Irmin Schmidt, pupil of the likes of Stockhausen and Ligeti, decided in the late 1960s - after an extensive classical education as pianist, conductor, and composer - to combine classic New Music with Rock and Jazz: and founded the band CAN. After CAN, Irmin Schmidt returned to his work as a solo-artist. The result is a vast oeuvre which includes a series of solo albums, an opera ( Gormenghast based on the Mervyn Peak trilogy), a ballet, and over 100 film scores. Schmidt is also the co-author of All Gates Open: The Story of CAN which was the Rough Trade Book of the Year and a Guardian Book of the Year. In 2015, he was made a Chevalier of the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. He lives in southern France.