Konrad "Conny" Plank (3 May 1940 – 5 December 1987) was a German record producer and musician. He is known for his innovative work as a
sound engineer
An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproductio ...
and producer in Germany's
krautrock and
kosmische
Krautrock (also called , German for ) is a broad genre of experimental rock that developed in West Germany in the late 1960s and early 1970s among artists who blended elements of psychedelic rock, avant-garde composition, and electronic music, ...
music scene in the 1970s. Plank was involved in releases by
Neu!
Neu! (; German for "New!"; styled in block capitals) were a West German krautrock band formed in Düsseldorf in 1971 by Klaus Dinger and Michael Rother following their departure from Kraftwerk. The group's albums were produced by Conny Plan ...
,
Kraftwerk,
Cluster
may refer to:
Science and technology Astronomy
* Cluster (spacecraft), constellation of four European Space Agency spacecraft
* Asteroid cluster, a small asteroid family
* Cluster II (spacecraft), a European Space Agency mission to study t ...
,
Harmonia
In Greek mythology, Harmonia (; grc, Ἁρμονία /Ancient Greek phonology, harmoˈnia/, "harmony", "agreement") is the immortal goddess of harmony and concord. Her Rome, Roman counterpart is Concordia (mythology), Concordia. Her Greek op ...
,
Ash Ra Tempel
Ash Ra Tempel was a West German krautrock group led by guitarist Manuel Göttsching that was active from 1970 to 1976. Their debut album '' Ash Ra Tempel'' was released in 1971. Following the band's demise, Göttsching released music under the nam ...
,
Guru Guru
Guru Guru is a German krautrock band formed in 1968 as The Guru Guru Groove by Mani Neumeier (drums), Uli Trepte (bass) and Eddy Naegeli (guitar), later replaced by the American Jim Kennedy. After Kennedy collapsed on stage due to a serious ill ...
,
Kraan
Kraan is a German band based in Ulm and formed in 1970. It had several minor hits through the 1970s and 1980s. After a break of ten years, the group reunited in 2000. Their early style can be described as Krautrock that turned later to fusion, ...
, and other German groups of the era.
He later produced for
new wave acts such as
D.A.F.,
Eurythmics, and
Ultravox
Ultravox (earlier styled as Ultravox!) were a British new wave band, formed in London in April 1974 as Tiger Lily. Between 1980 and 1986, they scored seven Top Ten albums and seventeen Top 40 singles in the UK, the most successful of which was ...
. As a billed performer, Plank also formed the group
Moebius & Plank
Moebius & Plank was a German electronic music duo consisting of musicians Dieter Moebius (also of the act Cluster) and Conny Plank. They recorded three albums between 1979 and 1986 as well as two additional albums, one a collaboration with Man ...
, releasing 5 studio albums between 1979 and 1986.
Style and influence
Plank and the bands he worked with in West Germany had a strong influence on mainstream rock artists, some of whom were able to popularize aspects of his production technique and his distinctive approach. In the 1980s, electronic pop bands were able to realize his ideas in performance as computerized electronic instruments became readily available.
Plank (who began his career as soundman for
Marlene Dietrich
Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; ...
) was an ardent believer in the possibilities of electronic music and electronic
soundscape
A soundscape is the acoustic environment as perceived by humans, in context. The term was originally coined by Michael Southworth, and popularised by R. Murray Schafer. There is a varied history of the use of soundscape depending on discipline, ...
s. He was also known for blending them with conventional sounds, or natural sounds given unconventional treatments, such as using large metal containers and other industrial objects as percussion instruments.
Plank used
multi-track recording facilities. He favored sometimes harsh-sounding effects and contrasting audio for each element in the mix. Plank used combinations of echo, reverberation and other electronic, mixing, editing and tape-based effects to create mixes.
