The CAN Studio

...castle near Cologne. The band used the imposing stairwell as an echo chamber. The sound wasn't mixed using a desk but directly at the instrument amplifiers.

…soon after, the band moved to Weilerswist and converted an old cinema into the Inner Space Studio. Here you can see their self-made mixing desk, that handled most of the signals of the “classical” CAN albums...

...they expanded their equipment with another tape machine: the Studer B62 pictured here.
It suited them because they were constantly recording, even during rehearsals or breaks from playing. These recordings were often reused by Holger Czukay.

The new rehearsal and recording space in Weilerswist in Cologne had an unusual layout. There was no separation between the control and live room, as it is still typical for recording studios today.

The famous Sarotti booth was an old leftover of the cinema hall where the studio was located. It served CAN as storage for countless tapes that were used to record their jams.

CAN used the same equipment on stage as they did in the studio. This included a P.A. system and electronic organs from Farfisa. An endorsement agreement existed with the famous Italian manufacturer.

However, during their early years, CAN were already having equipment manufactured based on their own requirements. Here you can see Holger Czukay's custom made bass amplifier.

One of the first productions in the new studio was a solo LP by Joachim Witt, one of the so-called Neue Deutsche Welle (NDW) artists. The best-known single from the Silberblick album (1980) is probably “Goldener Reiter”.

...from their famous minimalistic sound. Maybe it was the equipment? Not just former instruments and machines from Conny Plank's studio found its way into the studio. Over the years, many musicians leftover devices stayed after their time in the studio.

Although the "CAN DNA" stayed with the studio and everything continued to take place in one room, a certain level of shielding was necessary, especially when drums were recorded.

...the partitions were either transparent or had windows, as in this example, so producers and artists could remain in contact as part of the special arrangement of the studio.

The CAN Studio was also linked to the ”Kölner Pack”, a group of well-connected musicians from Cologne. This also included the band Bläck Föös who are famous for singing rock songs in Colonian, the local dialect

...but there were also international stars such as Swiss pop band Double, who recorded their first album here. Their hit Captain of her Heart was also produced in Weilerswist.

The CAN Studio always tried to keep up when it came to the latest technology. Before the Macintosh and digital editing programs, the Atari came into play. The model already came equipped with a MIDI interface.

...in the 1990s many rack synthesizers were added. Their presets didn't just emulate classic synths and instruments. They also had their own unmistakable character.

Despite the creative chaos and hippy ambiance in the CAN Studio, everything had to have its place. This is a blank form for the channel assignment.

The early 2000s were characterized by the death of many commercial music studios. Also many better-known locations like the CAN Studio couldn't avoid this fate. What would happen to the studio now?

For anyone who has ever wondered what it looks like when you move with a whole studio ...in the mid 2000s, the CAN Studio was rebuilt on the second floor of the rock'n'popmuseum.

In 2007, the relocation was complete. With a focus on the band CAN, the rock'n'popmuseum opened the rebuilt studio with a special exhibition.

This classic special red edition Marshall JCM 800 was renovated after the relocation, what usually means: new tubes! Still, a tube amp also needs to be played regularly...

After almost 40 years, relocating, the band's breakup, and countless albums, one question remains: what is a studio exactly? Is it the space, is it the objects or, finally, is it the way people interact with technology to create music?

The exhibition was established as part of the project Musical Objects of Popular Culture (Musikobjekte der Populären Kultur). The project is a collaboration between the Center for Popular Culture and Music of the Albert Ludwigs University of Freiburg, the University of Music Franz Liszt Weimar, and the rock'n'popmuseum in Gronau (Westphalia). It is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research.