Electronic Music - Kraftwerk Entry

Kraftwerk is an electronic music group formed in 1970 by Florian Schneider and Ralf Hutter. In the viewpoint of many people, these two were the foundation of Kraftwerk and any other musicians that became part of the group were just hired help. The album Autobahn was released in 1974 and was Kraftwerk’s first international success. The concept of this album was road travel. This changed a lot about Kraftwerk. They quickly became a group that performed in suits and released concept albums with creative subject matter. They primarily performed and recorded their music in German, which was something very few musicians in Germany were doing because it was considered inappropriate.

As previously stated, the release of Autobahn marked Kraftwerk’s first international success in 1974. This album was heavily inspired by The Beach Boys and could easily appeal to American audiences. Strangely enough, the concept of the album was road travel. This can be credited to the desire of Kraftwerk to stay true to the German culture and lifestyle. In 1975, Kraftwerk released Radio-Activity. This was another concept album with very creative ideas. This album was about nuclear activity and the radio. This album wasn’t as successful in the U.S., but went gold in France and was successful in Europe as a whole. Trans-Europe Express was the next release for Kraftwerk in 1977. This was another concept album, but this time with a theme of train travel. The percussion for the title track was actually inspired by the sound of a train travelling along a track. This album didn’t have as much of a commercial success as the previous two albums when it was released. In 1978, Kraftwerk released an album that was truly revolutionary. The album was called The Man-Machine and was the first time Kraftwerk hooked a drum machine up to a sequencer. This was truly innovative and a large influence on other musicians. After a three year hiatus, Kraftwerk released Computer World in 1981. The track “The Model” from this album is Kraftwerk’s most successful record in the UK. When Kraftwerk went on tour for this album, they packaged their whole studio up so they would be able to perform the album with all of the effects originally used in the recording. This, in itself, was a great innovation that the band spent a lot of time working to make happen.

There are many reasons that Kraftwerk has earned the position of the biggest influence on electronic music. The most obvious reason would probably be the concepts of the albums they released. Kraftwerk consistently released music with a unified theme that was extremely creative. Another reason is because of the value of Kraftwerk’s live performances. To fathom the fact that Kraftwerk actually went as far as finding a way to take their studio on tour with them is enough to leave anyone in awe. They experimented with technology and were constantly looking for innovations to take their music to the next level.

As a listener, Kraftwerk seems a little strange to me. Their music is outside the box and isn’t what I’m typically used to listening to, even today. Their creativity is impossible to overlook. As a professional, I can definitely see why Kraftwerk is such a large influence on electronic music. Their creativity, innovations, hard work, and dedication are things that every musician should inspire to be on par with and dare to exceed.