Conny Plank

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Konrad "Conny" Plank (born May 3, 1940 in Hütschenhausen ; † December 5, 1987 in Cologne ) was a German music producer and sound engineer .

Live and act

Conny Plank started out as a heavy current engineer and then wanted to switch to the computer field, but at the beginning of 1964 he started as a transmitter technician at Europawelle Saar , where he left in December 1966. In his opinion, creativity would be hindered there. He switched to the Rhenus recording studio as a freelancer , which had been operated by Karl-Heinz Münchow in a disused refinery in Cologne-Godorf since 1964 . Here he worked as a trainee for Electrola music director Wolfgang Hirschmann , who made him 1969 a. a. as a sound engineer assistant at Marlene Dietrich 's concerts and gave him the chance to work as the sound engineer in charge at a Duke Ellington session on April 27, 1970. In the Rhenus studio he was the WDR client for Karlheinz Stockhausen ( shortwave Record 2 remake , recorded April 8/9, 1969; without Plank) and Mauricio Kagel ( Der Schall , recorded November 5/6, 1969, without Plank; Acustica , recorded between January 18 and January 31, 1971, without Plank), which recorded here in commission.

His freelance work also enabled him to work for other recording studios. During his time in the shared apartment at Villa Kunterbunt in Hamburg (where he lived temporarily with Udo Lindenberg and Otto Waalkes ) he founded Kraut Musikverlag and made the acquaintance of Hamburg's Star Studios and Dumont Time Windrose Studios , which he was to use for music productions.

Scorpions - Lonesome Crow (LP)
os mundi 43 minutes

When Cluster recorded their debut album Klopfzeichen (December 21, 1969) in the Rhenus studios at home , Plank was involved as sound engineer; the LP appeared in an edition of only 300 copies. The cluster LPs Cluster I (January 1971) - here he appears as a co-author because his electronic recording performance was crucial for the duo - and Cluster II (January 1972) were both produced by Plank in the Star Music Studio. Alexander von Schlippenbach had his LP The Living Music leveled on April 24, 1969 by Rhenus von Plank as sound engineer. Plank was dealing with an international seven-piece free jazz band that was able to put together enough material for 2 LPs in one day ( The Living Music was originally released in 1969 under the title Quasar ). The progressive formation Ash Ra Tempel recorded their first LP of the same name in March 1971 under the direction of Plank in the Hamburg Star Studio, in October 1971 he produced the Scorpions ' debut album in the same studios , which was released in February 1972 under the title Lonesome Crow . The new! -LP New! was recorded in December 1971 by Plank with complex multi-track recordings and sound innovations in the Dumont Time Windrose Studios. In December 1972 he produced the Gomorrah LP I Turned to See Whose Voice it Was . Between February 28, 1972 and March 6, 1972, the Guru Guru -LP Kangaroo was created in Dumont Time Studio; Plank played the guitar on the Os-Mundi- LP 43 minutes produced in January 1972 . The new! 2 -LP was recorded by Plank in the Time Dumont studio in January 1973; This is where the collective LP collective was created in March 1973. On 19./20. In October 1974 the jazz rock combo Kraan had Plank record the double LP Live from the Berlin Latin Quarter.

Own recording studio

He set up his own recording studio called Connys Studio in Wolperath , a district of Neunkirchen-Seelscheid , about 35 km southeast of Cologne. The studios were built in early 1974 in a former pigsty that belonged to a half-timbered farm. Plank was looking for a place with a relaxed working atmosphere beyond the big city. According to his own statement, there should be an “fear-free and reservation-free atmosphere” in order to be able to fine-tune the sound with unconventional, yet down-to-earth means. Plank's trademark, the modern machine sound, should be increasingly expressed in his new studio. First production here was on 17./18. May 1974 the album Transitory of the jazz rock formation Pork Pie by Jasper van't Hof (mixed on June 13/14, 1974). The very selective Plank was not interested in David Bowie and therefore refused him entry to the studio in 1974. That was no problem for the Krautrock troupe Kraan when they produced their LP Andy Nogger here in July 1974 . On December 3, 1974, Arktis recorded three tracks for their album of the same name. The first two New! Albums were still in the Rhenus or. Windrose Dumont Studios came into being, so Plank brought the Krautrock troop for their album Neu! '75 in his own studio between December 1974 and January 1975.

