Conny Plank
Encyclopedia
Konrad "Conny" Plank was a German record producer
and musician. He was born in Hütschenhausen
. His creativity as a sound engineer and producer helped to shape some of the most important and innovative recordings of postwar Europe
an popular music
, covering a wide range of genres including progressive
, avant-garde
and electronic music
. Plank was as much responsible as anyone else for defining the broad genre now known as krautrock
and is arguably the unifying link between most of its disparate productions. His work has also greatly influenced studio production and engineering techniques worldwide.
Plank also had a notable career as a musician, playing keyboards and guitar on albums by Guru Guru
, Cluster
, and Os Mundi. He collaborated with Dieter Moebius
on five Moebius & Plank
studio albums recorded between 1979 and 1986. The Moebius & Plank sound foreshadowed techno
and electronica
and influenced many later musicians.
had a strong influence on mainstream rock artists, some of whom were able to popularise aspects of his production technique and his highly distinctive sonic approach. In the 1980s the new generation of electronic pop bands were able to realise his ideas in performance as computerised electronic instruments became readily available.
Plank (who began his career as soundman for Marlene Dietrich
) was an ardent believer in the possibilities of electronic music and a master of creating startling electronic soundscape
s, but he was also adept at blending them with conventional sounds, or natural sounds given unconventional treatments, such as using large metal containers and other industrial objects as percussion instruments.
He was one of the first European producers to fully exploit the possibilities of using multi-track
recording facilities to create dramatic production effects and treatments that acted as musical and rhetorical elements in their own right, rather than mere gimmicks. He favoured sometimes harsh-sounding effects and contrasting audio spaces for each element in the mix. His best work stands in stark opposition to the smooth, 'evened-out' sound that predominated in most commercial pop and rock at that time.
Plank used radical combinations of echo, reverberation and other electronic, mixing, equalisation, editing and tape-based effects to create mixes in which every element might be given its own highly individual sound environment, and in which each of these elements might alter radically in sound several times over the course of a track. In this he was undoubtedly influenced by the work of Jamaican pioneers like Lee 'Scratch' Perry but he was certainly one of the first European producers to adopt key stylistic innovations sourced from these reggae
and dub
production techniques.
Plank was one of the first 'name' producers to favour a very 'live' production sound, especially on drums, a sound that was strikingly opposed to the dense and heavily compressed drum sound that dominated rock recording in the 70s. Plank's open, sometimes clangorous drum and percussion sounds undoubtedly had a significant influence on producers and engineers like Steve Lillywhite
, Hugh Padgham
and Nick Launay
. On a recording session in Hamburg in 1970 with Hartmut Kulka from the German Blue Flames & Philip Cantlay late 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.
. In 1969 he served as engineer for the first Kluster
album, Klopfzeichen
, which was released the following year. His long association with Dieter Moebius
and Hans-Joachim Roedelius of Kluster and later Cluster
endured until his death. He also served as engineer for Alexander von Schlippenbach
's album The Living Music, which was released in 1969, the first of a very long list of engineering and production credits.
by the UK music press at the time), including Kraftwerk
(Kraftwerk
, Kraftwerk 2
, Ralf und Florian
, Autobahn
, and the precursor album Tone Float
), Neu! (all their recordings), Cluster
, Harmonia
, Night Sun, Ash Ra Tempel
, Holger Czukay
(Can
), and Guru Guru
.
His body of work exerted a strong influence on some of the more adventurous British and American musicians and producers. The most notable are probably David Bowie
and Brian Eno
, who worked together on the late-70s 'Berlin Trilogy' of albums, Low, Heroes, and Lodger, all of which showed the strong influence of Plank's earlier German productions. Bowie's song 'Heroes' is a virtual paean to the Plank style, featuring radical sounds and dramatic alterations of sound in various elements, such as the lead vocal, to heighten the emotional or dramatic effect; this is placed against a swirling, droning electronic backing track that interweaves elements such as multitracked synthethisers and feedback guitar. In 1977, through Eno, Plank recruited Dave Hutchins from Island Studios, as house engineer. Hutchins undertook recording & 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: Kan 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
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
which was released the following year.
period in the late 1970s and 1980s. Neu!'s "Hero" is said to have been a major influence on John Lydon
's work with his post-Sex Pistols
group Public Image Limited. The earlier work of Australian band Hunters & Collectors
also showed unmistakable signs of familiarity with Plank's production techniques, and they were one of many international acts who recorded with him.
