German Music:
Kraftwerk
Music style: Electronic popBand members: Ralf Hütter (keyboard, vocals), Florian Schneider-Esleben (flute, vocals), Wolfgang Flür (percussion, 1973-1991), Karl Bartos (percussion, 1975-1986), Henning Schmitz (keyboard, 1991-), Fritz Hilpert (sound engineering, 1990-)
Name means: "Power station"
Kraftwerk was an early pioneer in electronic pop music. Band founders Hütter and Schneider-Esleben both were classically trained musicians who met as students in an improvisation class in Düsseldorf in 1968. Eager to test the limits of classical music, the two spent the next several months experimenting with electronic instrumentation and performing together with various other musicians in local venues.
In early 1970, the pair joined up with Basil Hammoudi (vocals), Butch Hauf (bass), and Fred Monicks (percussion) to form the band Organisation, a project that produced only one album, Tone Float (1970). The following year, Hütter and Schneider released their own album titled Kraftwerk (1971) and later founded their own recording studio, Kling Klang, in Düsseldorf. Over the next few years and albums, Hütter and Schneider toured and put out more albums under the band name Kraftwerk, drawing a half dozen musicians into the group in various constellations. It was during this period that the sound for which they would become famous crystallized. The band was one of the first to turn to pure electronic sound and instrumentation. They also integrated pop elements into their music.
By 1975, the membership of Kraftwerk stabilized as Wolfgang Flür and Karl Bartos became permanent members of the group. Together the four musicians produced the band's classic work of the 1970s and 80s, which would heavily influence developments in pop music. Their album Autobahn (1974) was an international hit that propelled them on their first real tour. The next three albums -- Radio-Activity (1975), Trans-Europe Express (1977) and the seminal The Man Machine (1978) -- and their subsequent tours were also immensely successful. While remaining minimalist, their lyrics typically deal with the paradoxical dangers and enjoyments post-war urban life.
Since the 1977 album, all of their LPs have been recorded in at least two versions -- one in German for sale at home and one in English for the international music market, with other translations as they deemed appropriate. According to the band, their German-language versions were meant to provide an alternative to the dominant Anglo-American influence in rock and pop music: "We want the whole world to know that we are from Germany, because the German mentality -- which is more advanced -- will always be part of our behavior. We create out of the German language, the mother language, which is very mechanical; we use it as the basic structure of our music."
After 1981, the band's live performances stopped and the last LP to be released for the next several years was Electric Cafe in 1986. In 1990, the band went on tour once again to promote their album The Mix, which contained remixed versions of several of the band's familiar songs. With Flür and Bartos no longer in the line-up, the original duo welcomed Henning Schmitz and Fritz Hilpert to complete their quartett. From this point on, the band increasingly replaced manual playing with the use of sequencing equipment, and voice with speech synthesis. A new album, Tour de France Soundtracks, was finally released in 2003. In 2005, the band released their very first live album, Minimum-Maximum, which was recorded on their 2004 tour.
Kraftwerk's contributions to modern popular music are widely recognized. The influence of their songs can be heard in multiple musical styles, including techno, electro funk, and the pop music of the 1980s and 90s in general. They also directly influenced such popular musicians as David Bowie, Human League, Depeche Mode, Madonna, R.E.M, Beck, and 2 Live Crew, to name only a few. In 1997, Rammstein did a cover of the band's song "Ein Modell." with their long-play single "Das Modell


Kraftwerk
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Minimum-Maximum (2005) | 2 Live CDs | LISTEN![]() ![]() ![]() Buy INTERNATIONAL edition CD at AMAZON: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Buy GERMAN edition CD at AMAZON: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() The Box Set edition contains 2 CDs, 2 DVDs, & a hard-cover book. |
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Minimum-Maximum DVD (2004) | Live DVD |![]() ![]() Buy CD at AMAZON: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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Tour de France Soundtracks (2003) |![]() ![]() ![]() Buy INTERNATIONAL edition CD at AMAZON: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Buy GERMAN edition CD at AMAZON: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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The Mix (1991) |![]() ![]() ![]() Buy INTERNATIONAL edition CD at AMAZON: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Buy GERMAN edition CD at AMAZON: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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Electric Cafe (1986) |![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Buy INTERNATIONAL edition CD at AMAZON: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Buy GERMAN edition CD at AMAZON: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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Computerwelt (1981) |![]() ![]() Buy (GERMAN edition) CD at AMAZON ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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Computer World (1981) | English edition CD |![]() ![]() Buy (ENGLISH edition) CD at AMAZON ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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Die Mensch-Maschine (1976) |![]() ![]() Buy (GERMAN edition) CD at AMAZON ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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The Man-Machine (1976) |![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Buy (ENGLISH edition) CD at AMAZON ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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Trans-Europa Express (1977) | LISTEN![]() Buy (GERMAN edition) CD at AMAZON ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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Trans-Europe Express (1977) |![]() ![]() ![]() Buy (ENGLISH edition) CD at AMAZON ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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Radio-Aktivität (1975) |![]() ![]() Buy (GERMAN edition) CD at AMAZON ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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Radio-Activity (1975) | English version |![]() ![]() Buy (ENGLISH edition) CD at AMAZON ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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Autobahn (1974) |![]() ![]() Buy CD at AMAZON ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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Ralf & Florian (1973) |![]() Buy CD at AMAZON ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Kraftwerk 2 (1972) Buy CD at AMAZON ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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Kraftwerk (1971) |![]() Buy CD at AMAZON ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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Tone Float (1970) |![]() Buy CD at AMAZON ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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