Kraftwerk

[J.B.]

Does anybody listen to Kraftwerk? Are there any fans of them here?

Kraftwerk is a German electronic music band that has been around since 1970 (1968 and 1969 under a different name, Organisation), and they are most famous for songs like The Robots, The Model, Autobahn, Computer World and Computer Love, Radioactivity, Trans-Europe Express, Showroom Dummies, Tour de France, and more. They are basically a very significant influence on electronic music or anything remotely electronically based to this day, even though most may not have ever heard of them.

I had found out about Kraftwerk early last year, and I have been absolutely interested in them ever since. I own the CDs of The Man Machine, Computer World, Radioactivity, Trans-Europe Express, and Autobahn, and I'm planning to buy the others eventually. Also, I have two Kraftwerk related books; former member Wolfgang Flur's I Was a Robot, and Pascal Bussy's Man, Machine, and Music book.

Here are examples of their music:
Kraftwerk - The Robots - YouTube
Or if you would prefer it, the German language version with a different video:
Kraftwerk - Die Roboter Live on WDR - YouTube
KRAFTWERK - THE MODEL - YouTube
Kraftwerk - Showroom Dummies - YouTube
One of their more recent performances, done in 2012 after Japan's disaster:
Kraftwerk: Radioactivity (No Nukes 2012, Tokio, Japan) - YouTube

 

[Willing Spirit]

I listen to Kraftwerk. First heard them on the radio when I was 11 or 12 years old, back in the early 80's.

One of the radio stations that exposed me to their music was WGPR out of Detroit. They were a black radio station with all African American dj's, playing a lot of black music like R&b, soul, gospel, funk, rap, house, techno and the like, with some white acts like Kraftwerk or Japan thrown in at times. It also gave me my first memory of Afrika Bambaataa and his "Planet Rock" (a classic rap track that shows obvious dept to Kraftwerk).

So far I own 5 of their albums, Tone Float (as Organisation), Ralph & Florian, Radioactivity, The Man Machine, and Computer World.

More recently I heard a great solo track by Karl Bartos (formerly with Kraftwerk). Can't remember the name of the song, but it sounds a bit like a robot singing about pork chops and very much in the funky Kraftwerk style. I'll have to look for more of his material.

As for influence, they were clearly a huge band. If you eliminated all music influenced by them, you'd be getting rid of almost all electronic dance, a lot of new wave, an awful lot of industrial music and even some fairly mainstream worship music (such as the dance flavored song "Shine Like The Stars" by Misty Edwards). But they didn't influence all modern electronic music. Though Kraftwerk did shape some of the slower ambient style, the ambient genre could easily exist in some form without them and was around before they existed. Raymond Scott (one of Kraftwerk's inspirations) was doing electronic ambient in the mid 60's (1964 I think), and Vangelis was doing it in the early 70's. So those are a couple of other important pioneers of electronic music, though I don't always care for Raymond Scott.

 

[markb77]

I was living in Germany when "Autobahn" first hit, and I've been hooked ever since. An amazing band, in my book. Thanks for posting the videos. I thought the reaction of the Tokyo audience to "Radioactivity" was quite moving.

 

[J.B.]

I went to see Kraftwerk perform live in Los Angeles. Everything was fantastic. It was really an experience worth seeing and hearing live.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUstzdu1srk

 

[markb77]

I went to see Kraftwerk perform live in Los Angeles. Everything was fantastic. It was really an experience worth seeing and hearing live.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUstzdu1srk

Wow. Man, am I jealous. Chances of them coming to this part of the US are slim to none. That's great you got to see them.

 

[Murmur]

I like the 8-Bit Operators album the best... it sounds just like a video game!

 

[Bagginz84]

Does anybody listen to Kraftwerk? Are there any fans of them here?

Yep.

Love Man-Machine, Trans-Europe Express and The Mix compilation.

Radio-activity is also good but it's less rhythmic than their usual style.

Computer World is just OK, and I only know the title track from Autobahn.

If you like Kraftwerk you'd probably like Yellow Magic Orchestra, from Japan around the same era. Try their songs Rydeen or Technopolis.

 

[OldHat]

Kraftwerk are okay to me. I like their earlier albums before they went all electronic.