Jaki Liebezeit, former Can drummer, has spent the last several years playing with electronic composer and producer Burnt Friedman. This project started when the two musicians realized they shared a preference for secret rhythms - not those that cannot be heard, but those that are not often played.
"Jaki Liebezeit and Burnt Friedman share a preference for so-called
Secret Rhythms, which means that the rhythms are not hidden but less
common, often foreign to western culture. The artists have consciously
turned away from Western European, Anglo-American regulated rhythm
(based on 4) in order to enrich their vocabulary with all globally
relevant rhythms.Jaki Liebezeit: “It possibly incorporated many
elements of this earth without featuring any specific elements. The
individual elements have been made abstract, no ethnic or national
character remains, there’s nothing typical to Seville or Istanbul, but
the properties held in common by all types of music have been
abstracted and processed.”
For this task, Jaki uses a highly customized drum setup that does not utilize foot pedals; all instruments are played with the hands, using sticks.
"If it is still possible to establish a link
with his past as a member of CAN, then it lies in the spirit with which
he seeks, then as now, new musical forms. The post-CAN Liebezeit not
only created his own cycle-based drum system but also developed an
innovative drumset that concentrates on the essentials and permits a
mode of playing that was already theoretically honed to be physically
implemented in optimum fashion"
Here is a video of a recent live performance. It is shaky at first, but after a few seconds, we can see a clear view of what they are doing. Unfortunately, this was the best video I could find.
I highly recommend purchasing all three albums from their "Secret Rhythms" series. It is some of the most original and progressive music being made.
Check out their myspace for more samples.
http://www.myspace.com/burntfriedmanjakiliebezeit (quotes taken from the myspace page)
If you're into the wild 1970's style jam bands, be sure to check out Can, too!
