Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk (German: [ˈkʁaftvɛɐ̯k], lit. "power plant") are a German electronic band formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk were among the first successful acts to popularize the genre. The group began as part of West Germany's experimental krautrock scene in the early 1970s before fully embracing electronic instrumentation, including synthesizers, drum machines, and vocoders. Wolfgang Flür joined the band in 1973 and Karl Bartos in 1975, expanding the band to a quartet. Since the band's formation, it has seen numerous lineup changes, with Hütter as its only constant member.
This article is about the band. For their debut album, see Kraftwerk (album).
Kraftwerk
Düsseldorf, West Germany
1970–present
- Ralf Hütter
- Henning Schmitz
- Falk Grieffenhagen
- Georg Bongartz
- Florian Schneider
- Houschäng Nejadépour
- Plato Kostic
- Peter Schmidt
- Hans-Günther Weiss
- Thomas Lohmann
- Eberhard Kranemann
- Andreas Hohmann
- Klaus Dinger
- Michael Rother
- Emil Schult
- Wolfgang Flür
- Klaus Röder
- Karl Bartos
- Fernando Abrantes
- Stefan Pfaffe
- Fritz Hilpert
On commercially successful albums such as Autobahn (1974), Trans-Europe Express (1977), The Man-Machine (1978), and Computer World (1981), Kraftwerk developed a self-described "robot pop" style that combined electronic music with pop melodies, sparse arrangements, and repetitive rhythms, while adopting a stylized image including matching suits. Following the release of Electric Café (1986), Flür left the group in 1987, followed by Bartos in 1990. The band released Tour de France Soundtracks, their latest album of new material, in 2003. Founding member Schneider left in 2008. The band, with new members, has continued to tour under the leadership of Hütter.
The band's work has influenced a diverse range of artists and many genres of modern music, including synth-pop, hip hop, post-punk, techno, house music, ambient, and club music.[1] In 2014, the Recording Academy honoured Kraftwerk with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.[2] They later won the Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Album with their live album 3-D The Catalogue (2017) at the 2018 ceremony. In 2021, Kraftwerk was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in the early influence category.[3] As of 2024, the band continues to tour,[4] with the members' live performances celebrating Kraftwerk's fiftieth anniversary.[5]
History[edit]
Formation and early years (1970–1973)[edit]
Florian Schneider (flutes, synthesizers, violin) and Ralf Hütter (organ, synthesizers) met as students at the Robert Schumann Hochschule in Düsseldorf in the late 1960s, participating in the German experimental music and art scene of the time, which Melody Maker jokingly dubbed "krautrock".[6]
They joined a quintet known as Organisation, which released one album, Tone Float in 1970, issued on RCA Records in the UK, and split shortly thereafter.[7] Schneider became interested in synthesizers, deciding to acquire one in 1970. While visiting an exhibition in their hometown about visual artists Gilbert and George, they see "two men wearing suits and ties, claiming to bring art into everyday life. The same year, Hütter and Schneider started bringing everyday life into art and form Kraftwerk".[8]
Early Kraftwerk line-ups from 1970 to 1974 fluctuated, as Hütter and Schneider worked with around a half-dozen other musicians during the preparations for and the recording of three albums and sporadic live appearances, including guitarist Michael Rother and drummer Klaus Dinger, who left to form Neu!.[6] The only constant figure in these line-ups was Schneider, whose main instrument at the time was the flute; at times he also played the violin and guitar, all processed through a varied array of electronic devices. Hütter, who left the band for eight months to focus on completing his university studies, played synthesizer and keyboards (including Farfisa organ and electric piano).
