Ege Bamyası

With the commercial success of their hit single "Spoon" (which reached #6 on the German charts[7] and sold 300,000 copies), Can was able to hire a large ex-cinema in Weilerswist near Cologne, which they used as a part-working, part-living space, and which they named "Inner Space". However, things nearly didn't work out as guitarist Michael Karoli recalled that the sessions were "frustrated by keyboardist Irmin Schmidt and vocalist Damo Suzuki's playing chess obsessively day in, day out"[8] and that "completing recording became a frantic process, with some tracks having to be recorded practically in real time and the single 'Spoon' added to make up for a shortfall in material."[8]

Ege Bamyası was recorded by Holger Czukay at Weilerswist[9] and originally released in 1972 by United Artists. In September 2004, the album, along with the majority of Can's discography, was remastered and released as a hybrid SACD.[10] The re-release includes a booklet with commentary on the album by David Stubbs, as well as previously unreleased photos of the band.

The success of the song "Spoon" and sales from this album inspired Can to throw a free concert in an attempt to reach a wider audience. The Can Free Concert was filmed by Martin Schäfer, Robbie Müller and Egon Mann for director Peter Przygodda at the Cologne Sporthalle on 3 February 1972 and is included on the Can DVD.[11]

In a 2006 interview with David Stubbs in Uncut magazine Irmin Schmidt commented: "People imagine Can was all done in the editing, but for 'Soup' there was no editing at all. We'd found out the record was too short; it needed ten more minutes of music by the next morning, so we wrote, played and recorded it the night before. No editing!" Czukay added: "We recorded Ege Bamyasi in a new studio, which had formerly been a cinema. That new environment affected the sound. The drums were not so heavy and rough, the vocals and instruments were separated out. 'Vitamin C' became the title track of Dead Pigeon on Beethoven Street, a movie by Samuel Fuller. That's often how it was. We made music, then found a use for it later. 'Soup' is my favourite track."[12]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[13]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[14]
The Great Rock Discography	7/10[15]
Mojo	[16]
Pitchfork	9.8/10[17]
Q	[18]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[19]
Spin Alternative Record Guide	8/10[20]
Stylus	A[21]
Tom Hull	B+[22]

Ege Bamyası has received considerable critical acclaim since its release. British music weekly Melody Maker wrote: "Can are without doubt the most talented and most consistent experimental rock band in Europe, England included."[23] PopMatters characterized the album as "every bit as compact and tetchy as its predecessor was epic and spacey," calling it "a masterful piece of psychedelic rock fused with tightly wound funk."[4]

Can

• Holger Czukay – bass, engineering, editing
• Michael Karoli – guitar
• Jaki Liebezeit – drums
• Irmin Schmidt – keyboards
• Damo Suzuki – vocals

• Official website
• Review by Julian Cope at Head Heritage
• Discogs entry for Ege Bamyasi