Plank continued to work as half of the duo Moebius & Plank, recording four additional albums. Their second album, Material
, was released in 1981. Their third album, the African influenced Zero Set
, with Guru Guru drummer Mani Neumeier, was released in 1983. These two albums were early examples of the sound which would become techno
and electronica
. In 1983, Moebius & Plank also recorded the album Ludwig's Law
using an Emulator, an early form of sampling keyboard that enabled them to duplicate other instruments without having to deal with the musicians who played them. Mayo Thompson
of Red Krayola
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
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
, Ultravox (Systems of Romance
, Vienna
and Rage in Eden
), Freur
and The Tourists
(Luminous Basement), Eurythmics
(In the Garden). He also worked on pop and rock productions with artists such as Scorpions
, Clannad, Killing Joke
, Play Dead
, and Gianna Nannini
(Latin Lover, Sogno Di Una Notte d'Estate, Tutto Live and others, also credited for music).
Plank's other production credits include Echo & the Bunnymen
, Les Rita Mitsouko
, Einstürzende Neubauten
, Ástor Piazzolla
, The Damned, Psychotic Tanks, DAF (including the classic single Der Mussolini) and Nina Hagen
.
According to Rene Tinner and Stefan 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" 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").
Plank fell ill while touring South America with Dieter Moebius, performing music from Ludwig's Law. Some of Plank's last work, before his death in 1987 from cancer in Cologne
, was the recording of concerts on Eurythmics' Revenge tour, and samples used on the NED Synclavier
on their Savage
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 forced them to offer its contents for sale in May 2006. She died on June 1, 2006.
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
and musician. He was born in Hütschenhausen
Hütschenhausen
Hütschenhausen is a municipality in the district of Kaiserslautern, in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany....
. His creativity as a sound engineer and producer helped to shape some of the most important and innovative recordings of postwar Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an popular music
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
, covering a wide range of genres including progressive
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
, avant-garde
Avant-garde music
Avant-garde music is a term used to characterize music which is thought to be ahead of its time, i.e. containing innovative elements or fusing different genres....
and electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
. Plank was as much responsible as anyone else for defining the broad genre now known as krautrock
Krautrock
Krautrock is a generic name for the experimental music scenes that appeared in Germany in the late 1960s and gained popularity throughout the 1970s, especially in Britain. The term is a result of the English-speaking world's reception of the music at the time and not a reference to any one...
and is arguably the unifying link between most of its disparate productions. His work has also greatly influenced studio production and engineering techniques worldwide.
Plank also had a notable career as a musician, playing keyboards and guitar on albums by Guru Guru
Guru Guru
Guru Guru is a German Krautrock band formed in 1968 as The Guru Guru Groove by Mani Neumeier , Uli Trepte and Eddy Naegeli later replaced by American Jim Kennedy...
, Cluster
Cluster (band)
Cluster is a German experimental musical group who influenced the development of contemporary popular electronic and ambient music. They have recorded albums in a wide variety of styles ranging from experimental music to progressive rock, all of which had an avant-garde edge. Cluster has been...
, and Os Mundi. He collaborated with Dieter Moebius
Dieter Moebius
Dieter Moebius is a German/Swiss experimental/krautrock/ambient/electronic musician.Moebius studied art in Brussels and Berlin and met there Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Conrad Schnitzler . They founded a band Kluster in 1969. After the departure of Schnitzler, they changed their name to Cluster...
on five Moebius & Plank
Moebius & Plank
The duo of Dieter Moebius and Conny Plank recorded three albums between 1979 and 1986. Plank died of cancer in 1987. Their final album and an album with Mayo Thompson were released posthumously in 1995 and 1998 respectively...
studio albums recorded between 1979 and 1986. The Moebius & Plank sound foreshadowed techno
Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
and electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
and influenced many later musicians.
Style and influence
Plank and the bands he worked with in GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
had a strong influence on mainstream rock artists, some of whom were able to popularise aspects of his production technique and his highly distinctive sonic approach. In the 1980s the new generation of electronic pop bands were able to realise his ideas in performance as computerised electronic instruments became readily available.