Plank produced their only LP Tone Float for the Kraftwerk predecessor band Organization in December 1969 , actually intended as a demo recording for record labels. It was Plank's idea to have a traffic cone on the back of the cover . He helped the group to implement their experimental sound collages in the composition and instrumentation. When she moved to Kraftwerk, contact with Plank was not lost, even though their first LP was made in July / August 1970 in their own studio. But already Kraftwerk 2 , recorded between September 20 and October 1, 1971 in the Star Studio, was monitored by Plank. The Kraftwerk album Autobahn was recorded by Plank in November 1974 in the Wolperather studio. Plank worked on this and a. the sound of the passing cars in the title song of the same name. Autobahn was the last Kraftwerk LP produced by Plank, because Plank did not want to go along with the turn to the designer band.

The Krautrock band Bröselmaschine rented Plank's studio between February and July 1975 to have their album Peter Bursch and the Bröselmaschine leveled here. The Hanoverian rock group Harlis commissioned Plank to produce an LP of the same name between September and October 1975 in the new studio. The Harmonia LP Deluxe was created with a mobile studio in June 1975, mixed in July 1975 in the Plank studio and released on August 20, 1975. Plank then supervised a jazz recording with the Globe Unity Orchestra when the single Bavarian Calypso was made in April 1975. The electronic Krautrock band La Düsseldorf entrusted the production of their eponymous LP between September and December 1975 to Planks Künsten. The Krautrock troupe Guru Guru then came to the village for recordings for their LP Tango Fango (February 1976), the coarse-cut concept LP Rockpommel's Land (November 1976 to February 1977) was also monitored by Plank (release: May 1977) . Michael Rother (Ex-Kraftwerk) recorded his album Flammende Herzen (June – September 1976) here.

On February 22, 1979 ( Weiberfastnacht ), the Zeltinger Band made their debut in the Cologne nightclub "Roxy", which was recorded live by Plank. What Plank recorded for posterity is gruff rock reminiscent of New Wave and Punk , performed by a tentinger who was always a little breathless in coarse Kölsch and was released live in August 1979 on the debut LP De Plaat in Roxy & Bunker . Between September and December 1980, Schleimig was the first studio LP of the Zeltinger band. In August 1980, the Bläck Fööss gathered for the LP D'r Rhing erop - D'r Rhing eraf ("Rheinaufwärts - Rheinabwärts") to record 14 tracks (best known: Indianer kriesche nit ), but the producer was Werner Dies .

Ultravox - Systems of Romance

While the previous clients were predominantly German bands whose musical identity was mainly krautrock or jazz rock, the picture changed decisively when, in May 1978, Ultravox , an international new wave and synth pop band, took up the services of the remote studio. Her previous recordings were made in renowned London studios under the supervision of Brian Eno / Steve Lillywhite . The third Ultravox LP Systems of Romance was overseen by Plank in May 1978. Ultravox also went to the village near Cologne for the LP Rage in Eden after that (September 1981), after Plank had already co-produced the album Vienna . DAF recorded the album Alles ist gut here between January 1981 and December 1982 . Plank had used his contacts to get the band a record deal with the new album.

Brian Eno produced the debut album of the new wave troupe Devo Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo . A long-term partnership between the former cluster musicians Dieter Moebius and Hans-Joachim Roedelius as well as Brian Eno revived in 1984 when the compilation albums Encounters I and II were produced by Plank, who also plays keyboard and synthesizer on them . The titles of the LPs were created between 1976 and 1982, partly in Michael Rother's recording studio (Ex-Kraftwerk) in the Alten Weserhof, Bevern-Forst .

The albums In the Garden (February to June 1981) and Revenge (July 1986) were created for the Eurythmics . The Herbert Grönemeyer -LP Zwo was recorded in the Plank studio in 1980. Gianna Nannini came here to record her album Latin Lover in 1982 and later the album Profumo with the successful title Bello e impossibile , Brian Eno for Before and after Science (December 1977) and Music for Airports (March 1978), where Plank's partner was on two tracks Christa can be heard almost. The German new wave band Tank of Danzig recorded their album Not Trendy here in 1982. The band Ideal , which later became part of the Neue Deutsche Welle , produced their album Der Ernst des Lebens together with Plank in February 1982 , which sold over 300,000 times. This included the first single hit Eiszeit .

