suzuki tours the United Kingdom with Doc’n’Roll movie festival, 30 Oct-11 Nov.