Plank favored a very 'live' production sound, especially on drums. On a recording session in Hamburg in 1970 with Hartmut Kulka from the German Blue Flames & Philip Cantlay of Casey Jones & the Governors/Gaslight Union, together known as Kulka & Cantlay, he set up and recorded conga drums with specially inserted microphones to provide an unusual percussion sound.
Career
1960s
Plank began producing albums and working as a sound engineer in the late 1960s and became involved in the underground music scene which was spreading outwards through Germany from
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
. In 1969 he served as engineer for the first
Kluster
Kluster was a Berlin-based German experimental musical group formed in 1969 by Hans-Joachim Roedelius, Conrad Schnitzler, and Dieter Moebius. Their improvisational work presaged later industrial music. The original Kluster was short-lived, exi ...
album, ''
Klopfzeichen
''Klopfzeichen'' is the debut full-length album by German experimental music trio Kluster.
''Klopfzeichen'' was recorded on 21 December 1969 at Rhenus-Studio, Gordorf, Germany. Liner notes on the CD reissue on the Hypnotic label as well as s ...
'', which was released the following year. His long association with
Dieter Moebius
Dieter Moebius (16 January 1944 – 20 July 2015) was a Swiss-born German electronic musician and composer, best known as a member of the influential krautrock bands Cluster and Harmonia.
Moebius was studying art at Berlin's Akademie Grafik and ...
and
Hans-Joachim Roedelius
Hans-Joachim Roedelius (born 26 October 1934) is a German electronic musician and composer, best known as a co-founder of the influential 'kosmische' groups Cluster and Harmonia. He also performed in the ambient jazz trio Aquarello, and relea ...
of Kluster and later
Cluster
may refer to:
Science and technology Astronomy
* Cluster (spacecraft), constellation of four European Space Agency spacecraft
* Asteroid cluster, a small asteroid family
* Cluster II (spacecraft), a European Space Agency mission to study t ...
endured until his death. He also served as engineer for
Alexander von Schlippenbach
Alexander von Schlippenbach (born 7 April 1938) is a German jazz pianist and composer. He came to prominence in the 1960s playing free jazz in a trio with saxophonist Evan Parker and drummer Paul Lovens, and as a member of the Globe Unity Orchest ...
's album ''The Living Music'', which was released in 1969, the first of a long list of engineering and production credits.
1970s
In 1970 he had a 56 channel
mixing desk
A mixing console or mixing desk is an electronic device for mixing audio signals, used in sound recording and reproduction and sound reinforcement systems. Inputs to the console include microphones, signals from electric or electronic instr ...
hand built by himself Peter Lang and Michael Zähl. and went on to produce and/or engineered many recordings by significant German progressive/experimental music acts often referred to as
krautrock internationally, including
Kraftwerk,
Organisation,
Neu!
Neu! (; German for "New!"; styled in block capitals) were a West German krautrock band formed in Düsseldorf in 1971 by Klaus Dinger and Michael Rother following their departure from Kraftwerk. The group's albums were produced by Conny Plan ...
,
Cluster
may refer to:
Science and technology Astronomy
* Cluster (spacecraft), constellation of four European Space Agency spacecraft
* Asteroid cluster, a small asteroid family
* Cluster II (spacecraft), a European Space Agency mission to study t ...
,
Harmonia
In Greek mythology, Harmonia (; grc, Ἁρμονία /Ancient Greek phonology, harmoˈnia/, "harmony", "agreement") is the immortal goddess of harmony and concord. Her Rome, Roman counterpart is Concordia (mythology), Concordia. Her Greek op ...
,
Night Sun
Night Sun were a German hard rock/Heavy metal music, heavy metal band consisting of Bruno Schaab (vocals, bass), Walter Kirchgessner (guitar), Knut Rossler (organ, saxophon) and Ulrich Staudt (drums).
Their one and only album, ''Mournin' (alb ...
