"Ege Bamyası" (Turkish pronunciation: [ˈeɟe ˈbamjasɯ], lit. "Aegean okra") is the third studio album by German krautrock band Can, released on November 29, 1972, by United Artists Records. The album includes the single "Spoon," which became a hit in Germany, reaching the Top 10 after being used as the theme song for the German television mini-series Das Messer. The success of "Spoon" helped Can establish their own studio, Inner Space, in Weilerswist, North Rhine-Westphalia, where they recorded the rest of the album.
Since its release, Ege Bamyası has received significant critical acclaim and has been recognized as a major influence by various artists. Several cover versions of songs from the album have been made by other musicians. In 1997, remix versions of several tracks were released as part of the album Sacrilege. The album was also remastered and reissued as a hybrid SACD in 2004.
Following the success of "Spoon" (which reached #6 on the German charts and sold 300,000 copies), Can was able to rent an old cinema in Weilerswist, which they transformed into their studio and living space, naming it Inner Space. According to guitarist Michael Karoli, the band’s recording sessions were sometimes hindered by keyboardist Irmin Schmidt and vocalist Damo Suzuki, who were "obsessively playing chess day in and day out," leading to the process becoming a frantic scramble to complete the album. Some tracks had to be recorded almost in real time, with "Spoon" being added to the album to make up for a lack of material.
Ege Bamyası was recorded by bassist and producer Holger Czukay. It was originally released in 1972 by United Artists Records. In September 2004, the album, along with much of Can’s discography, was remastered and released as a hybrid Super Audio CD. This re-release included a booklet with commentary by David Stubbs, as well as previously unreleased photos of the band.
The success of "Spoon" and the album itself led Can to hold a free concert in an effort to reach a larger audience. This event, called the Can Free Concert, was filmed at the Cologne Sporthalle on February 3, 1972, by Martin Schäfer, Robbie Müller, and Egon Mann for director Peter Przygodda. The concert footage was later included in a DVD release.
In a 2006 interview, Schmidt explained that while many people assume that Can’s music was primarily made in the editing room, tracks like "Soup" were recorded without editing. He recounted that they realized the album was too short, so they composed and recorded "Soup" overnight to fill out the tracklisting. Holger Czukay added that the new studio, which had previously been a cinema, influenced the album's sound. The drums were less heavy and rough compared to previous works, and the instruments and vocals were more clearly separated. He also noted that "Vitamin C" was later used as the title track for the film Dead Pigeon on Beethoven Street by Samuel Fuller, highlighting how Can would often create music first and find a use for it later.
The album's cover features a can of "Ege Bamyası" (Turkish for "Aegean okra"), with the German translation Okraschoten (okra pods). In an interview with Uncut magazine in August 2006, Schmidt explained that the can on the cover was not just a conceptual idea but a real item that drummer Jaki Liebezeit had found in a Turkish shop. He noted that in Turkish, the word Can (pronounced [dʒan]) means "soul," "spirit," or "life," and said that while there was no concept behind titles like "Vitamin C" or "I'm So Green," the band was becoming very organic in their sound by this point.
