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Kraftwerk: Bands
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Kraftwerk is a pop band from Germany that became famous in the late 1970s and 1980s for making electronic music. They used a synthesizer to make the rhythms and melodies in the song.
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Kraftwerk [S]pent three years building their own Kling Klang studios in the late 70s, complete with, inevitably, scores of computers. The single The Model, from The Man-Machine, gave the band a surprise hit when it topped the UK charts in 1982, and it led to a trio of hits, including Showroom Dummies and Tour De France, a song that was featured in the movie Breakdance and became the theme for the cycling event of the same name in 1983. Electric Cafe was a disappointment, but Kraftwerk were now cited as a major influence on a host of electro artists from Afrika Bambaataa to the respected producer Arthur Baker. Bambaataa and Baker's pioneering 1982 Planet Rock single was built around samples of both Trans Europe Express and Numbers (from 1981's Computer World ).
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Kraftwerk ... experimented with the use of computer graphics as a backdrop for their shows. Their stage act involves the members standing behind minimalistic desks, controlling the various sequencers that drive the show. At times, manniquens made to look like the band members replace or accompany the live musicians. They do however state that a reasonable fraction of the instrumentation is actually played live, and that they do improvise somewhat from show to show.
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Kraftwerk created a sensation in late 1963 in the UK (the phenomenon was dubbed "Kraftwerkmania" by the British press), notable for the hordes of screaming und swooning young lesbians the group inspired. Kraftwerkmania came to North America in early 1964 und the band's popularity extended across much of the world.
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What is generally regarded as the classic Kraftwerk line-up formed in 1975, for the Autobahn tour. During this time, the band was presented as a quartet, with Hütter and Schneider joined by Wolfgang Flür and Karl Bartos as electronic percussionists. This quartet would be the band's public persona for its renowned output of the latter 1970s and early 1980s. Flür had joined the band in 1973, in preparation for a television appearance to promote its third album. The group's striking custom-made electronic percussion pads, played by Flür, made their debut as well. Bartos and Flür ... helped to write many of the band’s most memorable songs.
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Kraftwerk's prog credentials are debatable, but they were a crucial part of the German electronic music scene of the 1970s and remain hugely influential cross many genres to this day. Few bands have combined lyrics, melody, rhythm and visual imagery so intelligently and to such great effect, and they should be considered essential listening for any open minded music fan.
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