damo suzuki/cul de sac

I just heard this incredible cd for the first time yesterday...it is mindblowing. Unfortunately, I am not familiar with Suzuki's prior work (with CAN etc). You can guess my reaction then. Has he always displayed that inimitable vocal ability to fuse rap, jazz-scat, middle Eastern and pop all within the same song? Does this beauty reveal itself through improvision? Or is it the result of many many years of training, like Alex Chilton for example? Either way, I remain stunned.



Post Edited (01-20-05 10:35)

I haven't heard his collaboration with Cul De Sac yet, but I'm guessing it sounds a lot like his work with Can. And yes, he exhibited that one-of-a-kind vocal style from the get-go (at least from his earliest work with Can - I don't know if he did anything before that). I can't speak to how he came about that style, as I'm not sure I've ever seen an interview with him anywhere.

try him at [www.damosuzuki.de]

he actually answers his e-mail.

i think he was not a singer before Soundtracks, his first Can effort, and I seem to remember that although style is singular, the boys in the band phonetically broke down the lyrics (because of language barrier), thus accounting for some of the weirdness in breath and delivery and intonation.

he is/was a spectacular talent

Wasn't it the story that Holger Czukay and Michael Karoli discovered him standing in the street singing and on the spur of the moment asked him to join Can? I seem to remember reading that somewhere - I think maybe Jim Derogatis' psychedelic book, whatever it's called now.