All Gates Open presents the definitive story of arguably the most influential and revered avant-garde band of the late twentieth century: CAN. It consists of two books.
In Book One, Rob Young gives us the full biography of a band that emerged at the vanguard of the so-called Krautrock scene in late sixties Cologne. Drawing on unique interviews with all the founding members of CAN, as well as their vocalists, friends, and music industry associates Young offers a portrait of a group who worked with visionary intensity and belief, outside the system and inside their own inner space.
Book Two, Can Kiosk, has been assembled by Irmin Schmidt, founding member and guiding spirit of the band, as a ‘collage’ – a technique long associated with CAN’s approach to recording. There is an oral history of the band, there are interviews with artists and filmmakers and extracts of Schmidt’s notebook and diaries from 2013-14 are reproduced. Can Kiosk offers further perspectives on a band that have inspired several generations of musicians and filmmakers in the voices of the artists themselves.
All Gates Open is available in standard and limited editions. The latter comes with a special edition print and a 78-page full colour facsimile of an uber-rare communal Can notebook – the stream of consciousness of a group at the height of its creative powers.
