Kraftwerk (“German powerplant”) is a German group of Electronic music which played a paramount role in the development of this music. Their innovative and experimental productions will influence thereafter a certain number of groups of the years 1980.

The musical sonority of the group is characterized by the combination of a base line and rhythmic electric with a harmonic and a repetitive melody made starting from synthetizers, accompanied by words vocoderized minimalists sung or in several languages (German, French, Spanish, English, Russian, Japanese). The albums of Kraftwerk are still today of an astonishing modernity.

History

The years 1970

The Kraftwerk group was founded in 1970 by Florian Schneider-Esleben and Ralf Hütter. The first cheek of the piano and the organ, the second of the flute and the violin. They met during their studies with the Conservatoire of Düsseldorf at the end of the Années 1960. Their tastes shared for musical the experimental electronics which the press of the time will describe as mobility Krautrock will seal their friendship definitively.

After a first experiment within the German group “Organization” considered to be nonsatisfactory the duet leaves the albums Kraftwerk (1971), Kraftwerk 2 (1972) and Ralf und Florian (1973). Their music very avant-gardist meets a mitigated success.

In 1974 the group recruits two new musicians, Wolfgang Flur and Karl Bartos, with the electronic percussions.

Very strongly influenced by the vast industrial complexes of their area (the the Ruhr), the group will reproduce in their discs the made industrial atmosphere of repetitive sounds and their vision of the world around the concrete of the big cities and technological modernity.

The first album of the series Autobahn (German highway) in November 1974 is a world success. Extremely of this success and concerned all to control, the two founding members create their own studio of recording Kling Klang with Düsseldorf in Germany.

They will leave thereafter Trans Europs Express, recognized like one of the pieces more samplé. And celebrates it electronic piece The Robots in 1977.

The years 1980

The years 1990

The years 2000

Composition of the group

The composition of the group fluctuated much at its beginning (1970-1974), F. Schneider-Esleben and R. Hütter working with half-dozens of musicians different lasting the recording from four albums and their rare appearances in concert. The most notable musicians of this time were the guitarist Michael Rother and the beater Klaus Dinger, (who will form then the group Neu!).

The contribution, expertise and the influence of the producer and sound engineer Konrad " Conny" Plank was also significant. Konrad Plank collaborated then with several German groups of importance such as Can, Cluster and Harmonia. Thanks to its work with Kraftwerk, its music studio close to Cologne became one of the most snuffed studios end of the Années 1970. It produced the first 4 albums of Kraftwerk and ceased its collaboration with the group after the business success of the album Autobahn.

The painter and graphic designer Emil Schult become a regular collaborator of the group as from 1973. At the beginning, he will play of the low guitar and the electric violin. Thereafter, he will be the visual originator and will write some of his words, in addition to accompanying the group at the time of his rounds.

The composition of the group was forged in a more final way as from 1975, for the round of the album Autobahn . During this period, the group was presented in the form of an electronic four-bit byte made up of the founders Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider-Esleben, joined by the percussionnists Wolfgang Flür and Karl Bartos. Wolfgang Flür had already joined the group in 1973 as a beater, within the televised framework of an appearance of the group for the promotion of the 3rd album. This first appearance of their percussion instrument, an electronic battery that they themselves had built and played by Flür, contributed to point out them. Bartos and Flür also collaborated in the writing of several of the most memorable pieces of Kraftwerk.

The group is known to have always preserved a certain anonymity, appearing little in public. After years of absence of the scene, Kraftwerk started again more regular rounds as from 1990. During this decade of absence, the group often affirmed that he worked on new projects, but they never expired. Time passing between the exit of the albums, the scarcity in their concerts, the demanding and prolonged character of their process of recording are the reasons of the departure of Wolfgang Flür and Karl Bartos, which brought much to the first recordings of the group by their improvisations.

Following these departures, the composition of the group was fluctuating of 1992 to our days, but one counts among the regular novel members Fritz Hilpert and Henning Schmitz, which formed already part of the personnel of the studio Kling Klang.

Musicology

More known for its electronic coffee-table books, Kraftwerk however began as in the music from improvisation krautrock in the vein from groups such as Can or Neu! Its first three albums were thus more close to the music of experimentation rock'n'roll to the time to the years 1970 and did not have yet hangs it pop and the structure and the rhythmic dynamics which their following albums will know.