The band released two free-form experimental rock albums, Kraftwerk (1970) and Kraftwerk 2 (1972). The albums were mostly exploratory musical improvisations played on a variety of traditional instruments including guitar, bass, drums, organ, flute, and violin. Post-production modifications to these recordings were used to distort the sound of the instruments, particularly audio-tape manipulation and multiple dubbings of one instrument on the same track. Both albums are purely instrumental. Live performances from 1972 to 1973 were mostly made as a duo, using a simple beat-box-type electronic drum machine with preset rhythms taken from an electric organ. Occasionally, they performed with bass players as well. These shows were mainly in Germany, with occasional shows in France.[6] Later in 1973, Wolfgang Flür joined the group for rehearsals, and the unit performed as a trio on the television show Aspekte for German television network ZDF.[9]
With Ralf und Florian, released in 1973, Kraftwerk began to rely more heavily on synthesizers and drum machines. Although almost entirely instrumental, the album marks Kraftwerk's first use of the vocoder in the song "Ananas Symphonie" (Pineapple Symphony,) which became one of its musical signatures. According to English music journalist Simon Reynolds, Kraftwerk were influenced by what he called the "adrenalized insurgency" of Detroit artists of the late '60s MC5 and the Stooges.[10]
The input, expertise, and influence of producer and engineer Konrad "Conny" Plank was highly significant in the early years of Kraftwerk. Plank also worked with many of the other leading German electronic acts of that time, including members of Can, Neu!, Cluster, and Harmonia. As a result of his work with Kraftwerk, Plank's studio near Cologne became one of the most sought-after studios in the late 1970s. Plank co-produced the first four Kraftwerk albums.[6]
Music and artistry[edit]
Style[edit]
Kraftwerk have been recognized as pioneers of electronic music[51][52] as well as subgenres such as electropop,[53][51][52] art pop,[54][55][56] house music,[57] synth-pop[58][59][60] and electronic rock.[61] In its early incarnation, the band pursued an avant-garde,[52][62][63] experimental rock style inspired by the compositions of Karlheinz Stockhausen. Hütter has also listed the Beach Boys as a major influence.[64] The group was also inspired by the funk music of James Brown and, later, punk rock.[8] They were initially connected to the German krautrock scene.[65][51] In the mid-1970s, they transitioned to an electronic sound which they described as "robot pop".[66] Kraftwerk's lyrics dealt with post-war European urban life and technology—traveling by car on the Autobahn, traveling by train, using home computers, and the like. They were influenced by the modernist Bauhaus aesthetic, seeing art as inseparable from everyday function.[59] Usually, the lyrics are very minimal but reveal both an innocent celebration of, and a knowing caution about, the modern world, as well as playing an integral role in the rhythmic structure of the songs. Many of Kraftwerk's songs express the paradoxical nature of modern urban life: a strong sense of alienation existing side by side with a celebration of the joys of modern technology.[67][68]
Starting with the release of Autobahn, Kraftwerk began to release a series of concept albums (Radio-Activity, Trans-Europe Express, The Man-Machine, Computer World, Tour de France Soundtracks).[69] All of Kraftwerk's albums from Trans Europe Express onwards, except Tour de France Soundtracks, have been released in separate versions: one with German vocals for sale in Germany, Switzerland and Austria and one with English vocals for the rest of the world, with occasional variations in other languages when conceptually appropriate. Live performance has always played an important part in Kraftwerk's activities. Also, despite its live shows generally being based around formal songs and compositions, live improvisation often plays a noticeable role in its performances. This trait can be traced back to the group's roots in the first experimental Krautrock scene of the late 1960s, but, significantly, it has continued to be a part of its playing even as it makes ever greater use of digital and computer-controlled sequencing in its performances. Some of the band's familiar compositions have been observed to have developed from live improvisations at its concerts or sound-checks.[70]
Technological innovations[edit]
Throughout their career, Kraftwerk have pushed the limits of music technology with some notable innovations, such as home-made instruments and custom-built devices. The group has always perceived their Kling Klang Studio as a complex music instrument, as well as a sound laboratory; Florian Schneider in particular developed a fascination with music technology, with the result that the technical aspects of sound generation and recording gradually became his main fields of activity within the band.[6] Alexei Monroe called Kraftwerk the "first successful artists to incorporate representations of industrial sounds into non-academic electronic music".[71]
Influence and legacy[edit]
According to music journalist Neil McCormick, Kraftwerk might be "the most influential group in pop history".[51] NME wrote: "'The Beatles and Kraftwerk' may not have the ring of 'the Beatles and the Stones', but nonetheless, these are the two most important bands in music history".[19] AllMusic wrote that their music "resonates in virtually every new development to impact the contemporary pop scene of the late 20th century".[66]