Plank (who began his career as soundman for Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich was a German-American actress and singer.Dietrich remained popular throughout her long career by continually re-inventing herself, professionally and characteristically. In the Berlin of the 1920s, she acted on the stage and in silent films...
) was an ardent believer in the possibilities of electronic music and a master of creating startling electronic soundscape
Soundscape
A soundscape is a sound or combination of sounds that forms or arises from an immersive environment. The study of soundscape is the subject of acoustic ecology...
s, but he was also adept at blending them with conventional sounds, or natural sounds given unconventional treatments, such as using large metal containers and other industrial objects as percussion instruments.
He was one of the first European producers to fully exploit the possibilities of using multi-track
Multitrack recording
Multitrack recording is a method of sound recording that allows for the separate recording of multiple sound sources to create a cohesive whole...
recording facilities to create dramatic production effects and treatments that acted as musical and rhetorical elements in their own right, rather than mere gimmicks. He favoured sometimes harsh-sounding effects and contrasting audio spaces for each element in the mix. His best work stands in stark opposition to the smooth, 'evened-out' sound that predominated in most commercial pop and rock at that time.
Plank used radical combinations of echo, reverberation and other electronic, mixing, equalisation, editing and tape-based effects to create mixes in which every element might be given its own highly individual sound environment, and in which each of these elements might alter radically in sound several times over the course of a track. In this he was undoubtedly influenced by the work of Jamaican pioneers like Lee 'Scratch' Perry but he was certainly one of the first European producers to adopt key stylistic innovations sourced from these reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
and dub
Dub music
Dub is a genre of music which grew out of reggae music in the 1960s, and is commonly considered a subgenre, though it has developed to extend beyond the scope of reggae...
production techniques.
Plank was one of the first 'name' producers to favour a very 'live' production sound, especially on drums, a sound that was strikingly opposed to the dense and heavily compressed drum sound that dominated rock recording in the 70s. Plank's open, sometimes clangorous drum and percussion sounds undoubtedly had a significant influence on producers and engineers like Steve Lillywhite
Steve Lillywhite
Steve Lillywhite is an English Grammy Award winning record producer. Since he began his career in 1977, Lillywhite has been credited for working on over 500 records and has collaborated with a variety of musicians including XTC, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Dave Matthews Band, U2, Peter Gabriel,...
, Hugh Padgham
Hugh Padgham
Hugh Padgham is a British record producer. He has won many awards, including four Grammys, with Producer of the Year and Engineer of the Year. A 1992 poll in Mix magazine voted him one of the world's Top Ten Most Influential Producers....
and Nick Launay
Nick Launay
Nick Launay is an English record producer and recording engineer. He is currently one of the most sought after producers in the world due to his current success with recent albums by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Arcade Fire, and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds...
. On a recording session in Hamburg in 1970 with Hartmut Kulka from the German Blue Flames & Philip Cantlay late 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.
The 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 BerlinBerlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. In 1969 he served as engineer for the first Kluster
Kluster
Kluster is a German experimental musical group whose work often resembles later industrial music.The original Kluster was short-lived, existing only from 1969 until mid-1971 when Conrad Schnitzler left and the remaining two members renamed themselves Cluster...
album, Klopfzeichen
Klopfzeichen
Klopfzeichen is the first full-length album by German experimental music trio Kluster.Klopfzeichen was recorded on December 21, 1969 at Rhenus-Studio, Gordorf, Germany. Liner notes on the CD reissue on the Hypnotic label as well as some websites place the recording date precisely one year later in...
, which was released the following year. His long association with Dieter Moebius
Dieter Moebius
Dieter Moebius is a German/Swiss experimental/krautrock/ambient/electronic musician.Moebius studied art in Brussels and Berlin and met there Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Conrad Schnitzler . They founded a band Kluster in 1969. After the departure of Schnitzler, they changed their name to Cluster...
and Hans-Joachim Roedelius of Kluster and later Cluster
Cluster (band)
Cluster is a German experimental musical group who influenced the development of contemporary popular electronic and ambient music. They have recorded albums in a wide variety of styles ranging from experimental music to progressive rock, all of which had an avant-garde edge. Cluster has been...
endured until his death. He also served as engineer for Alexander von Schlippenbach
Alexander von Schlippenbach
Alexander von Schlippenbach is a German jazz pianist and composer.-Biography:...
