All Gates Open is a cerebral book about a cerebral band; that is as it should be. But it would have benefited from an even greater emphasis on the idiosyncratic personalities involved.
All Gates Open is a music book like no other. Its subject is Can, arguably the most important experimental group of the twentieth century. Formed in Cologne in 1968, Can drew their influences from the avant-garde – founding members Irmin Schmidt and Holger Czukay both studied under Stockhausen – and jazz traditions to create a heavily rhythmic, minimal music that redefined what it meant to be a popular band.
The book comprises two elements of equal weight: a biography of the group by Rob Young and a Symposium curated by Irmin Schmidt. The latter explores, in Irmin’s own voice and that of his collaborators and admirers, the tentacular influence Can have had upon not just popular music, but also the visual arts, poetry and film.
Rob Young has worked at Wire magazine since 1993, including five years as editor. He is the author of Rough Trade and Warp, and the editor of Undercurrents: The Hidden Wiring of Modern Music and The Wire Primers: A Guide to Modern Music. He has contributed to publications including Uncut, the Guardian, Sight and Sound, Frieze and Art Review. He lives in London.
Rob Young’s All Gates Open might or might not be the definitive biography of this slippery and protean band. It is an admirable work of loving and careful research.