The album Kraftwerk and Kraftwerk 2 , left in 1970 and 1972, of L musical exploration, played with traditional instruments: the guitar, the low one, electric organ, the flute the violin. Modifications in post-production were then made to add distortion to the instruments, in particular by the handling of the audio bands and the multiplication of an instrument on the same track. The two albums are completely instrumental.

With the album Ralf und Florian left in 1973, the group starts to progress in direction of its characteristic, making a more intensive use of synthetizers and Boîte at rates/rhythms. Even if almost entirely instrumental, the album presents the first marks of the use of Vocoder, which will become the trademark of the group thereafter.

Their opening, at the same time in term of music and popularity, was done in 1974 with the album Autobahn and its 22 éponyme minute old piece presenting rhythmic called thereafter a Motorik. This piece was a world success and showed well their now massive use of the electronic synthetizers and other instruments.

It preceded a trio by album which will have an enormous influence on the popular music which will follow: Radio-Activity (1975), Trans-Europe Express train (1977) and The Man-Machine (1978).

After a long absence, individual the Tour de France left in 1983 and announced a return in activity of the group. Individual the Expo 2000 left in December 1999 was remixé thereafter by several musicians Techno such as Underground Resistance and Orbital. Previously, the only musician having had the right of remixer their pieces was François Kevorkian.

In August 2003, the group left the album Tour de France Soundtracks , their first album of new pieces since the album Electric Café left in 1986.

In June 2005, the group published its first album of pieces played in concert, Minimum-Maximum, compiled of their round of spring 2004. The majority of the selected pieces for this album had been considerably worked over again and reorganized starting from their original version studio. This album was nominated as a better album dance/electronic with the Grammy Award. It was left accompanied by a DVD presenting the video images by their round throughout the world.

Musical performances

The concerts always occupied an important part in the activities of Kraftwerk. Even if the spectacles took share around the pieces and of preconceived compositions, the improvisation played a big role.

Words

The words of Kraftwerk treat life urban and technological of Europe of the post-war period - to travel in car in Autobahn , by train, to use personal computers,… Its seemingly simplistic words show an at the same time ingenuous and critical position vis-a-vis the modern world, at the same time as they play a big role in the rhythmic structure of the pieces. Several pieces of Kraftwerk express the contradictory nature of the modern urban life: a strong feeling of alienation and a celebration of the joys of the modern life (and of its technological advances).

Kraftwerk was one of the first pop groups to record the electronic sounds and instruments. The majority of the voices present in their albums are reprocessed by Vocoder S or generated starting from software of Voice synthesis.

It should be noted that all their albums starting from Radio-activity have summers recorded in two versions, allemande for the market German and English for the international market. The German versions illustrate the will of Kraftwerk to offer an alternative to the anglophone model dominating in the pop music and rock'n'roll:

You see, another group, like Tangerine Dream, even it are German, have an English name, which implies a Anglo-American identity, which we denounce completely. We want that the whole world knows that we are originating in Germany, because the German mentality - which is more advanced - will always form part of our behavior. We create starting from the German language, our native tongue, which is very mechanical; we use that as bases our music. | Ralf Hütter |Extract of an interview by Ballasting Bangs: " Kraftwerkfeature" , magazine Creem , September 1975.

Kraftwerk also tested with the use of the images generated by computer like decoration for their clips and appearances on scene. On these last, there would be impromptu parts. For some their concerts, they created robots to represent them on the front of the scene (on the piece " The Robots").

After several years without innovations, Kraftwerk reappeared at the end of the Années 1990 with Expo 2000 , and in August 2003 left the album Tour de France Soundtracks .

The group attaches a great importance to the sound esthetics as much as visual, that which them mets in rupture with the majority of groups of the time and insufflates much modernity to them. As of the Years 1970, they will prove to be what one calls today of the Design ers sound and visual. They work with the group and their music as “a concept” while seeking to control their visual. Their step holds as much the step of the Contemporary art as of the avant-gardes represented then by artists like Can, Brian Eno or David Bowie.

The innovation in their sound esthetics is in their side " froid" (Coldwave) and " plastique" and in their contribution in the pop music of the sounds close to those generated by the machines and industrial technology

The current formation of the group (since 1991) is the following one: Ralf Hütter, Florian Schneider, Fritz Hilpert and Henning Schmitz.

The introduced techniques and the equipment developed by the group are from now on current in modern music. Many DJ of the music Techno refer to the group as with one the their most important influences.

