Spoon Records

Spoon Records is an independent record label established in 1979 by Hildegard Schmidt, the spouse of Can keyboard player Irmin Schmidt. Although associated with Germany's Krautrock tradition, the label is headquartered in the United Kingdom and has concentrated primarily on preserving, reissuing, and managing recordings connected with Can and its members. Its related publishing operation is known as Messer Music. The label's origins lie in Hildegard Schmidt's decision to take control of Can's recorded legacy after attending the Midem music-industry festival in Cannes in 1979. With financial support from George Reinhart, a film producer, photographer, and nephew of Swiss art collector Oskar Reinhart, she secured rights to Can recordings that had previously been held through United Artists. The arrangement also involved Mute Records, the British independent label that was interested in European and German repertoire. Spoon Records takes its name from the song "Spoon," which appears on Can's album Ege Bamyasi. The choice links the company directly to one of Can's best-known recordings and reflects its role as a dedicated custodian of the band's catalogue rather than as a broad, genre-spanning commercial label. By the end of the 1980s, Spoon Records had issued the entirety of Can's back catalogue on vinyl and compact disc, giving the band's work a more stable and accessible archival presence. The label's catalogue has included releases by Can and solo or associated projects involving Holger Czukay, Michael Karoli, Jaki Liebezeit, and Irmin Schmidt. It has also been connected with Kumo, the project associated with Irmin Schmidt and Kumo vocalist and musician Kumo. In this sense, Spoon Records operates both as a label and as a catalogue-management platform for a closely related body of experimental rock, electronic, and avant-garde music. Since 2008, Hildegard and Irmin Schmidt's daughter Sandra Podmore has served as director. Her leadership represents continuity between the label's founding mission and its later archival work. Publicly available reference material provides limited information about the label's broader current commercial operations, distribution arrangements, financial performance, or release schedule, but identifies its enduring focus as Can's recordings and music made by members of the band.

Spoon Records was created in 1979 by Hildegard Schmidt, who became involved in safeguarding the recorded legacy of Can, the influential German band associated with Krautrock and experimental rock. Schmidt's initiative followed her attendance at the Midem festival in Cannes, where she pursued a way to take control of Can's back catalogue. Financial backing came from George Reinhart, a film producer and photographer who was also the nephew of Swiss art collector Oskar Reinhart. The label subsequently secured rights to Can recordings that had been held by United Artists, working in a context that also involved Mute Records. Mute's interest in European and German recordings helped provide an institutional connection for the catalogue's further circulation. Spoon Records adopted its name from "Spoon," a track on Can's Ege Bamyasi album, thereby making the label's identity an explicit reference to the band's work. During the 1980s, Spoon Records developed into the principal archival home for Can's recordings. By the end of that decade it had released the complete Can catalogue on vinyl and compact disc. These editions were important to the continued availability of the band's music after its original release period and established the label's principal business identity: specialist reissues and catalogue stewardship rather than the development of a large contemporary artist roster. The label's activities extend beyond Can as a group. Its listed catalogue and associated roster include solo or related work by Holger Czukay, Michael Karoli, Jaki Liebezeit, and Irmin Schmidt, as well as Kumo. Spoon Records is also associated with Messer Music, a sister publishing operation. Together, the two operations connect recording rights, publishing, and archival management around Can and its members. Since 2008, Sandra Podmore, the daughter of Hildegard Schmidt and Irmin Schmidt, has been director of Spoon Records. Her appointment provided a generational continuation of the label's management. Reference material identifies the company as headquartered in the United Kingdom, despite its strong German cultural and catalogue identity. Information about later corporate ownership, detailed distribution contracts, financial results, and individual release dates is not established in the available source material.

• 2008

  Sandra Podmore becomes director

  [1]Spoon Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  Sandra Podmore, daughter of Hildegard and Irmin Schmidt, becomes director of Spoon Records.

• 1989

  Can catalogue issued on vinyl and CD

  [1]Spoon Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  By the end of the 1980s, Spoon Records had released the entirety of Can's back catalogue in vinyl and compact disc formats.

• 1979

  Spoon Records is established

  [1]Spoon Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  Hildegard Schmidt establishes the label after pursuing control of Can's recorded catalogue at the Midem festival in Cannes.

• 1979

  Catalogue-rights financing and acquisition

  [1]Spoon Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  George Reinhart provides financial support while Schmidt secures rights to Can recordings previously associated with United Artists, with Mute Records involved in the subsequent European-label context.

Independent archival and specialist label for Can, Krautrock, and associated experimental music.

• Krautrock and experimental rock recordings · 1979

  Can catalogue

  Spoon Records' central offering is the recorded catalogue of Can, the German experimental rock group. The label has served as an archival custodian and reissue outlet, making the band's historically important recordings available in physical formats including vinyl and compact disc. The catalogue forms the core of the label's identity and is the principal reason for its association with Krautrock.

• Solo and side-project recordings

  Can members' solo and related projects

  The label's roster and catalogue also encompass music by Can members and closely related projects, including work by Holger Czukay, Michael Karoli, Jaki Liebezeit, and Irmin Schmidt. These releases broaden Spoon Records beyond the band's core albums while retaining a clear connection to Can's creative circle and experimental musical heritage.

• Music publishing

  Messer Music

  Messer Music is identified as Spoon Records' sister publishing operation. It complements the label's recording and reissue activities by representing the publishing side of the Can-related catalogue. Detailed publishing territories, repertoire splits, and current administration arrangements are not specified in the available reference material.

1. 1Spoon Recordsen.wikipedia.org