's album The Living Music, which was released in 1969, the first of a very long list of engineering and production credits.
The 1970s
During the 1970s Conny Plank produced and/or engineered many of the most important recordings by significant German progressive/experimental music acts (given the derogatory label krautrockKrautrock
Krautrock is a generic name for the experimental music scenes that appeared in Germany in the late 1960s and gained popularity throughout the 1970s, especially in Britain. The term is a result of the English-speaking world's reception of the music at the time and not a reference to any one...
by the UK music press at the time), including Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk is an influential electronic music band from Düsseldorf, Germany. The group was formed by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider in 1970, and was fronted by them until Schneider's departure in 2008...
(Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk (album)
Kraftwerk is the first album by German electronic band Kraftwerk. It was released in Germany in 1970, and produced by Konrad "Conny" Plank.-Background:...
, Kraftwerk 2
Kraftwerk 2
Kraftwerk 2 is the second studio album by German electronic band Kraftwerk, released in January 1972.-Background:Kraftwerk 2 was entirely written and performed by founding Kraftwerk members Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider in late 1971, with the sessions produced by the influential Konrad "Conny"...
, Ralf und Florian
Ralf und Florian
Ralf und Florian is the third studio album by German electronic band Kraftwerk, released in October 1973...
, Autobahn
Autobahn (album)
Autobahn is the fourth studio album by German electronic band Kraftwerk, released in November 1974. The 22-minute title track "Autobahn" was edited to about 3 minutes for single release and reached number 25 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, and performed even higher around Europe, including...
, and the precursor album Tone Float
Tone Float
Tone Float is an LP by the German band Organisation. Organisation was a pre-Kraftwerk band, having only produced and released one album, Tone Float...
), Neu! (all their recordings), Cluster
Cluster (band)
Cluster is a German experimental musical group who influenced the development of contemporary popular electronic and ambient music. They have recorded albums in a wide variety of styles ranging from experimental music to progressive rock, all of which had an avant-garde edge. Cluster has been...
, Harmonia
Harmonia (band)
Harmonia is a Krautrock supergroup from Germany. They formed as a collaboration between Michael Rother of Neu! and Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Möbius of Cluster and later included the British musician Brian Eno.-Musical style:...
, Night Sun, Ash Ra Tempel
Ash Ra Tempel
Ash Ra Tempel are a German krautrock group of the 1970s, and are an example of cosmic or space rock.-History:The group was originally founded by guitarist Manuel Göttsching, keyboardist/drummer Klaus Schulze, and bassist Hartmut Enke in 1971. All three founding members had previously played...
, Holger Czukay
Holger Czukay
Holger Czukay is a German musician, probably best known as a co-founder of the krautrock group Can. Described by critic Jason Ankeny as "successfully bridg[ing] the gap between pop and the avant-garde," Czukay is also notable for creating early important examples of ambient music, for exploring...
(Can
Can (band)
Can was an experimental rock band formed in Cologne, West Germany in 1968. Later labeled as one of the first "krautrock" groups, they transcended mainstream influences and incorporated strong minimalist and world music elements into their often psychedelic music.Can constructed their music largely...
), and Guru Guru
Guru Guru
Guru Guru is a German Krautrock band formed in 1968 as The Guru Guru Groove by Mani Neumeier , Uli Trepte and Eddy Naegeli later replaced by American Jim Kennedy...
.
His body of work exerted a strong influence on some of the more adventurous British and American musicians and producers. The most notable are probably David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
and Brian Eno
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
, who worked together on the late-70s 'Berlin Trilogy' of albums, Low, Heroes, and Lodger, all of which showed the strong influence of Plank's earlier German productions. Bowie's song 'Heroes' is a virtual paean to the Plank style, featuring radical sounds and dramatic alterations of sound in various elements, such as the lead vocal, to heighten the emotional or dramatic effect; this is placed against a swirling, droning electronic backing track that interweaves elements such as multitracked synthethisers and feedback guitar. In 1977, through Eno, Plank recruited Dave Hutchins from Island Studios, as house engineer. Hutchins undertook recording & 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: Kan 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 Wuste
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."...
and Selbstportrait
Selbstportrait
Selbstportrait is the third solo album by German keyboardist Hans-Joachim Roedelius, best known for his work with Cluster, Harmonia, and Aquarello. The title is German for "Self Portrait", a title which clearly reflects the gentle, introspective nature of this album of ambient or New Age music...
