Kraftwerk (album)

Last updated

Kraftwerk
K1-D-front.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedNovember 1970
RecordedJuly–September 1970
Genre
Length39:39
Label Philips
Producer
Kraftwerk chronology
Kraftwerk
(1970)
Kraftwerk 2
(1972)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]

Kraftwerk is the debut studio album by German electronic band Kraftwerk. It was released in Germany in 1970, and produced by Konrad "Conny" Plank.

Contents

Recording

The album was recorded from July to September 1970. [2] Chief Kraftwerk members Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider used two drummers during the recording of the album; Andreas Hohmann and Klaus Dinger. [3] Dinger played on "Vom Himmel Hoch", [4] while Hohmann played on "Ruckzuck", [3] and "Stratovarius", however, these last ones were completed before Dinger joined the sessions.[ citation needed ]

The other instrumentation features Hütter on bass and Hammond and Tubon electric organs, the latter was made by Swedish factory Joh Mustad AB in 1966, [5] [6] whilst Schneider supplied flute. [5] The song "Ruckzuck" is driven by a powerful multi-dubbed flute riff, [7] along with electric violin and guitar; these instruments often connected to further electronics via an Electronic Music Studios pitch-to-voltage converter.[ citation needed ] "Vom Himmel Hoch" has slight pitch curves that emulate the Doppler effect. [6] The artwork featured a fluorescent-coloured traffic cone drawn. [4]

Release

Kraftwerk was released in November 1970. [8] In early 1971, Hutter left the group and Schneider was left alone with drummer Dinger and newcomer guitarist Michael Rother. [9] The 3-member Kraftwerk line up of Schneider, Dinger and Michael Rother made an appearance on Radio Bremen, [10] and also on the TV shows Beat-Club and Okidoki. [11] After this, Dinger and Rother left to form revered band Neu!, with Hütter rejoining Schneider to continue Kraftwerk and both parties recording under the mentoring of Conny Plank.[ citation needed ]

No material from this album has been performed in the band's live set since the Autobahn tour of 1975 and, to date, the album has not been officially issued on compact disc. The band are seemingly reluctant to consider the album a part of their canon and in later interviews, Schneider referred to the first three Kraftwerk albums as "archaeology". However, unlicensed CD and vinyl pressings of the album have been widely available since the mid-1990s on the Germanofon and Crown labels. Kraftwerk has hinted that the album may finally see a re-mastered CD release after Der Katalog boxed set. [12]

Use in media

"Ruckzuck" was used as the theme song for the PBS show Newton's Apple in the United States.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider-Esleben

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Ruckzuck [13] " ("Right now")7:47
2."Stratovarius [14] "12:10
Side two
No.TitleLength
3."Megaherz [15] " ("Mega heart", also a play on the word Megahertz)9:30
4."Vom Himmel Hoch [16] " ("From Heaven above")10:12
Total length:39:39

Personnel

Adapted from liner notes: [17]

Kraftwerk

Additional personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1971)Peak
position
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [18] 30

Year-end charts

Chart (1971)Position
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [19] 27

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kraftwerk</span> German electronic music band

Kraftwerk are 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 1973 and Karl Bartos in 1975, expanding the band to a quartet. Since the band's formation, it has seen numerous lineup changes, with Hütter as its only constant member.

<i>Autobahn</i> (album) 1974 studio album by Kraftwerk

Autobahn is the fourth studio album by German electronic music band Kraftwerk, released in November 1974 by Philips Records. The album marked several personnel changes in the band, which was initially a duo consisting of Florian Schneider and Ralf Hütter; later, the group added Klaus Röder on guitar and flute, and Wolfgang Flür on percussion. The album also completed the group's transition from the experimental krautrock style of their earlier work to an electronic pop sound consisting mostly of synthesizers and drum machines. Recording started at the group's own Kling Klang facility, but was predominantly made at Conny Plank's studio. Autobahn also includes lyrics and a new look for the group that was suggested by Emil Schult, an associate of Schneider and Hütter.

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<i>Kraftwerk 2</i> 1972 studio album by Kraftwerk

Kraftwerk 2 is the second studio album by German electronic band Kraftwerk, released in January 1972.

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<i>Electric Café</i> 1986 studio album by Kraftwerk

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.

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<i>Tone Float</i> 1970 studio album by Organisation

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florian Schneider</span> German musician (1947–2020)

Florian Schneider-Esleben was a German musician. He is best known as one of the founding members and leaders of the electronic band Kraftwerk, performing his role with the band until his departure in 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neu!</span> German band

Neu! were a West German krautrock band formed in Düsseldorf in 1971 by Klaus Dinger and Michael Rother following their departure from Kraftwerk. The group's albums were produced by Conny Plank, who has been regarded as the group's "hidden member". They released three albums in their initial incarnation—Neu! (1972), Neu! 2 (1973), and Neu! 75 (1975)—before disbanding in 1975. They briefly reunited in the mid-1980s.

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<i>Minimum-Maximum</i> 2005 live album by Kraftwerk

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References

  1. Ragget, Ned. Kraftwerk at AllMusic. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  2. Koch, Albert (2005). Kraftwerk (in German). Hannibal. p. 58. ISBN   978-3-85445-213-3.
  3. 1 2 Stubbs, David (5 August 2014). Future Days: Krautrock and the Building of Modern Germany. Faber & Faber. p. 130. ISBN   978-0-571-28334-7 . Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  4. 1 2 Esch 2016, p. 22.
  5. 1 2 Albiez, Sean; Pattie, David (1 January 2011). Kraftwerk: Music Non-Stop. A&C Black. p. 98. ISBN   978-1-4411-9136-6 . Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  6. 1 2 Smolko, Tim; Smolko, Joanna (11 May 2021). Atomic Tunes: The Cold War in American and British Popular Music. Indiana University Press. p. 148. ISBN   978-0-253-05618-4 . Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  7. Adelt, Ulrich (30 August 2016). Krautrock: German Music in the Seventies. University of Michigan Press. p. 25. ISBN   978-0-472-05319-3 . Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  8. Schütte, Uwe (27 February 2020). Kraftwerk: Future Music from Germany. Penguin UK. p. 29. ISBN   978-0-241-32055-6 . Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  9. Thompson, Dave (1 August 2021). I Feel Love: Donna Summer, Giorgio Moroder, and How They Reinvented Music. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 41. ISBN   978-1-4930-4981-3 . Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  10. Esch 2016, p. 29.
  11. Esch 2016, p. 32.
  12. ":::: KRAFTWERK.TECHNOPOP.COM.BR - DATA - INTERVIEWS - DUMMY MAGAZINE - RALF HUTTER - SPRING 2006 - 2007-FEB-12 ::::" . Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  13. Ruckzuck by Kraftwerk official _ Free Listening on SoundCloud
  14. Stratovarius by Kraftwerk official _ Free Listening on SoundCloud
  15. Megaherz by Kraftwerk official _ Free Listening on SoundCloud
  16. Vom Himmel Hoch by Kraftwerk official _ Free Listening on SoundCloud
  17. Kraftwerk (LP). Kraftwerk. Germany: Philips. 1972. 6305 058.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  18. "Offiziellecharts.de – Kraftwerk – Kraftwerk" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts.
  19. "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. 1971. Retrieved 2 April 2022.

Bibliography