Undiscovered Czech History: Plastic People

The Plastic People Of The Universe (group; formed 1968)
Magic Nights (Munster Records)

The Plastic People Of The Universe were a fantastic and extremely revolutionary group in all the exact terms. This collective formed in the late '60s in Prague under Soviet rule which happened just a month after the bands formation.

This isolation of the times is reflected in throughout their music with elements of radical classical gypsy-esque movements in addition to Western influences like Velvet Underground and The Mothers Of Invention (to whom the bands name is derived). The music is a combination of dark love themes, rhythmic world genres and wrapped within the political strife of the era. The best way to describe it would be like going to a concert with Can, YMO, Kraftwerk, Mothers Of Invention and Velvet Underground all playing taking turns performing during one set. Yes, that would be awesome. And The Plastic People Of The Universe are that cool.

A brand new collection just came out that captures the significant moments of this band long, up and down career. Magic Nights (Munster Records) covers 1969 - 1985) covers the multiple changes in the band; from the early prog rock experimentation's to poetic structures under Egon Bondy. The band was literally "the underground". Their albums were recorded a various locations as so not be caught by Czech authorities and band member were consistently harassed and in some cases jailed.

It wasn't until the late 80s and various break ups and reincarnations that the group got any stability. Shortly after the Velvet Revolution of 1989 and under President Vclav Havel (a friend and follower of the band) that the band began to tour and record more frequently.
 
In terms of revolutionary music, The Plastic People Of The Universe are definitely a true symbol of that just as Bob Marley, Fela Kuti, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong were to the world of music. Magic Nights is not just a great compilation--it is a serious historical document that if you are a fan of any of the artist I've mentioned you should definitely looking into this collection.

Fusion Week: Can

This week JazzWrap will take a look at some of the important (sometimes forgotten) groups that have helped shape and expand jazz fusion, prog and jazz rock over the last 40 years.

Can
Tago Mago (1971)
Holger Czukay: Bass, Engineer, Editing
Michael Karoli: Guitar, Violin
Jaki Liebezeit: Drums
Irmin Schmidt: Keyboards, Vocals,
Damo Suzuki: Vocals

The legendary German band Can isn’t often lumped in with jazz fusion groups, but the freewheeling, intensely experimental group did have a penchant for improvisational jamming, and it is best demonstrated on the third album Tago Mago (1971).

Tago Mago is the first of three+ Can albums to feature Japanese vocalist Damo Suzuki, who replaced American Malcolm Mooney. It’s a sprawling double album with seven tracks, two of which are sidelong cuts (the groove monster “Halleluhwah” and the trippy “Aumgn”).

The first two sides of the original LP contained the “conventional” rock material, including the hypnotic opener “Paperhouse”, the apocalyptic funk of “Mushroom”, the motoric space rocker “Oh Yeah” and the aforementioned breakbeat gem “Halleluhwah.”

As hallucinogenic as Tago Mago’s sides A and B are, things get really weird on sides C and D. “Aumgn” is a sprawling sonic nightmare that wouldn’t sound out of place in a Dali-esque dreamscape. There is no tune to speak of, just improvisational experimentation with a fair amount of electronic treatment and post-production assemblage. Amazingly, it works. The weirdness continues on the 11-minute “Peking O,” which benefits from a quick electronic pulse after a few minutes of aimless jamming and vocal gibberish, but never quite coalesces. The psychedelic closer, “Bring Me Coffee or Tea,” is a bit more melodic, albeit meandering and ultimately less memorable than the earlier tracks.

Interestingly, most music critics regularly rate Tago Mago as a five-star masterpiece, but I’m guessing that’s based on the strength of the first three sides, because the fourth side is – IMHO – three-star material. It’s still an essential album, just make sure you’re fully baked by the time the sixth and seventh tracks riddle your eardrums. ;-)

On Ege Bamyasi and Future Days, Can’s next two outings with Damo Suzuki on vocals, the band delivered more focused, shorter songs. The core members, Czukay, Schmidt, Karoli and Liebezeit, still demonstrated more experimental mojo than most bands, but they were clearly honing a more direct approach that became more pop-oriented on subsequent efforts, such as Soon Over Babaluma and Landed.

After flirting with reggae in the late ‘70s, Can split up until recording a modest reunion album with Malcolm Mooney in the late ‘80s. The band’s influence on electronica and indie rock warranted a massive reappraisal of their work during the ‘90s. There came a better-than-average collection of remixes (Sacrilege) and an invaluable box set (Can Box) that includes a thorough book, a double CD of previously unreleased concert recordings, and a VHS tape featuring a documentary and fascinating Damo-era concert performance (the VHS material was later reissued on DVD).

While dubbing Can a jazz fusion band is a stretch to say the least, the band (and many of its Krautrock contemporaries, such as Faust and Neu!) often employed improvisatory techniques that are closer in spirit to jazz than to rock. While the band eschewed blazing virtuoso solos typically associated with fusion bands like Mahavishnu Orchestra, an album like Tago Mago wouldn’t sound out of place played back to back with the funky fusion work of Miles Davis. Good company indeed.

The Intersection: Christian Prommer's Drumlesson — Zwei

The Intersection is an occasional feature on JazzWrap that looks at artists that blend jazz with electronica (a tradition pioneered by none other than Miles Davis on such classic recordings as On The Corner).

This week's focus is Christian Prommer's Drumlesson — Zwei (K7 Records)

In 2008, the Munich-based drummer, DJ and producer Christian Prommer released Drumlesson Vol. One, which features acoustic instrumental jazz versions of techno and electronica classics, such as Derrick May's "Strings of Life" and Kraftwerk's "Trans Europe Express." If your interest just peaked get ready for more.

Prommer just released Drumlesson Zwei (which is German for 2, of course), and it's even better. This time, Prommer expanded his sound palette to include electronic instruments, such as Moogs. Prommer, who plays drums, piano and percussion, is joined by guitarist Uwe Karpa, keyboard player Roberto Di Gioia, percussionist Ernst Stroer, bass player Christian Diener and drummer Matteo Scrimali. Prommer's production work is notably more electronic sounding than on the first volume, but there are still plenty of moments when the organic performances shine through the slick beats.

This time Prommer covers such artists as Carl Craig, Laurent Garnier, Jean-Michel Jarre and Underground Resistance, and he makes it all sound true to his aesthetic vision. While there are elements of improvisation, it would be a misnomer to sell this record on the merits of the musicians' chops. Soloing really isn't the point here, but the idea of playing with jazz feeling is real enough and the results show considerable stylistic range. "Groove La Chord" pulses with samba fury, "Jaguar" calls to mind the Krautrock grooves of Can and Neu, and "Sleepy Hollow" wouldn't sound out of place in David Holmes' groovy Ocean's Eleven soundtrack.

Speaking of movie music, there is a strong cinematic vibe on Zwei that wasn't nearly so palpable on Vol. One. The moody morose tension of "Acid Eiffel" and the gloomy intrigue of "Oxygene" will transfix your imagination with letterbox notions of underworld drama and romance.

Christian Prommer is someone to watch, and Drumlesson Zwei is something to hear.