. 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
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 1980. Instrumentation on the album includes electronics, voice,...
which was released the following year.
The 1980s
Plank, via Bowie and especially Eno, in turn had a strong influence on many acts of the New WaveNew Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
period in the late 1970s and 1980s. Neu!'s "Hero" is said to have been a major influence on John Lydon
John Lydon
John Joseph Lydon , also known by the former stage name Johnny Rotten, is a singer-songwriter and television presenter, best known as the lead singer of punk rock band the Sex Pistols from 1975 until 1978, and again for various revivals during the 1990s and 2000s...
's work with his post-Sex Pistols
Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. They were responsible for initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock musicians...
group Public Image Limited. The earlier work of Australian band Hunters & Collectors
Hunters & Collectors
Hunters & Collectors were an Australian rock music band formed in Melbourne in 1981, fronted by singer-songwriter and guitarist Mark Seymour, they developed a blend of pub rock and art-funk...
also showed unmistakable signs of familiarity with Plank's production techniques, and they were one of many international acts who recorded with him.
Plank continued to work as half of the duo Moebius & Plank, recording four additional albums. Their second album, Material
Material (Moebius & Plank album)
Material is the second full-length album by German electronic music duo of Dieter Moebius and Conny Plank. Material was recorded in July, 1981 at Conny's Studio outside of Cologne...
, was released in 1981. Their third album, the African influenced Zero Set
Zero Set
Zero Set is the only album by the German electronic music trio of Dieter Moebius, Conny Plank, and Mani Neumeier. It followed two collaborations by Moebius & Plank as a duo. Zero Set was recorded in September, 1982 at Conny's Studio outside Cologne, and released by Sky Records in 1983.The music...
, with Guru Guru drummer Mani Neumeier, was released in 1983. These two albums were early examples of the sound which would become techno
Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
and electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
. In 1983, Moebius & Plank also recorded the album Ludwig's Law
Ludwig's Law
Ludwig's Law is the one and only album released by trio of Dieter Moebius, Conny Plank, and Mayo Thompson. It was actually the fourth album recorded by the team of Moebius & Plank...
using an Emulator, an early form of sampling keyboard that enabled them to duplicate other instruments without having to deal with the musicians who played them. Mayo Thompson
Mayo Thompson
Mayo Thompson is an American musician and visual artist best known as the leader of the avant-garde rock band Red Crayola .-1960s:...
of Red Krayola
Red Krayola
Red Krayola was a psychedelic, avant-garde rock band from Houston, Texas, formed by art students at the University of St. Thomas in 1966. The band was led by singer/guitarist and visual artist Mayo Thompson, along with drummer Frederick Barthelme and Steve Cunningham...
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 (album)
En Route is the fourth full-length album released by German electronic music duo of Dieter Moebius and Conny Plank. It was actually the fifth and final album recorded before Plank's death in 1987. En Route was recorded in 1986 at Conny's Studio outside of Cologne. As Plank's health deteriorated the...
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
Devo
Devo is an American band formed in 1973 consisting of members from Kent and Akron, Ohio. The classic line-up of the band includes two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs and the Casales . The band had a #14 Billboard chart hit in 1980 with the single "Whip It", and has maintained a cult...
, Ultravox (Systems of Romance
Systems of Romance
Systems of Romance, released on 8 September 1978, is the third album by British band Ultravox...
, Vienna
Vienna (album)
Vienna is the fourth studio LP by the synthpop band Ultravox, first released on 11 July 1980. The album peaked at #3 in the UK charts and was the first Ultravox release to enter the UK top ten. It was certified Platinum in the United Kingdom in July 1981 for 300,000 copies sold...
and Rage in Eden
Rage in Eden
Rage in Eden, released in 1981, is the fifth album by British band Ultravox, and the second of the band's most-recognizable incarnation, fronted by Midge Ure. The album reached #4 in the UK album charts and was certified Gold by the BPI for sales in excess of 100,000 copies...
), Freur
Freur
Freur was a band featuring Karl Hyde and Rick Smith, who went on to found the successful electronic act Underworld. It was their second band, following their art school collaboration, The Screen Gemz.-History:...
and The Tourists
The Tourists
The Tourists were a British rock and pop band, but are better known for two of their members who went on to achieve great success as Eurythmics...
