There are not many German bands that achieved such a cult status like Kraftwerk. Today electronic music is everywhere - with any cheap computer you can create Kraftwerk-like music. But there is more to Kraftwerk than simply beeps and zaps.

The first big song ‘Autobahn’ from 1974:

Starting 1974 (with Autobahn) till 1986 (Electric Café) they released a string of albums that defined the electronic music scene for decades to come. Many great artists like Bowie were big fans and many house & techo musicians were heavily influenced by their sound.

This is one of the newer pieces - a theme song for the Expo 2000 in Hannover:

Their synthesizer music sounded so different from eletro pop, disco or synthesizer artists like Jean Michel Jarre or Tomita. Kraftwerk didn’t try to make electronic music ‘nice’ or more like old instruments. They quite liked the harsh purity of their machines.

‘Taschenrechner’ (Pocket Calculator) from ‘Computer World’:

But also Kraftwerks minimal lyrics about the digital future were right on target (from ‘Computer World’ the song ‘Computer Love’):

Computer love
Computer love
Another lonely night
Stare at the TV screen
I don’t know what to do
I need a rendezvous
Computer love
Computer love
I call this number
For a data date
I don’t know what to do
I need a rendezvous
Computer love
Computer love

Their use of computer animation for music videos and cover art was state of the art at the time. Also their usage of robot like makeup and later real robots for their live performances just pushed the Kraftwerk-style further ahead.

Mensch-Maschine - Wir sind die Roboter 1978

Electric Café - Musique Non Stop 1986

Kraftwerk’s last album ‘Tour de France’ in 2003 was certainly in line with their style - but it was no longer a unique experience, since techno, house music, trip hop and electronica all were built on the Kraftwerk sound and therefore Kraftwerk itself was just another bleep on the market. Nevertheless it was good music.

One cultural note: Kraftwerk has always released it’s albums in German and in English for the foreign market. I consider their German albums and lyrics the original versions.

German dudes singing in English with a terrible accent might have been avantgarde in the 70’s and 80’s to non-german ears - but for me their songs in German are often rather melancholic or satirical. It rather feels like a commentary on the Zeitgeist and the Zukunft (future) instead of trying to be arty farty.

But I guess that gets lost in translation.