FOR a few years now, Irmin Schmidt has been the conscientious curator of the Can legacy – a role that has taken on added poignancy since the recent passing of Damo Suzuki, leaving keyboardist Schmidt as the last surviving member of the classic early-’70s lineup. The current series of Can live albums has been a revelation, charting a fiery alternate history of the band to complement their revered studio catalogue. But following the release later this year of two 1977 UK sets from Aston and Keele universities, Schmidt is minded to reseal the archive for good. “I think it’s enough,” he says simply. “There is quite a lot out from Can. These live records for me, they keep the standard and the quality. I hate the idea to squeeze it out and find the last little shit!”
Instead, he’ll be finishing off his next solo record, “which is with prepared piano, but with a lot of specially environmental sounds [recorded] at night, on, which I wrote in the ’90s, will be again performed in Austria next year. I have to reorganise the material, so that keeps me busy too. It’s enough for an old man!”