,
Holger Czukay and
Guru Guru
Guru Guru is a German krautrock band formed in 1968 as The Guru Guru Groove by Mani Neumeier (drums), Uli Trepte (bass) and Eddy Naegeli (guitar), later replaced by the American Jim Kennedy. After Kennedy collapsed on stage due to a serious ill ...
.
In 1977, through
Brian Eno, Plank recruited Dave Hutchins from Island Studios, as house engineer. Hutchins undertook recording and mixing roles on many of the productions originating from the studios in the following ten years.
As a musician, Plank played guitar and keyboards on three Guru Guru albums: ''Kang Guru'', ''Guru Guru'', and ''Mani und Seine Freunde'', the Os Mundi album ''43 Minuten'', and Cluster's self-titled debut album. In 1978 and 1979 he added guitar and percussion to two Roedelius solo albums, ''
Durch Die Wüste
''Durch die Wüste'' is the first full-length solo album by German keyboardist Hans-Joachim Roedelius, best known for his work with Cluster, Harmonia, and Aquarello. The title is German for "Through the Desert."
The music on ''Durch Die Wüst ...
'' and ''
Selbstportrait''. He was a member of the short lived band Liliental, contributing guitar, keyboards, and vocals. In 1979 he went into the studio with Dieter Moebius to record the first Moebius & Plank album, ''
Rastakraut Pasta
''Rastakraut Pasta'' is the first full-length album by German electronic music duo of Dieter Moebius and Conny Plank.
''Rastakraut Pasta'' was recorded in September 1979 at Conny's Studio outside of Cologne. It was released by Sky Records in 198 ...
'' which was released the following year.
1980s
Plank continued to work as one half of the duo Moebius & Plank, recording four additional albums. Their second album, ''
Material
Material is a substance or mixture of substances that constitutes an object. Materials can be pure or impure, living or non-living matter. Materials can be classified on the basis of their physical and chemical properties, or on their geolo ...
'', was released in 1981. Their third album, the African-influenced ''
Zero Set
In mathematics, a zero (also sometimes called a root) of a real-, complex-, or generally vector-valued function f, is a member x of the domain of f such that f(x) ''vanishes'' at x; that is, the function f attains the value of 0 at x, or e ...
'', with Guru Guru drummer Mani Neumeier, was released in 1983. These two albums are early examples of the predecessors of
techno
Techno is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally music production, produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central Drum beat, rhythm is typ ...
and
electronica. In 1983, Moebius & Plank also recorded the album ''
Ludwig's Law'' using an
Emulator
In computing, an emulator is hardware or software that enables one computer system (called the ''host'') to behave like another computer system (called the ''guest''). An emulator typically enables the host system to run software or use pe ...
, an early form of sampling keyboard that enabled them to duplicate other instruments without having musicians to play them.
Mayo Thompson
Mayo Thompson (born February 26, 1944 in Houston, Texas, United States) is an American musician and visual artist best known as the leader of the experimental rock band Red Krayola.
Background
His formal education includes Garden of Arts Kind ...
of
Red Krayola
The Red Krayola (originally Red Crayola) is an American avant rock band from Houston, Texas formed in 1966 by the trio of singer/guitarist Mayo Thompson, drummer Frederick Barthelme, and bassist Steve Cunningham.
The group were part of the 19 ...
contributed vocals, mainly spoken monologues. The project was rejected by Sky Records and was not released until 1998. The final Moebius & Plank collaboration, ''
En Route
''En route'' may refer to:
* ''En Route'' (novel), an 1895 novel by Joris-Karl Huysmans
* ''En Route'' (film), a 2004 German movie directed by Jan Krüger
* En-route chart, in aeronautics
* enRoute (credit card), Air Canada's credit card divisi ...
'' was recorded in Conny's Studio in 1986 but left incomplete as Plank's health deteriorated. It was completed and mixed in 1995, primarily by Dieter Moebius, and released that year.
