Hoy quizás deberíamos hablar sobre como una banda inglesa que ha decidido lanzar su nuevo disco fuera de cualquier compañía discográfica se convierte en mito lanzado un disco de música indie apañada y nada más, pero esta historia sobre la muerte de otro mito que he estado descubriendo estos últimos días es desde luego más digna de ser contada.

Conny Plank, es un mítico productor en cuyo estudio se realizaron algunas de las obras magnas del krautrock. Y otras muchas como por ejemplo “Music For Airports” de Brian Eno. O el primero de Les Rita Mitsuoko. Plank murió en 1987 con su estudio funcionando bajo la supervisión de su hijo y su mujer Christa Fast. Cuando esta enfermo, para poder pagar facturas y tratamientos decidieron venderlo en 2005. El anuncio era este:

Conny´s Studio- The still producing Estate & Studio of the legendary Conny Plank
****PLEASE- SERIOUS BUYERS ONLY****
FOLLOW THE FOLLOWING LINK FOR MORE PICTURES, LOT MAP AND ESTATE OVERVIEW:
E-MAIL US AND WE'LL SEND ALL SERIOUS OFFERS DIRECTLY TO THE LISTING AGENT.
CONNY´S ESTATE AND STUDIO
HENNEFERSTR.19
53819 NEUNKIRCHEN
CONNY PLANKS STUDIO
A RESIDENTIAL STUDIO
IN THE COUNTRYSIDE 35 KM/22 MI SOUTH EAST OF COLOGNE

ACCESSABILITY:

20 KM/12 MI TO THE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT OF COLOGNE, VIA COUNTRY
ROADS NO TRAFFIC JAMS TO CONSIDER!
180 KM/110 MI TO THE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT OF FRANKFURT VIA A3
12 KM/7 MI TO THE AUTOBAHN A3
LOCATED IN A PROTECTED DRINKING WATER AREA - LAKE WITHIN WALKING
DISTANCE - FREE NATURAL HORIZON - UNENCUMBERED VIEW OF THE SUNRISE -
ESPECIALLY GOOD AIR AS THE AIR IS NATURALLY FILTERED BY A LOCAL FOREST
AREA.
ON PROPERTY ANCIENT STOCK OF TREES, OPEN ACCESSABLE MEADOWS AND
GARDEN. A 200 YEAR OLD FRAME WORK FARM COMPLEX SURROUNDS A PAVED
COURTYARD WITH RENOVATED BUILDINGS CONNECTED BY A FRAMEWORK GALLERY.
THE FARM COMPLEX IS ON 5400 QMS OF FULLY DEVELOPED LAND WHICH IS
ZONED FOR BUILDING.
• 7 BEDROOMS OF DIFFERENT SIZES, 3 BATHROOMS 2 OF THEM
• WITH BATHTUB AND WC.
• LARGE ROOMY KITCHEN -
• RECREATION ROOM WITH POOL TABLE SATELLITE TV AND THE
• USUAL TOYS
• A LARGE GREEN HOUSE
• ADEQUATE PARKING
• LAKE WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE AND NICE COUNTRY ROADS
• FOR MOUNTAIN BIKING AND HIKING.