Discography

  • Ton Float 1970 (under the name " Organization")
  • Kraftwerk 1971
  • Kraftwerk 2 1972
  • Ralf und Florian 1973
  • Autobahn 1974
  • Radioactivity 1975 (German title: Radio-Aktivität )
  • Trans-Europe Express train 1977 ( Trans Europa Express train )
  • The Man Machine 1978 ( Die Mensch-Maschine )
  • Computer World 1981 ( Computerwelt )
  • Tour de France 1983 (maximum 45 turns)
  • Electric Cafe 1986
  • The Mix 1991 (a compilation)
  • Tour de France Soundtracks 2003
  • The Catalogs 2004 (an updated compilation)
  • Minimum-Maximum 2005 (only live official)

Samples, recoveries and influences

Many artists state to be strongly influenced by Kraftwerk, such Vince Clarke, founder of Depeche Mode and current musician of the British group Erasure. It is also the case of the pioneers of the Electro/Electro-Hip hop, like Afrika Bambaataa, for example, but also of musicians of universe more new-wave or rock'n'roll such Simple Minds, OMD, Ride or Coldplay. On her side, the French singer Robert took again Das modell on its first album, Sine which nicely testifies its attachment with the music to Kraftwerk. Of course the most obvious influence is found in the producers of a cold Electro where one speaks about a very technological and asepticized world, as at Plastikman, Anthony Rother, Dopplereffekt and ARPANet; the other connects influenced is that of the Electro melancholic person and organics which privileges simple and air melodies with instruments dating from the time of Kraftwerk, like Boards off Canada, M83 or Nathan Fake.

There are some resumptions of pieces of Kraftwerk, but their force primarily finds through all the samples of instrus or happy that one often finds in the pieces hip hop or electro. The piece Trans-Europe Express train is the piece of Kraftwerk more samplé . Here a few pieces inspired of Kraftwerk:

  • Planet Rock'n'roll of Afrika Bambaataa in 1982 which actually sample not since the music was re-recorded in studio. The melody comes from Trans-Europe Express train and the rate/rhythm seems to come from Numbers . Interesting thing, this piece Planet Rock is in its turn one of the samplés pieces of rap.

  • Trans Europa Express train by Anthony Rother, remix with the electro taste German contemporary of Trans Europe Express train.
  • Ouais large of the 113 which sample in 1999 Trans-Europe Express train (production DJ Mehdi).
  • Roofing stone Control by Missy Elliott which sample in the 2005 still piece Trans-Europe Express train .
  • Wake Me Up in Heaven by Mike Patton and the X-Ecutionners which sample in 2005 We are the Robots .
  • Talk by Coldplay takes again the melody of Computerlove and the members of Kraftwerk are credited besides as type-setters with the piece.
  • Numbers (German title : Nummern ) by the beatboxer Kenny Muhammad on the album Make The Music 2000 of the beatboxer Rahzel, in hidden track.
  • For the piece Trans-Europe Express train one still finds resurgences at Of the Drunk person, Mirwais and even Madonna (introduction of Music ).
  • Señor Coconut (and his orchestrated), group whose initiator is Uwe Schmidt, left in 2002 the album El Baille Alemàn , entirely consisted of recoveries of Kraftwerk, in version Cha-cha-cha, Mambo or Worked-nova.
  • the Balanescu Four-bit byte, a string quartet close to Michael Nyman, began again on its album Possessed (1992), five pieces of Kraftwerk: Robots , The Model , Autobahn , Computer Coils , Pocket Calculator of which some exceed the originals ( Robots , The Model ).
  • Das Modell of Rammstein is a resumption of Das Modell / The Model of Kraftwerk.
  • Zrcalo Sveta of Laibach, drawn from the album " Trans Slovenia Express" , the musical bottom of " begins again; Spiegelsaal" of Kraftwerk with original words in Slovenien.
  • New Happy the House of Greyhouse, a must of the period " New-Beat" left in 1989 pennies celebrates it Belgian label R&S and taking again the rytmic base of " It' S more fun to compute" decorated of several samples vocal basic.
  • 8 Bit Operators a compilation of recovery of Kraftwerk starting from sounds of Nintendo consoles or of Amiga computers.
  • On their first album Living In has Magazine , the British of Zoot Woman, whose leader is Stuart Price (producing of the large majority of " Confessions one the dancefloor" of Madonna) take again " Das Modell" (" The Model"). The title of the album is besides a quotation extracted the words of this song.

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