During the eighties, Plank remained in high demand with the new generation of electronic pop and
new wave artists, including
Devo,
the Meteors
The Meteors are an English psychobilly band formed in 1980. Originally from London, England, they are often credited with giving the psychobilly subgenre — which fuses punk rock with rockabilly — its distinctive sound and style.
About.co ...
from the Netherlands (''Hunger'' in 1980) and (''Stormy Seas'' in 1981),
the Fred Banana Combo,
Ultravox
Ultravox (earlier styled as Ultravox!) were a British new wave band, formed in London in April 1974 as Tiger Lily. Between 1980 and 1986, they scored seven Top Ten albums and seventeen Top 40 singles in the UK, the most successful of which was ...
(''
Systems of Romance'', ''
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
'' and ''
Rage in Eden
''Rage in Eden'' is the fifth album by the British new wave band Ultravox. It was released in 1981 on Chrysalis. The album reached #4 in the UK album charts and was certified Gold by the BPI for sales in excess of 100,000 copies.
Content
The ...
''),
Echo & the Bunnymen,
Freur
Freur was a Welsh new wave and synth-pop band featuring Karl Hyde and Rick Smith, who went on to form the electronic band Underworld. It was their second band, following their art school collaboration, the Screen Gemz. Their best known song ...
,
Killing Joke,
the Tourists
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
(''Luminous Basement'') and
Eurythmics (''
In the Garden''). He also worked on pop and rock productions with artists such as
Scorpions
Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always end ...
,
Clannad
Clannad () is an Irish band formed in 1970 in Gweedore, County Donegal by siblings Ciarán, Pól, and Moya Brennan and their twin uncles Noel and Pádraig Duggan. They have adopted various musical styles throughout their history, including ...
,
Play Dead, and
Gianna Nannini
Gianna Nannini (; born 14 June 1954[Who Is Who](_blank)
[''Bello e possibile'' ...]
(''Latin Lover'', ''Sogno Di Una Notte d'Estate'', ''Tutto Live'' and others, also credited for music).
Plank's other production credits include
Liaisons Dangereuses,
Phew,
Einstürzende Neubauten
(, 'Collapsing New Buildings') is a German experimental music group, formed in West Berlin in 1980. The group is currently composed of founding members Blixa Bargeld (lead vocals; guitar; keyboard) and N.U. Unruh ( custom-made instruments; p ...
,
Ástor Piazzolla
Astor Pantaleón Piazzolla (, ; March 11, 1921 – July 4, 1992) was an Argentine tango composer, bandoneon player, and arranger. His works revolutionized the traditional tango into a new style termed '' nuevo tango'', incorporating elements fr ...
, Psychotic Tanks,
DAF (including the classic single "Der Mussolini"),
Gianna Nannini
Gianna Nannini (; born 14 June 1954[Who Is Who](_blank)
[''Bello e possibile'' ...]
,
Les Rita Mitsouko
Les Rita Mitsouko (, translation: ''The Rita Mitsukos'') were a French pop rock group formed by Fred Chichin and Catherine Ringer. The duo first performed as Rita Mitsouko at Gibus Club in Paris in 1980. They went on to become one of the most a ...
, and
Nina Hagen
Catharina "Nina" Hagen (; born 11 March 1955) is a German singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her theatrical vocals and rose to prominence during the punk and new wave movements in the late 1970s and early 1980s. She is known as ...
.
According to
René Tinner
René Tinner (born February 18, 1953, in St. Gallen) is a Swiss recording engineer and producer, who has produced over 200 studio records and numerous live performances.
Career
Tinner began his career as the audio engineer of the German ro ...
and Stephan Plank in a radio documentary about the life of Conny Plank, it was
Brian Eno's idea that Plank should produce the
U2 album ''
The Joshua Tree
''The Joshua Tree'' is the fifth studio album by Irish rock band U2. It was produced by Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno, and was released on 9 March 1987 on Island Records. In contrast to the ambient experimentation of their 1984 release, ' ...
