Conny Plank in dub

I recently read this post about the Deadly Dragon Soundbox. The box, pictured above, is a new tool for soundsystem use, cleverly engineered to add siren sounds to the reggae set by pushing it's rasta coloured buttons.

But then I felt I had seen the thing before... And well, I was almost right. Look what Conny Plank is reaching for in the picture below.

Uncanny. Sure, it's a bigger model, but the picture ought to be at least 25 years old and nanotechnology hadn't yet been invented.

Begegnungen

Just wanted to let you know that Brian Eno and David Byrne has done better things than “My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts”. We'll focus on Eno.

The best examples are the two “Begegnungen” compilations (1984, 1985) and “After the Heat” (1978). These records together describe Eno's collaborations with the amazing Cluster/Kluster/Harmonia men Dieter Moebius and Hans-Joachim Roedelius. naturally, Conny Plank is involved, we wouldn't have it any other way. Mani Neumeier, the drummer from Guru Guru, is also there (but for some reason his name is not on the covers).

With these three records you sort of get everything you need at once. Heat, cool, instrumental, vocal, english, german, acoustic, synthetic. These are documents of an era. Complete aural pleasure. A genre of its own. Get them today, you will disappear when you hear the music.

Christa Fast RIP

Christa Fast, widow of Conny Plank and proprietor of Conny's studio after Conny's death in 1987, is also gone now.

Many, including ex Kraftwerk member Wolfgang Flür, has posted their condolences here.

The Conny Plank

Konrad “Conny” Plank , producer to the stars, died of cancer in 1987 as one of the worlds most important music producers. His technological savvy and his sensitive ear helped creating krautrock, and cast the foundation for the modern electronic scene.

When Plank is mentioned these days, it is most often in connection to the early Kraftwerk albums. But plenty of other german prog/kraut/psych celebrities has visited his studio to record: Neu!, Cluster, Guru Guru. And we definitely can't forget his work with Dieter Moebius or Brian Eno (or Devo, Ultravox, Eurythmics, …), and we absolutely must not forget DAF and their Plank produced albums “Gold und liebe” and “Alles ist gut”.

During the seventies, Conny built his own studio in Cologne. The studio has up until recently been run by Conny's widow, Krista. Recent rumors tell us that the studio is now beind closed down, and that the entire thing might be for sale. If this is true: buy it!

And by the way, if you for some reason would stumble upon the 1981 album "Biomutanten" by Les Vampyrettes, a collaboration between Plank and Holger Czukay of Can, but that as well.