Kraftwerk

            Kraftwerk is a German band of four musicians though two are the main composers and producers. Ralf Hutter and Florian Schneider were the driving force behind Kraftwerk and produced all the material. Kraftwerk’s music was experimental and electronic in nature while their image was that of a Pre-World War II socialist group drawing their looks and album covers from the art style of that period from the lettering of the album covers to the short hair and suits that they wore.

            From 1974 through 1981, Kraftwerk recorded and released an album per year and their albums were built around a concept such as driving on the autobahn or being robots (2012, Kraftwerk and the Electronic Revolution). The entire album flowed with songs driving the theme in a story order. They used many electronic innovations like drum machines and synthesizers sparking other bands to follow their lead, such as DEVO or The Cars. Most of their lyrical themes were minimalistic and somewhat monotone, and performed in multiple languages such as English and German in the same song.

             As a listener, Kraftwerk intrigues me with the concepts that they covered. I had never heard “Autobahn” before this class and found it to be quite good. I could easily hear the influence that they had on other bands like DEVO and The Cars, though their music may not have been as commercial, it certainly was instrumental in later band’s sounds. As an industry professional I completely enjoyed listening to their work. I am not usually excited by most electronic music, however I found this to be enjoyable and easy to listen to. The concepts behind the albums led to some very interesting ideas musically and led to developments in electronic usage with drum machines and synthesizers. Kling Klang studios were certainly large and allowed them the space to expand on their ideas and inventions. As it stated in the documentary, the rest of the electronic subculture and bands eventually caught up with Kraftwerk though they were ahead of the curve for a good run (2012, Kraftwerk).