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Legendary German electronica act Kraftwerk will support Radiohead’s spring tour of Latin America, which begins March 14-16 in Mexico City, in addition to headlining shows of their own April 25-26 in Wolfsburg, Germany. Founding Kraftwerk member Florian Schneider was absent from the iconic group’s 2008 tour, and don’t expect him to be present in 2009, either. Last year Stefan Pfaffe replaced Schneider on stage, and according to lone remaining original member Ralf Htter he has left the group, which also includes Fritz Hilpert and Henning Schmitz. Check out Kraftwerk tickets today.
Kraftwerk emerged out of the ashes of Organisation, which put forth the 1970 album Tone Float. Florian Schneider and Ralf Htter formed Organisation after meeting as classical music students at the Dusseldorf Conservatory and christened their new group Kraftwerk when Organisation disbanded. Schneider and Htter stepped into their studio (later known as Kling Klang) and their simply-titled debut, Kraftwerk I, followed soon after. Although Kraftwerk endured several lineup changes, Htter and Schneider eventually came back together for 1972′s Kraftwerk 2, which employed a drum machine instead of a live drummer an unprecedented music event that would pave the way for the robotic feel of groups like Daft Punk to come.
In 1973 Kraftwerk issued their breakthrough LP Ralf and Florian on the heels of a string of critically acclaimed live performances. The following year Autobahn, performed mostly on a Moog synthesizer, was released in the States (a first for Kraftwerk) and the album earned international praise, establishing a spot for electronica on the mainstream music scene. 1975′s concept album Radio-Activity was released in both German and English-language editions and explored radio communication, while Kraftwerk tackled train travel for their next effort, 1977′s Trans-Europe Express. By the time the aptly-titled album The Man Machine was released in 1978, Kraftwerk was stripped of human touches and Schneider and Htter emphasized their automaton status on tracks like “We Are the Robots.”
After creating a foundation for electronica acts of the future, Kraftwerk disappeared until the release of Computer World in 1981. The album’s title single topped the charts in the U.K. but subsequent to its release the group vanished again and wouldn’t reappear for five years (a tendency that has become status quo for Kraftwerk.) By the time Electronic Caf was released in 1986, drum machines and synthesizers were old news in the world of pop music and the album only made a ripple in the electronic pool. Their 1991 best-of compilation The Mix was Kraftwerk’s only release for the remainder of the decade, although the group released a new single, “Expo 2000,” just before the dawn of the new millennium and announced tour dates as well. In August 2003 Tour de France Soundtracks followed a new version of Kraftwerk’s 1983 single “Tour de France” in celebration of the centennial anniversary of the Tour de France. In 2005 Kraftwerk released the live effort Minimum-Maximum, their most recent effort.
This article is sponsored by StubHub.com and was written by Brent Warnken. StubHub is a leader in the business of selling Kraftwerk tickets, sports tickets, concert tickets, theater tickets and special events tickets.
1980 LA DUSSELDORF Dampfriemen 7/45 NMINT GERMAN KRAUTROCK RARE NEU! KRAFTWERK
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£22.99 End Date: Friday Feb-10-2012 0:02:31 GMT £22.99 |
“Kraftwerk”: Man, Machine and Music-Pascal Bussy
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£7.40 End Date: Friday Feb-10-2012 5:11:11 GMT £7.40 |
Electric Cafe by Kraftwerk, EMI EMD 1001, 1986
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£5.00 (0 Bid) End Date: Friday Feb-10-2012 10:04:29 GMT |
The Man Machine by Kraftwerk, Capitol, E-ST 11728, 1978
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£10.00 (0 Bid) End Date: Friday Feb-10-2012 10:08:26 GMT |
Computer World by Kraftwerk, EMI, EMC 3370, 1981
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£8.00 (0 Bid) End Date: Friday Feb-10-2012 10:13:09 GMT |
KRAFTWERK RADIOACTIVITY 7″ GERMAN P/S KLING KLANG 006-8
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£22.00 End Date: Friday Feb-10-2012 10:13:11 GMT £22.00 |
Radio Activity by Kraftwerk, Capitol, E-ST 11457, 1975
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£15.00 (0 Bid) End Date: Friday Feb-10-2012 10:18:38 GMT |
Trans-Europe Express by Kraftwerk, EMI, E-ST 11603, 1977
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£10.00 (0 Bid) End Date: Friday Feb-10-2012 10:21:14 GMT |
KRAFTWERK by Kraftwerk, Vertigo, 6499 268, 1972, 2 xLP set
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£40.00 (0 Bid) End Date: Friday Feb-10-2012 10:25:35 GMT |
KRAFTWERK Tour de France 12″ EMI 12EMI5413
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£24.99 End Date: Friday Feb-10-2012 11:06:48 GMT £24.99 |
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