THE STILL MAKING HSITORY/HISTORY OF CONNY`S STUDIO- THE WHOLE STORY
CONNY`S STUDIO WAS FOUNDED IN 1974 UNTIL THEN CONNY PLANK, A FREELANCE ENGINEER, WAS INVOLVED IN NUMEROUS TRENDSETTING PRODUCTIONS IN VARIOUS STUDIOS IN GERMAN CITIIES SUCH AS HAMBURG, BERLIN, MUNICH AND COLOGNE. HE
WANTED TO WORK IN A COOL AND RELAXED ATMOSHERE GIVING MUSICIANS ROOM FOR INSPIRATION WITHOUT BEING BOTHERED BY THE USUAL DISTRACTIONS THAT
OCCUR DURING PRODUCTION.
HE FOUND HIS PLACE IN THE COUNTRYSIDE IN THE SOFT GREEN HILLS SOUTHEAST OF COLOGNE .THE FIRST PRODUCTION WAS KRAFTWERK´S “AUTOBAHN“
FOLLOWED BY GERMAN ELECTRONIC BANDS LIKE CLUSTER, NEU! HARMONIA, LA DÜSSELDORF, RHEINGOLD, MICHAEL ROTHER, ETC.ETC.
AT THE SAME TIME HE WAS ALSO INTO FOLKMUSIC; GERMAN AND IRISH PRODUCTIONS FROM BANDS SUCH AS CLANNAD ZUPFGEIGENHANSEL DE DANNAN AND THE FUREYS BALANCING THE MODERN MACHINE SOUND THAT WAS
CONNY`S SIGNATURE. BRIAN ENO AND HOLGER CZUKAY EXPERIMENTED HERE WITH GERMAN ELECTRONIC MUSICIANS.
MANY CLASSIC AND GROUND BREAKING ALBUMS WERE RECORDED HERE. TO NAME JUST A FEW:
KRAFTWERK: AUTOBAHN
DEVO: ARE WE NOT MEN
LES RITA MITSOUKO : MINUIT DANSANT
EURYTHMICS: IN THE GARDEN, REVENGE
GIANNA NANNINI: LATIN LOVER
DAF: GOLD UND LIEBE, ALLES IST GUT, FÜR IMMER
ULTRAVOX: SYSTEMS OF ROMANCE, VIENNA
BRIAN ENO: BEFORE AND AFTER SCIENCE
MUSIC FOR AIRPORTS
KILLING JOKE: REVELATIONS
NINA HAGEN: FREUD EUCH
SADLY IN1987 CONNY PLANK DIED. SINCE THEN CONNY`S
STUDIO HAS BEEN CONTINUALLY WELL BOOKED BY RECORD COMPANIES
AND PUBLISHERS FOR BANDS WHO WERE LOOKING FOR
INSPIRATION AND THE POSSIBILITY TO EXPLORE NEW ASPECTS
OF THEIR MUSIC, TO WORK FREE AND UNENCUMBERED,
FROM DAWN TO DUSK IN A LOCALITY WHERE THEY FOUND SHELTER, SERVICE AND
EXCITEMENT AND WERE NOT BOTHERED BY ANY DEMANDING MEDIA OR RECORD
COMPANY MEDDLING
DIE ÄRZTE
EINSTÜRZENDE NEUBAUTEN
CRIME AND THE CITY SOLUTION
MANU CHAO
ASTOR PIAZOLLA
TINDERSTICKS
THE METEORS
MIRANDA SEX GARDEN
KEITH CAPUTO
DIE FANTASTISCHEN VIER
ULRICH TUKUR
HERBERT GRÖNEMEYER
THE WALKABOUTS
THE KELLY FAMILY
AFRIKA BAMBAATAA
WHODINI
CAN
PHEW
MONTANABLUE
IDEAL
BLÄCK FÖÖSS
TOMMI STUMPF
STAHLNETZ
MARIUS MÜLLER WESTERNHAGEN
ECHO AND THE BUNNYMEN
HUNTERS AND COLLECTORS
A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS
GENTLEMAN
THE MACHINE
SONS AND DAUGHTERS

STUDIO AND EQUIPMENT

STUDIO COMPLEX CA. 150 QM
RECORDING ROOM 115 QM 5 M HEIGHT DAYLIGHT
CONTROL ROOM CA 25 QM DAYLIGHT
PLUS MACHINE ROOM AND LITTLE STORAGE ROOM
WELL MAINTAINED VINTAGE EQUIPMENT + STATE OF THE ART DIGITAL
EQUIPMENT
TWO JEWELS OF OUR VINTAGE EQUIPMENT
STEINWAY GRAND PIANO
HAMMOND B3 ORGAN FROM 1959
FOR FURTHER DETAILS PLEASE GO TO WWW.CONNYS-STUDIO.DE
30 YEARS OF CONTINUAL GROUNDBREAKING
MUSIC - INTERNATIONAL ROCK, POP AND ELECTRONIC.
THE LEGEND IS LOOKING FOR A SUCCESSOR.

El precio de salida era de 1.3 millones de dólares. En realidad no se quien llegó a comprarlo, pero Christa falleció en 2006. Si uno visita la página web del estudio puede ver que hay un link a una subasta donde se venden todo el equipamiento del estudio. Si son fetichistas supongo que aún se pueden hacer con el multipistas donde se mezclaron los primeros discos de Kraftwerk, o los altavoces y equipos de efectos donde Neu! forjaron su discografía.