Killing Joke recorded their third album "Revelations" in Conny's studio in 1981/82.

Heinz-Rudolf Kunze had his album Your is my whole heart produced in October 1985 , which brought him the breakthrough. Plank had contributed significantly to the atmosphere of the album with "his ideas and his motivation." The single of the same name was able to reach first place on the German airplay hit parade and was the studio owner's best chart listing.

Own music

In addition to his studio work, Plank occasionally worked himself as a musician and recorded four albums in a duo with Dieter Moebius, using an emulator sampling keyboard for the first time worldwide in 1983 for the production of Ludwig's Law . The LP was part of a series of four albums that also featured Mayo Thompson . As a musician, lyricist, composer and co-producer, Konrad Plank worked for a long time with the Düsseldorf artist and musician Eberhard Kranemann. The two knew each other from the days of the Rhenus recording studio, where they developed their own new sounds. The contact to Kraftwerk and Neu! came about through Kranemann, who worked as a musician in both groups. Together they produced the LP Fritz Müller Rock , in which they questioned the practice of music production at the time through music and text and, through clichéd exaggeration, led current music productions to absurdity. Conny Plank traveled through all Hispanic American countries between September and October 1986 on behalf of the Goethe Institute and took this opportunity on stage as a musician and "sound director"; he played a DX7 and trumpet, operated a mixer and used an 8-track tape recorder with pre-recorded background music. After rehearsals in his studio, he went on a six-week tour through South America with the Moebius / Plank / Steffen formation and his then sound engineer Detlef Wiederhöft . It was his only appearance as a musician on a stage.

Final phase

In October 1987 Heiner Pudelko traveled with his former band Interzone and Annette Humpe to Wolperath to record his first solo album Mein Schatz . Conny Plank died of cancer during the recording work.

Plank's partner Christa Fast (born April 6, 1942 - June 1, 2006) continued the studio with their son Stephan. At the beginning of 2006 she had to give up the studio due to illness and sell it in May 2006. In autumn 2008, the Cologne music producers Michael and Tim Dierks ( dirxmusic , Wermelskirchen) started renovating the studio together with Stephan Plank, but in 2009 the entire farm was released for demolition.

reception

The Krautrock trio Bluepoint Underground posthumously remembered the pioneer of electronic sound with their composition Conny Plank on their LP Bluepoint Underground in New York City in 1999 . The song is by Eberhard Kranemann, with whom Plank was friends since the mid-1960s. This is how Kranemann said goodbye to him after his friend's death. It's a “tribute to conny plank”. Their location manager was Klaus Dinger , a friend and musician colleague of Kranemann, the Plank already as a member of Kraftwerk, La Düsseldorf and Neu! had met. Conny Plank saw himself as a “medium that mediates between the musicians, the sounds and the tape”; his openness and curiosity created “sounds that breath over a wide area”. He ensured the production of independent, previously unheard sounds and was always open to innovative combinations. Plank is considered a pioneer of German Krautrock and Electronic Rock. He was one of the most important producers of the decade. Plank had made a name for himself in particular as a producer of progressive rock , psychedelic rock and folk , electronics and avant-garde . In addition to Krautrock, Plank was also responsible for a number of folk albums as a producer in the 1970s, including a. by Zupfgeigenhansel (LP Volkslieder 2 ; January 1977). With his sound ideas, Plank shaped, among others, Psychotic Tanks , Die Krupps , Kowalski , the Talking Heads , their frontman David Byrne , Ideal , Rheingold , U2 , Einstürzende Neubauten , Echo & The Bunnymen , Les Rita Mitsouko , Annie Lennox , Astor Piazzolla , The Damned or Miranda Sex Garden .

Plank did not judge the music by its prospect of commercial success. If he liked a band or their music, he produced it. In doing so, he also took on, rather unusually, the entrepreneurial risk by producing at his own expense. This studio policy brought success to many unknown bands that were rejected by record companies or not even noticed at all. He made it possible for the musicians to conclude so-called band takeover agreements with record companies, and he helped many groups to negotiate with the major labels and thus avoid the "traps" in the contracts. His approach often brought better negotiating positions for the musicians and, above all, ensured their artistic freedom. The record companies could not intervene in artistic or production processes. The approach of the artists and repertoire departments at that time prevented many innovations outside the mainstream and left behind frustrated musicians, unfinished productions or productions that simply disappeared in the archives of the record companies. Unlike other producers, Plank limited himself to moderate participation in the sales success of the productions, despite the sometimes considerable preparatory work for and on some albums. He ironically documented the ideal value of his commercial success in the form of numerous gold and platinum records with an exhibition of his awards in his guest toilet.

