Holger Czukay (/ˈʃʊkaɪ/, born Holger Schüring; 24 March 1938 – 5 September 2017) was a German musician, probably best known as a co-founder of the krautrock group Can. Described as "successfully bridg[ing] the gap between pop and the avant-garde", Czukay was also notable for having created early important examples of ambient music, for having explored "world music" well before the term was coined, and for having been a pioneer of sampling.