Conrad "Conny" Schnitzler (1937 – 4 August 2011) was a prolific German
experimental musician associated with West Germany's 1970s
krautrock movement. A co-founder of West Berlin's
Zodiak Free Arts Lab,[1] he was an early member of
Tangerine Dream (1969–1970) and a founder of the band
Kluster. He left Kluster in 1971, first working with his group
Eruption and then focusing on solo works. Schnitzler participated in several collaborations with other
electronic musicians.[2]
Biography
Schnitzler was born in
Düsseldorf. His father was German, his mother was Italian. He had a wife and they had three children,[1] one of whom is son
Gregor Schnitzler, who was born in 1964 in Berlin and who is a film director.[3]
Schnitzler provided the introductory music for Norwegian
black metal band
Mayhem's debut EP Deathcrush in 1987, following a meeting with teenage guitarist
Euronymous in the mid-1980s. The instrumental track, entitled "Silvester Anfang", was randomly selected from Schnitzler's archive of works in progress.[5] The piece is still played at most of the band's live shows.[6]
For many years Schnitzler appeared in the comics of
Matt Howarth (particularly Savage Henry) as a member of the band
The Bulldaggers.[7] His 2006 work Moon Mummy is a collaboration with Matt Howarth based on an included PDF comic.
Schnitzler died from stomach cancer on 4 August 2011 in Berlin.[8]
Kluster 2007 (with Michael Thomas Roe and Masato Ooyama)
rare tracks 1979–1982 (with Remixes by Dompteur Mooner) Erkrankung durch Musique Records
20070709 (with Bernhard Woestheinrich)
2009
Aquafit (with Big Robot) – Karisma. Norway
Kluster 2008: Three Olympic Cities Mix (with Michael Thomas Roe and Masato Ooyama)
Horror Odyssee (with Big Robot) – TIBProd. Italy
2010
Kluster 2009: Three Voices (with Michael Thomas Roe and Masato Ooyama)
2011
Consequenz 010B (with Wolfgang Seidel) – Mirror Tapes
Kluster CMO 2010 (with Michael Thomas Roe and Masato Ooyama)
Against The Grain (with Håvard Tveito, Ole Christensen,
Kjetil Manheim, Johannes Stockhausen Hektoen, Fredrik Owesen, Tord Litleskare, Nils Martin Haugfoss, Marius Håndlykken, Shawn Ytterland and Vigleik Skogerbø)