Damo Suzuki

Musician: Damo Suzuki's Network, Can

Damo Suzuki

Kenji ‘Damo’ Suzuki is a Japanese musician who has been living in Germany since the early 1970s, he is best known as the former lead singer of the German krautrock group Can.

An expatriate street poet inspired by Jack Kerouac’s On the Road, he spent the better part of the late 1960s wandering through Europe, and while busking outside a cafe in Munich in May of 1970 was discovered by Can members Holger Czukay and Jaki Liebezeit; asked to replace the group’s former frontman Malcolm Mooney, Suzuki joined them onstage that very night, making his recorded debut later that same year on the L.P. Soundtracks.

Damo left Can after 4 albums in 1974 to wander the world, and since 1983 he has been on a never ending world tour, playing improvisational music with a network of hundreds of musicians worldwide.


1.) WHICH RECORD HAS HAD THE MOST PROFOUND INFLUENCE ON YOU?
I guess there’s none. I’m not too much into following music and music scenes. Nothing is really a surprise anymore. I make my music with ever changing sound carriers (musicians), that’s it.

2.) HOW MANY HOURS DO YOU SPEND A WEEK RECORDING/PLAYING/CREATING?
Without performing myself, no time is spent on music. There are many interesting things around. I hate to be a music specialist.

3.) WHICH OF YOUR OWN CREATIONS IS YOUR FAVOURITE?
Every performance is totally different, I’m not the person to compare one to another. I’m not interested in past days.

4.) WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST REGRET?
Every day is a learning process, if I meet or make mistakes, this is a great opportunity to learn from it. It’s worth having this kind of time period. Life is more interesting when we find solutions from any kind of situation we meet.

5.) WHAT DO YOU DO TO RELAX?
Cooking, watching DVDs, seeing Dortmund, Liverpool and Freiburg matches, there are many.

6.) OTHER THAN FRIENDS AND FAMILY WHAT IS YOUR MOST CHERISHED POSSESSION?
Time! I’m very thankful to have a new day every morning.

7.) TELL ME THREE OF YOUR HEROES/HEROINES?
Jesus
My mother
Positive creative people (Not should be artist.)

8.) WHERE IS YOUR FAVOURITE PLACE IN THE WORLD?
Where I share and perform together with sound carriers, enjoying that time and sharing our energy with an audience. And the audience gives us feedback. After, everybody is smiling, good energy covers that venue.

9.) IF YOU DIDN’T HAVE YOUR ART WHAT OCCUPATION DO YOU THINK YOU WOULD BE DOING?
 I would take any kind of occupation except politician.

10.) IF THERE IS ONE THING THAT YOU WOULD WANT THE WORLD TO KNOW ABOUT YOU THAT YOU HAVE NEVER CONVEYED IN AN INTERVIEW BEFORE WHAT WOULD THAT BE?
There are things better not talked about. A private sphere is necessary to have.