Appreciation

  • The documentary by Reto Caduff and Stephan Plank (son of Conny Plank) Conny Plank - The Potential of Noise was shown to the public for the first time on September 21, 2017 in the Eiszeit-Kino in Berlin. In 2018 the film was awarded the music prize of the German Documentary Film Prize. On May 3, 2019, it was broadcast on the TV channel ARTE under the title Conny Plank - My father the sound visionary .
  • In honor of Conny Plank, Grönland Records released the 4-CD album box Who's That Man / A Tribute To Conny Plank in February 2013 with a cross-section of his oeuvre and a live recording from 1986.
  • In January 2013, Spiegel Online published a detailed article about the work of Conny Plank with many photos from his career under the title Musikpionier Conny Plank: Pop aus der Fabrikhalle .
  • On the 25th anniversary of his death in December 2012, Radio Jena broadcast a four-hour special about Conny Plank with the title Der Mann mit dem Magischen Sound with many music examples and interviews with companions.

Recordings (selection)

1969

1970

1971

1972

1973

1974

  • Motorway (power plant)
  • Sugar time (cluster)
  • Andy Nogger ( Kraan )

1975

1976

  • Anyway (cluster)
  • Clowns & Clouds (Hoelderlin)
  • La Dusseldorf ( La Dusseldorf )

1977

1978

1979

1980

1981

1982

1983

1984

  • The east is red ( Holger Czukay )
  • Encounters (Eno Moebius Roedelius Plank)
  • Rita Mitsouko ( Les Rita Mitsouko )
  • The Collection (Ultravox)
  • Puzzle (Gianna Nannini)
  • Should Have Been Greatest Hits (The Tourists)

1985

1986

  • U-Vox (Ultravox)
  • Profumo (Gianna Nannini)

1987

Posthumously

literature

  • Rüdiger Esch : Electri_City. Electronic music from Düsseldorf 1970–1986 . Suhrkamp, ​​Berlin 12014, ISBN 978-3-518-46464-9 .
  • Alexander Simmeth: Krautrock transnational. The reinvention of pop music in the FRG, 1968–1978 . Transcript, Bielefeld 2016, ISBN 978-3-8376-3424-2 .

Web links

Radio feature

Individual evidence

  1. Katja Preißner: A producer genius at SR SR-online
  2. ^ Katja Preißner: Conny Plank about herself: Pop non stop SR-online
  3. Schild, to be seen at 0'24 ″ in: Stephan Plank and Reto Caduff: Conny Plank - The Potential of Noise Trailer German. (Youtube) Edition Salzgeber , July 21, 2017, accessed on October 5, 2017 .
  4. Florian Kreier , Maschinengesang: The connection between people, machines and the development of Krautrock using selected examples , student thesis, May 2011, p. 14
  5. ^ Plank interview with the music magazine Sound Check , March 1986
  6. The seriousness of life . Discogs
  7. WEA Takes Shot With LP in German . In: Billboard Magazine, February 13, 1982
  8. Killing Joke .
  9. Ingo Grabowsky, Martin Lücke: The 100 hits of the century . 2008, p. 54
  10. Man vs. Machine: Conny Plank . ( Memento of August 29, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) In: Electronic Musician , February 1987
  11. Medium between the musicians . In: NZZ , December 11, 2009
  12. Barbara Lammerschmitt, Bernd Lindner: Rock! Youth and Music in Germany . 2005, p. 64
  13. ^ Conny Plank - The Potential of Noise. Edition Salzgeber , 2017, accessed on March 31, 2020 .
  14. German Documentary Film Award 2018: “Of Fathers and Sons” named the winner. In: SWR . July 3, 2018, accessed June 18, 2020 .
  15. ^ Rainer W. Sauer: Krautrock pioneer Conny Plank. In: Der Spiegel . January 18, 2013, accessed March 31, 2020 .