(Luminous Basement), Eurythmics
Eurythmics
Eurythmics were a British pop rock duo, formed in 1980, currently disbanded, but known to reunite from time to time. Consisting of members Annie Lennox and David A...
(In the Garden). He also worked on pop and rock productions with artists such as Scorpions
Scorpions (band)
Scorpions are a heavy metal/hard rock band from Hannover, Germany, formed in 1965 by guitarist Rudolf Schenker, who is the band's only constant member. They are known for their 1980s rock anthem "Rock You Like a Hurricane" and many singles, such as "No One Like You", "Send Me an Angel", "Still...
, Clannad, Killing Joke
Killing Joke
Killing Joke are an English post-punk band formed in October 1978 in Notting Hill, London, England; other sources report the band formed in early 1979.Related news articles: Founding members Jaz Coleman and Geordie Walker have been the only constant members.A key influence on industrial rock,...
, Play Dead
Play Dead (band)
Play Dead were an English Goth rock group from Oxford that grew out of the fading English punk scene in 1980. Though the band was identified with groups like UK Decay and Sex Gang Children, the band felt they didn't belong under the "Gothic" title...
, and Gianna Nannini
Gianna Nannini
Gianna Nannini is an Italian female singer-songwriter and pop musician. She may be best known for her 1986 song "Bello e Impossibile".-Personal life:...
(Latin Lover, Sogno Di Una Notte d'Estate, Tutto Live and others, also credited for music).
Plank's other production credits include Echo & the Bunnymen
Echo & the Bunnymen
Echo & the Bunnymen are an English post-punk band, formed in Liverpool in 1978. The original line-up consisted of vocalist Ian McCulloch, guitarist Will Sergeant and bass player Les Pattinson, supplemented by a drum machine. By 1980, Pete de Freitas had joined as the band's drummer, and their debut...
, Les Rita Mitsouko
Les Rita Mitsouko
Les Rita Mitsouko was a French pop rock group formed by guitarist Fred Chichin and singer Catherine Ringer. The duo first performed as Rita Mitsouko at Gibus Club, Paris in 1980...
, Einstürzende Neubauten
Einstürzende Neubauten
Einstürzende Neubauten is a German post-industrial band, originally from West Berlin, formed in 1980. The group currently comprises Blixa Bargeld , Alexander Hacke , N.U...
, Ástor Piazzolla
Ástor Piazzolla
Ástor Pantaleón Piazzolla was an Argentine tango composer and bandoneón player. His oeuvre revolutionized the traditional tango into a new style termed nuevo tango, incorporating elements from jazz and classical music...
, The Damned, Psychotic Tanks, DAF (including the classic single Der Mussolini) and Nina Hagen
Nina Hagen
Nina Hagen is a German singer and actress.-Early years:Hagen was born as Catharina Hagen in the former East Berlin, East Germany, the daughter of Hans Hagen , a scriptwriter, and Eva-Maria Hagen, an actress and singer...
.
According to Rene Tinner and Stefan Plank in a radio documentary about the life of Conny Plank, it was Brian Eno's idea that Plank should produce the U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
-album "The Joshua Tree" 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").
Plank fell ill while touring South America with Dieter Moebius, performing music from Ludwig's Law. Some of Plank's last work, before his death in 1987 from cancer in Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, was the recording of concerts on Eurythmics' Revenge tour, and samples used on the NED Synclavier
Synclavier
The Synclavier System was an early digital synthesizer, polyphonic digital sampling system, and music workstation, manufactured by New England Digital Corporation, Norwich, VT. The original design and development of the Synclavier prototype occurred at Dartmouth College with the collaboration of...
on their Savage
Savage (album)
-Personnel:*Annie Lennox - vocals, keyboards and programming*Dave Stewart - backing vocals, guitar, keyboards and programming*Olle Romo - programming-Production:*Producer: Dave Stewart*Engineers: Fred DeFaye, Manu Guiot, Alan Moulder...
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 forced them to offer its contents for sale in May 2006. She died on June 1, 2006.
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.1969
1970
1971
1972
1973
1974
1975
1976
1977
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1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
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1985
1986
1987
Posthumous
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