Can (stylized in all caps) were a German experimental rock band formed in Cologne in 1968 by Holger Czukay (bass, tape editing), Irmin Schmidt (keyboards), Michael Karoli (guitar), and Jaki Liebezeit (drums).

They blended elements of psychedelic rock, funk, and musique concrète on influential albums such as Tago Mago (1971), Ege Bamyasi (1972) and Future Days (1973).

[11] Can was formed in Cologne, Germany, in 1968 by Holger Czukay (bass), Irmin Schmidt (keyboard), Jaki Liebezeit (drums) and Michael Karoli (guitar).

[16] He was replaced in 1970 by a young Japanese traveller, Damo Suzuki, whom Czukay and Liebezeit found busking outside a Munich café and invited to join their performance that night.

The double album Tago Mago (1971) is often seen as groundbreaking, influential and deeply unconventional, based on intensely rhythmic jazz-inspired drumming, improvised guitar and keyboard soloing (frequently intertwining), tape edits as composition, and Suzuki's idiosyncratic vocalisms.

[18] In 1971, the band composed the music for the three-part German-language television crime miniseries Das Messer ("The Knife"), directed by Rolf von Sydow.

Czukay said, "'Bel Air' [the 20-minute track that takes up all of side two on the original Future Days LP] showed Can in a state of being an electric symphony group performing a peaceful though sometimes dramatic landscape painting.

In 1975, Can signed with Virgin Records in the UK and EMI/Harvest in West Germany, appearing the same year on BBC's Old Grey Whistle Test in a memorable performance of Vernal Equinox in which Schmidt played one keyboard section with a series of rapid karate chops.

Co-written by live sound mixer Peter Gilmour, it reached No 26 in the UK charts in October 1976, which prompted an appearance on Top of the Pops, where Czukay performed with a double bass.

In 1977 Can was joined by former Traffic bassist Rosko Gee and percussionist Rebop Kwaku Baah, both of whom provided vocals, appearing on the albums Saw Delight (1977), Out of Reach (1978) and Can (1979).

During this period, Czukay was pushed to the fringes of the group's activity due to disagreements about the band's creative direction and his failure as a bass guitarist to keep up with the growth of the other musicians.

[23] After Gee joined Can, Czukay made sounds using shortwave radios, Morse code keys, tape recorders and other sundry objects.

[26][27] In 1999, the four core members of Can (Karoli, Liebezeit, Schmidt and Czukay) performed live at the same show, although playing separately with their current solo projects (Sofortkontakt, Club Off Chaos, Kumo and U-She respectively).

[29] Can developed a repetitive, rhythmic style with influences of North African music, Stockhausen, and American minimalists such as Steve Reich and Terry Riley.

This world music trend was later exemplified on albums such as Ege Bamyasi (the name meaning "Aegean okra" in Turkish), Future Days and Saw Delight, and by incorporating new band members with different nationalities.

[32] The band's early rock influences include the Beatles and the Velvet Underground[32] as well as Jimi Hendrix, Sly Stone and Frank Zappa.

Malcolm Mooney's voice has been compared to that of James Brown (an acknowledged hero of the band members) and their early style, rooted in psychedelic music, drew comparisons with Pink Floyd.

Karlheinz Freynik, after visiting one of Can's sessions described them as "very anarchic", as if they were "turning away from the others, and diving into their subconscious, and playing their things", but after a while they moved into the centerpiece of the improvisation, "they gathered and their minds kind of connected to each other."

"[38] When preparing soundtracks, only Irmin Schmidt would view the film and then give the rest of the band a general description of the scenes they would be scoring.

In 1975, folk singer Tim Hardin took the lead vocal spot and played guitar with Can for one song, at two gigs, performing his own "The Lady Came From Baltimore".

[37] In the late 1970s, Can influenced major artists working in the post-punk genre such as Siouxsie and the Banshees, the Fall, Public Image Ltd, Teardrop Explodes's Julian Cope,[41] and Joy Division.

[42] In the 1980s, Can were referenced by British new wave acts such as Pete Shelley, Gary Numan, Ultravox, the Jesus and Mary Chain and Primal Scream.

Critic Simon Reynolds wrote that "Can's pan-global avant-funk anticipated many of the moves made by sampladelic dance genres like trip hop, ethnotechno and ambient jungle.

Many groups working in the post-rock genre can look to Can as an influence as part of the larger krautrock scene, as can New Prog bands such as The Mars Volta.

The UK band Loop was deeply influenced by Can for their repetitive polyrhythmic style, covering Can's "Mother Sky" on their Black Sun EP.

[56] The Yugoslav progressive/psychedelic rock band Igra Staklenih Perli, heavily influenced by Can, on their self-titled debut album released the song "Pečurka" ("Mushroom") as a tribute to Can.