Kraftwerk is a German electronic band formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk were among the first successful acts to popularize the genre. The group began as part of West Germany's experimental krautrock scene in the early 1970s before fully embracing electronic instrumentation, including synthesizers, drum machines, and vocoders. Wolfgang Flür joined the band in 1974 and Karl Bartos in 1975, expanding the band to a quartet.
Trans-Europe Express is the sixth studio album by German band Kraftwerk. Recorded in 1976 in Düsseldorf, Germany, the album was released in March 1977 on Kling Klang Records. It saw the group refine their melodic electronic style, with a focus on sequenced rhythms, minimalism, and occasionally manipulated vocals. The themes include celebrations of the titular European railway service and Europe as a whole, and meditations on the disparities between reality and appearance.
Tour de France Soundtracks is the eleventh and most recent studio album by German electronic music band Kraftwerk. It was first released on 4 August 2003, through Kling Klang and EMI in Europe and Astralwerks in North America. The album was recorded for the 100th anniversary of the first Tour de France bicycle race, although it missed its intended release date for the actual tour. It includes a new recording of their 1983 song of the same name, the cover artwork of both releases being nearly identical. The announcement of the release caused much anticipation, as it had been 17 years since the group had put out a full album of new studio material. It is also the last studio album to feature Florian Schneider before his departure from the band in 2008 and his death on 21 April 2020.
The Man-Machine is the seventh studio album by German electronic music band Kraftwerk. It was released on May 1978 by Kling Klang in Germany and by Capitol Records elsewhere. A further refinement of their mechanical style, the album saw the group incorporate more danceable rhythms. The album has a satirical bent to it. It is thought to address a wide-range of themes from the Cold War, Germany's fascination with manufacturing, and humankind's increasingly symbiotic relationship with machines. It includes the singles "The Model" and "The Robots".
Computer World is the eighth studio album by German electronic band Kraftwerk, released on 11 May 1981.
Electric Café is the ninth studio album by German electronic band Kraftwerk, released on 10 November 1986. The initial 1986 release came in versions sung in English and German, as well as a limited Edición Española release, featuring versions of "Techno Pop" and "Sex Object" with only Spanish lyrics. It was the first Kraftwerk LP to be created using predominantly digital musical instruments, although the finished product was still recorded onto analog master tapes.
Minimum-Maximum is the first official live album release by Kraftwerk, released in June 2005, almost 35 years after the group gave its first live performance. The album features two CDs of tracks recorded on the group's world tour during 2004, including concerts in Warsaw, Ljubljana, Moscow, Berlin, London, Budapest, Tallinn, Riga, Tokyo, and San Francisco.
"Talk" is a song by the British rock band Coldplay. Built around a motif from Kraftwerk's 1981 song "Computer Love", it was written by all members of the band and appeared on their third album, X&Y. In the United States, the song entered at number 86 on the Billboard Hot 100 and elsewhere in the world its success varied. It peaked at number one in the Netherlands on both the Dutch Top 40 and Single Top 100 charts, becoming the band's first number-one single there.
"Tour de France" is a song by German electronic band Kraftwerk. It was first issued in early August 1983, peaking at number 22 in the United Kingdom singles chart on 6 August.
"Das Model" is a song recorded by the German group Kraftwerk in 1978, written by musicians Ralf Hütter and Karl Bartos, with artist Emil Schult collaborating on the lyrics. It is featured on the album, Die Mensch-Maschine.
"Autobahn" is a 1974 song by German electronic band Kraftwerk, being the second and lead single from their studio album of the same name. The song was composed by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider of the band, with Emil Schult collaborating on the lyrics. It is co-produced by Conny Plank, and was the band's first track to use sung lyrics. Recorded in 1974, the song is designed to capture the feel of driving on a motorway. "Autobahn" is Kraftwerk's biggest hit in the US, reaching number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Let U Go" is a song originally written by the Canadian musicians Ken Harrison and Robert Michaels as "Wrong to Let You Go". This pop-rock song, recorded by the Wild Strawberries, the band consisting of Harrison and his wife Roberta Carter, first appeared on volume 3 of the compilation album series Women & Songs, then on the Wild Strawberries album Twist (2000). German dance DJ and producer ATB remixed the song and released it twice as a single, it being ATB's 6th and 15th single releases.
"Forever Young" is a song by German synth-pop band Alphaville from their 1984 debut studio album of the same name. The single was successful in Scandinavia and in the European German-speaking countries in the same year.
"The Robots" is a single by German electronic group Kraftwerk, which was released in 1978. The single and its B-side, "Spacelab", both appeared on the band's seventh album, The Man-Machine (1978). However, the songs as they appear on the single were edited into shorter versions. It charted at number 25 on Germany, number 39 on US Dance Club Songs Chart, and number 23 on Austria.
The discography of German electronic band Kraftwerk consists of 10 studio albums, two live albums, one remix album and 26 singles. Formed by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider in Düsseldorf in 1970, Kraftwerk were part of the krautrock scene. However, the group mostly found fame as pioneers of electronic music, showcasing their styles on a series of concept albums.
"Walking on the Milky Way" is a song by English electronic band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD). It was released as a single on 5 August 1996 and appeared on their Universal album a month later. The song reached number 17 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the group's first UK top-20 hit in over five years, and their last UK top-40 single. The band were flanked by a full string orchestra for their Top of the Pops performance of the song broadcast on 16 August 1996.
"Aerodynamik" is a song by the German electronic music band Kraftwerk. It was released on 15 March 2004 as the fourth single from their tenth studio album, Tour de France Soundtracks (2003). The song peaked at number-one on the UK dance singles chart.
"Nobody to Love" is a song by British record production duo Sigma. The song was originally a bootleg remix of "Bound 2" by Kanye West featuring Charlie Wilson, released on 24 January 2014 as a free download. It later received support from major British radio stations including BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra, and so was reworked into an original track with Wilson's vocals covered by former One True Voice member Daniel Pearce. It was released as the second single from their debut studio album, Life (2015).
3-D The Catalogue is the second official live album and most recent release by German electronic music band Kraftwerk. It was released on 26 May 2017 and was released on several formats, including a four-disc Blu-ray box set, an eight-disc CD box set and a nine-disc vinyl box set. It consists of live versions of every studio album Kraftwerk song from Autobahn (1974) to Tour de France Soundtracks (2003). The performances were recorded between April 2012 and October 2016 at venues around the world. The album was nominated for Best Surround Sound Album and won Best Dance/Electronic Album at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards, marking the band's first Grammy win.
"Who Do You Love" is a song by American DJ duo the Chainsmokers featuring Australian pop rock band 5 Seconds of Summer, released on February 7, 2019, through Sony Music. It is the acts' first collaboration and follows their December 2018 singles "Hope" and "Lie to Me", respectively. The song serves as the lead single from the Chainsmokers' third studio album World War Joy, alongside the scene of "Booksmart". The music video was released on March 25, 2019. In April 2021, an early demo of the song intended for Demi Lovato's 2017 album Tell Me You Love Me surfaced online.