'' instead of him. After being introduced to the band by Eno and after a short meeting, Plank turned down the job ("I cannot work with this singer"). According to the companion website of the documentary film ''Conny Plank – The Potential of Noise'' (but not the film itself), after the meeting, Plank firstly asked for time for a second thought. In the meantime he attended a U2 concert at
Freilichtbühne Loreley
The Freilichtbühne Loreley (Loreley Open-Air Theatre) is an amphitheatre located on top of the Lorelei rock in St. Goarshausen, Germany. Designed by Hermann Senf, it was built between 1934 and 1939 as one of the Nazi '' Thingplätze'' and is o ...
, where U2's Bono introduced Plank to the audience as their new producer, after which Plank is said to have left the concert and never communicated further with any member of U2.
Death
Plank got sick while touring South America with Dieter Moebius, Arno Steffen and Detlef Wiederhoeft performing music from ''Ludwig's Law''. Some of Plank's last work, before his death in 1987 from laryngeal cancer in
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...
, was the recording of concerts on Eurythmics' ''Revenge'' tour, and samples used on the
NED Synclavier on their ''
Savage
Savage may refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Savage Glacier, Ellsworth Land
* Savage Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land
* Savage Ridge, Victoria Land
United States
* Savage, Maryland, an unincorporated community
* Savage, Minnesota, a city
* Savage, Mi ...
'' album.
His studio, at his home on the southern outskirts of Cologne, continued to be run by his widow Christa Fast and their son until her failing health and the general change in the music business forced them to offer its contents for sale in May 2006. Fast died on 1 June 2006. Conny's famous hand-built mixing desk was bought by English producers
David M. Allen and
Mark Ralph and transported to England. The desk was originally designed and built by Plank in 1970, altered and upgraded consistently until his death in 1987. The 56 channel desk was a custom design and has a number of unique features, including a specially designed
equalization (EQ) section that conformed to Plank's own preferred EQ settings, as well as a section which can be removed and which was fitted into a converted military van adapted for remote recording. It is also reputedly laminated in wood taken from a single cherry tree from Plank's own garden.
The mixing desk was initially installed at Club Ralf, the private studio of producer
Mark Ralph, where he used it to record and mix a range of work including all or parts of "In Our Heads" and "Why Make Sense" by
Hot Chip
Hot Chip are an English synthpop band formed in London in 1995. The group consists of multi-instrumentalists Alexis Taylor, Joe Goddard, Al Doyle, Owen Clarke, and Felix Martin. They are occasionally joined by former member Rob Smoughton for ...
, "Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action" by
Franz Ferdinand
Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria, (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I.
Fr ...
and "Communion" by
Years & Years
Years & Years is the solo project of British singer Olly Alexander. Originally formed as a band in 2010, Years & Years' music has been described as electropop, mixing R&B and 1990s house elements. The band's debut studio album, '' Communion'', ...
. It is currently situated in North London at Studio 7, the private studio of songwriter and producer Laurence Loveless.
Recordings
Plank was involved with the following chronological list of albums, either as a direct contributor or because his studio facilities were used. The dates refer to the year of first release.
Documentary
* ''Conny Plank – The Potential of Noise'', a 92 minute documentary film directed by Reto Caduff and Plank's son Stephan Plank, was released in September 2017.
References
External links
Official website*
*
* Curry, Rus
Retrieved 7 September 2007.
* Forced Exposur
Retrieved 28 September 2007.
* Freeman, Steven and Freeman, Ala
(Audion Publications, 1996) Retrieved 7 September 2007.
* Interlo
Retrieved 28 September 2007.
* Meyer, Bil
Editorial Review: Ludwig's LawRetrieved 7 September 2007.
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Plank, Conny
1940 births
1987 deaths
German record producers
German electronic musicians
Krautrock
People from Kaiserslautern (district)
German experimental musicians
Deaths from cancer in Germany
20th-century German musicians
Deaths from laryngeal cancer
Grönland Records artists
Brain Records artists