Kraftwerk's musical style and image can be heard and seen in 1980s synth-pop groups such as Gary Numan, Ultravox, John Foxx, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), The Human League, Depeche Mode, Visage, Soft Cell and Yellow Magic Orchestra.[81][19][82] Kraftwerk influenced other forms of music such as hip hop, house, and drum and bass, and they are also regarded as pioneers of the electro genre.[83] Karl Hyde of Underworld has referenced Kraftwerk as a prominent influence.[84] Most notably, "Trans Europe Express" and "Numbers" were interpolated into "Planet Rock" by Afrika Bambaataa & the Soul Sonic Force, one of the earliest hip-hop/electro hits. Kraftwerk helped ignite the New York electro-movement.[10] Techno was created by three musicians from Detroit, often referred to as the 'Belleville three' (Juan Atkins, Kevin Saunderson & Derrick May), who fused the repetitive melodies of Kraftwerk with funk rhythms.[85] The Belleville three were heavily influenced by Kraftwerk and their sounds because Kraftwerk's sounds appealed to the middle-class black people residing in Detroit at this time.[10]
Depeche Mode's composer Martin Gore said: "For anyone of our generation involved in electronic music, Kraftwerk were the godfathers".[51] Daniel Miller, founder of Mute Records, purchased the vocoder used by Kraftwerk in their early albums, comparing it to owning "the guitar Jimi Hendrix used on 'Purple Haze'".[86] Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys, founding members of OMD, have stated that Kraftwerk was a major reference on their early work,[87] and covered "Neon Lights" on the 1991 album, Sugar Tax.[88] The electronic band Ladytron were inspired by Kraftwerk's song "The Model" when they composed their debut single "He Took Her to a Movie".[89] Aphex Twin noted Kraftwerk as one of his biggest influences and cited Computer World as a very influential album towards his music and sound.[90] Björk has cited the band as one of her main musical influences.[91] Electronic musician Kompressor has cited Kraftwerk as an influence. The band was also mentioned in the song "Rappers We Crush" by Kompressor and MC Frontalot ("I hurry away, get in my Chrysler. Oh, the dismay!/Someone's replaced all of my Backstreet Boys with Kraftwerk tapes!"). Dr. Alex Paterson of the Orb listed The Man-Machine as one of his 13 favourite albums of all time.[92] According to NME, Kraftwerk's pioneering "robot pop" also spawned groups like The Prodigy and Daft Punk.[19]
Kraftwerk inspired many acts from other styles and genres, along with having their work been repeatedly sampled. David Bowie's "V-2 Schneider", from the 1977's "Heroes" album, was a tribute to Florian Schneider.[93] Post-punk bands Joy Division and New Order were heavily influenced by the band. Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis was a fan, and showed his colleagues records that would influence their music.[94] New Order also sampled "Uranium" in its biggest hit "Blue Monday".[95] Siouxsie and the Banshees recorded a cover of "Hall of Mirrors" on their 1987 album Through the Looking Glass, which was lauded by Ralf Hütter: "In general, we consider cover versions as an appreciation of our work. The version of 'Hall of Mirrors' by Siouxsie and the Banshees is extraordinary, just like the arrangements of Alexander Bălănescu for his Balanescu Quartet release [of Possessed, 1992]. We also like the album El Baile Alemán of Señor Coconut a lot."[96] Members of Blondie have admitted on several occasions that Kraftwerk were an important reference for their sound by the time they were working on their third album Parallel Lines. The worldwide hit "Heart of Glass" turned radically from an initial reggae-flavoured style to its distinctive electronic sound in order to imitate the technological approach of Kraftwerk's albums and adapt it to a disco concept.[97] Simple Minds and U2 each recorded cover versions of "Neon Lights"; Simple Minds' version was included on their 2001 all-covers album Neon Lights, and U2 included "Neon Lights" as the B-side of their 2004 single "Vertigo". LCD Soundsystem song called "Get Innocuous!" is built on a sample of "The Robots".[98] Rammstein also covered their song "Das Modell", releasing it as a non-album single in 1997.[99] John Frusciante cited the group's ability to experiment of as an inspiration when working in a recording studio.[100]
In 1989, a speeded up version of Kraftwerk's song "Electric Café" began appearing as the theme song for a series of sketches on Saturday Night Live called "Sprockets", a German television spoof by Mike Myers.[101][102] The 1998 comedy The Big Lebowski features a fictional band called Autobahn, a parody of Kraftwerk and their 1974 record Autobahn.[103]
In January 2018, BBC Radio 4 broadcast the 30-minute documentary Kraftwerk: Computer Love, which examined "how Kraftwerk's classic album Computer World has changed people's lives."[104]
In October 2019, Kraftwerk were nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for 2020.[105] On 12 May 2021, Kraftwerk were announced as an official inductee into the Hall, for the class of 2021.[106]
Their technical application and sound dynamics have been cited numerous times as being the foundation for both the development of hip hop and techno.