NEWSL Irmin Schmidt - tour and Villa Wunderbar released on vinyl

NEWS: Irmin Schmidt – tour and Villa Wunderbar released on vinyl

IRMIN SCHMIDT has announced three rare live solo dates for this coming winter. The first of these dates, on 21 November at Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, will see Schmidt perform the worldwide premiere of two unheard compositions and the UK premiere of ‘Klavierstück II’, from his latest release 5 Klavierstücke (Mute, 2018).

IRMIN SCHMIDT LIVE

21 Nov – Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival 
11 Dec – Nantes, Reuzé La Soufflerie
25 Jan – Glasgow Celtic Connections Festival

Coinciding with the dates, Mute and Spoon are pleased to announce the vinyl release of VILLA WUNDERBAR, compiling the work of the Can founder solo and soundtrack work. The four-piece vinyl box set, previously only available on CD, will be released on 22 November 2019 on clear vinyl, limited to 1000 copies worldwide and will include two Can remixes plus a collection of soundtrack pieces personally compiled by long-term collaborator Wim Wenders.

The first two albums in the Villa Wunderbar box set are a compilation of Irmin Schmidt’s extensive work as a solo artist over the past 30 years, whilst the second two – selected and presented by the filmmaker Wim Wenders – are an insight into Schmidt’s vast work as a composer for film and television for which Wenders has written extensive sleeve notes.

The compilation includes tracks such as ‘Villa Wunderbar’, ‘Kick On The Floods’ and ‘Bohemian Step’, alongside remixes by Schmidt of two Can tracks, ‘Alice’ and ‘Last Night Sleep’ and is updated to include Schmidt’s latest work, ‘Klavierstück V’.

After an extensive classical education as pianist, conductor and composer, Irmin Schmidt – who studied under Stockhausen and Ligeti – established Can in the late 60s combining classic new music with rock and jazz. The band’s powerful influence has never diminished, and their indelible mark is apparent in the bands who freely acknowledge their importance – from Portishead, James Murphy, New Order, Factory Floor, Public Image Ltd, Mogwai, Kanye West (who sampled ‘Sing Swan Song’) and Radiohead – as well as across other disciplines such as visual art and literature.

After Can disbanded in the late 70s, Irmin Schmidt returned to his work as a solo artist and the result is a vast oeuvre, which includes a series of solo albums (Toy Planet (1981), Musk At Dusk (1987), Impossible Holidays (1991)), an opera (Gormenghast (2000) based on the Mervyn Peak trilogy), several releases with English composer Kumo (Masters Of Confusion (2001), Axolotl Eyes (2008), Flies, Guys & Choirs (2008) and Cyclopean EP (2013)), a ballet (La Fermosa by Youri Vàmos) and over 100 film scores (Snowland, 2005 dir Hans W. Geissendörfer, Palermo Shooting, 2008, dir Wim Wenders), amongst others)

Schmidt’s sound-trips combine what normally competes and conflicts: rock, pop, jazz, classic, electronic, ambient, drum ‘n’ bass, waltz, eastern… He is a musical alchemist.

VILLA WUNDERBAR TRACKLISTING

Dreambite
Le Weekend
Rapido De Noir
Love
Villa Wunderbar
Time The Dreamkiller
Fledermenschen
Burning Straw in Sky
Kick On The Floods
Fuchsia’s Song – Rainbow Party
Ensemble Joy
Klavierstück V
Flavia Theme
Quattrocanti (Dream Theme IV)
Fresco & Finale (Flavia Theme III & IV)
Zicke Zick
Schneeland
Dangerous
Rote Erde (Titel Musik)
Es Geht Ein Schnitter
Bohemian Step
Roll On Euphrates
Solo
Aller Tage Abend Walzer
Morning In Berlin
Geisterlied
Verdi Prati Valse
Messer im Kopf
Lied vom Verschwinden
Can – Alice (Irmin Schmidt Remix)
Can – Last Night Sleep (Irmin Schmidt Remix)

www.mute.com