Christopher S-B
4-13



Kraftwerk
The Mix


World music actually means third world music. Uh. What? Kraftwerk is a German electronica band from the 90's. Last time I checked Germany wasn't a third-world country. Enough said.

The Kraftwerk sound combines a driving rhythm section with catchy, synthesized melodies and harmony; mainly following a Western classical style of arrangement, accompanied by simple lyrics that are sometimes sung through a vocoder or generated by computer-speech software. The Moog synthesizer is heavily present in most of the group's works, adding to its signature sound creations. In the mid to late 1970s and the early 1980s, the Kraftwerk sound was revolutionary for its time, and it has had a lasting impact across nearly all genres of modern popular music. Kraftwerk had a span of eight albums. The Mix, hit stores shelves back in 1991
"We were the first German post-war generation, the children of West-Germany. We were obliged to rediscover the sound of our everyday life, because it simply did not exist anymore. We had to redefine our musical culture. Not only our musical culture however: at the end of the sixties all German artists had the same problems. Writers, directors, painters … all of them had to invent a new language. After the war, German entertainment was destroyed. The German people were robbed of their culture, putting an American head on it. I think we are the first generation born after the war to shake this off, and know where to feel American music and where to feel ourselves. We are the first German group to record in our own language, use our electronic background, and create a Central European identity for ourselves." -Ralf Hütter (electronic organ, synthesizers)
Autobahn, one of the band's biggest hits, utilized the sound of a car engine starting up and driving away, along with other assorted vehicular sounds. The breakdown of this song is my favorite part. The harmonies just make such a nice sound in your ear. The countless hours poured into every Kraftwerk song really show through here as this is a tantalizingly simple orchestration of electronic sounds, vocals, drums and, yes, cars.

Here's a list of all their albums

▪ 1970: Kraftwerk
▪ 1972: Kraftwerk 2
▪ 1973: Ralf und Florian
▪ 1974: Autobahn
▪ 1975: Radio-Activity
▪ 1977: Trans-Europe Express
▪ 1978: The Man-Machine
▪ 1981: Computer World
▪ 1986: Electric Café
▪ 1991: The Mix
▪ 2003: Tour de France Soundtracks
▪ 2004: The Catalogue
▪ 2005: Minimum-Maximum