Kraftwerk

[cheifo]

Just bkd my tickets for the Godfathers of Techno who are doing gig at Wicklow in Sept.

Seem to be advertising quite a bit on radio, surprised they are taking time to sell even though they are an acquired taste.

Bought Showroom dummies and Model on vinyl when I was a cub and became obsesses with the whole futuristic sound till it began to merge a bit with the New Romantic stuff.
As an 11/12 year old I had to prove my masculine credentials by then going SKA.

Anyone ever see Kraftwerk live, or like or are amused by their stuff?

BTW as a disclaimer I am aware some of the more pretenious wannabes have
in recent years, solemnly declared them as a favourite in order to appear
that bit more exotic-which is funny considering how early eighties and unironic Kraftwerk are.

[Bluebeard]

Big fan of Kraftwerk, major important bods musically speaking in my opinion. They turned out to be a major influence on far more of the bands that interested me than any other crowd that I know. I recall RTE showing the vid of Autobahn a lot when I was a kid and that really would have been my first link to them. (Similarly RTE used have bits of Jean Michele Jarre on the test card, and I still love his stuff to this day).

Didn't know that the tossers had jumped on the bandwaggon though. Arse. Looks like I can no longer feel the pride of being one of the few people knowing all the words to "Spacelab"...

Though, it must be said, seeing as most of their big stuff is from the 70s, it means it was even further ahead of its time than one would have credited (deffo), or you are one of those tossers Chiefo

[stann]

Love 'em meself, like Bluebeard since seeing the Autobahn video on RTE a lot when there weren't videos on much, and hearing Tour de France about quite a bit at around the same time - possibly when the Tour de France was on but don't quote me on that.
Hugely important group in addition to just being great. Inspired hip hop, dance music, brought the shirt and tie back into rock...
Stone mad too. I love the story about the telephone in their studios.

[cheifo]

I am def a tosser or I'll get my coat guy when trying to join in an educated conversation about Food but no Kraftwerk were childhood heros of mine.
C'mon Stann share the telephone story or have I just revealed I'm not a true fan.

[stann]

Ah no, it's just a bit of nonsense I think, but it sounds good.
I read it way back in some interview piece I'm sure, Melody Maker probably, that when the band were in the Kling Klang studios they wouldn't allow any phonecalls because the ringer was 'discordant' or 'not perfect' or something like that. But the phones did work! If you wanted an interview or whatever you had to arrange a date and an exact time to call them and one of them would pick up the phone at precisely that time and if you weren't on the other end tough, you missed your big chance!
A touch on the eccentric side to say the least of it, but probably totally apocryphal.

[cheifo]

Once I check apocryphal in the Dictionary, I'm sure I will come back with a .

[gilberto_eire]

Don't know much about them but while downloading songs from FIFA i came across this one

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1UpSog8ODs

Did'nt remember it from the game but instantly like it, checked out one or two other songs from the side of the screen but did'nt really like them!!

[Bluebeard]

Don't know much about them but while downloading songs from FIFA i came across this one

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1UpSog8ODs

Did'nt remember it from the game but instantly like it, checked out one or two other songs from the side of the screen but did'nt really like them!!

Eh, that would be Royksopp, who are not actually Kraftwerk. Good band, I quite like them, but in terms of their name, it isn't Kraftwerk, as evidenced by all the blurbs on the site

Love 'em meself, like Bluebeard since seeing the Autobahn video on RTE a lot when there weren't videos on much, and hearing Tour de France about quite a bit at around the same time - possibly when the Tour de France was on but don't quote me on that.
Hugely important group in addition to just being great. Inspired hip hop, dance music, brought the shirt and tie back into rock...
Stone mad too. I love the story about the telephone in their studios.

Supremo nerd moment now (to disguise the fact that I too am a tosser): I'm sure that he isn't thinking of this one, but one might be inclined to believe that Stan meant this tune here:


It's not actually Kraftwerk, though I thought it was for years. Apparently it's by Pete Shelly of The Buzzcocks, and was commissioned for Channel 4.

According to Wiki, a Kraftwerk Tour De France single was released in 1983. This is one of many versions of it:


While here, I suppose no Kraftwerk thread would be complete without this:

[jebus]

Big fan of Kraftwerk right here, saw them live 3 years ago and was blown away by how good they actually are on stage

[stann]

Supremo nerd moment now (to disguise the fact that I too am a tosser): I'm sure that he isn't thinking of this one, but one might be inclined to believe that Stan meant this tune here:

...

It's not actually Kraftwerk, though I thought it was for years. Apparently it's by Pete Shelly of The Buzzcocks, and was commissioned for Channel 4.

No, didn't mean that one, but remember it well though. Didn't know it was Pete Shelly either.

[noby]

This whole Limerick/Waterford music love-in is starting to make me feel uncomfortable, so I'll just mention that I, too, like Kraftwerk, and leave it at that.

[kingdom hoop]

Adding some geographic spread to the dispersion of Kraftwerk fans, I must declare that I also adore Kraftwerk. As well as loving their music, I love almost all electronic music (just touches me in much different ways ) so I think Kraftwerk popularising that branch of the music tree means I have a lot to be grateful to them for. I've no real epochal, "wow" moment where I saw them on TV or anything as got into Daft Punk first in mid-teens after Homework and kind of started exploring thereafter so I would've known a fair bit about them before actually properly listening to them. Must say I find the sounds so curious and magical, I just wish my brothers had broader tastes than their Oasis infatuation and could've introduced me sooner.

What's everyone's favourite album by the way? I don't have them all but definitely The Man-Machine for me anyway. The live collection Minimum-Maximum is excellent too, so for any curious visitors wondering what to get I'd point you in that direction.

Chiefo (and everyone else), to give you an amusing insight into the eccentricity Stann mentioned here's a hilarious interview Florian did a few years ago. Watch it!


Lastly, Bluebeard, I have a shared appreciation of a certain Monsieur Jarre. Excellent music to write to I have found! What albums do you have and would recommend? I've only come across Oxygene and Equinoxe and love both.

[Bluebeard]

JMJ, ahhhhhhhh yessssssss. Again with the memories of his concerts being shown on RTE when they had a spare slot. The Destination Docklands one was good, but the Paris one around 1990 was really out of this world.


As regards the albums, Magnetic Fields is good, but Rendez-Vous is just stunning, really stunning. The cassettes got fierce warped over the years. I haven't got any of the more recent ones unfortunately. For novices, I certainly would recommend Images, the compilation from years ago is well put together, or Aero (an interesting collection with some slight tweaking - though it is notable as being the first piece recorded explicitly for surround sound, I think - great test card for the DVD player!

[noby]

Bluebeard's Tour de France above is very modern and slick to my ears.
This version is closer to the classic version:


I do recall a video of the band cycling round on racers. Very athletic like, you can imagine.


EDIT: As for albums, Autobahn and Trans-Europe Express would be my favourites. The Man Machine and Computer World are almost pop albums by comparison, but still excellent.

[stann]

On Kraftwerk I fall between two stools a bit, as Trans-Europe Express and Computer World would be my favourites. That's purely based on some of the tracks on each one, though, not on styles.
Have to say I also love The Mix, which was one of the first 2 or 3 CDs I ever bought, and has some very nice new versions on it.

As regards Jean Michel Jarre, I know this doesn't help as almost all of his early stuff has now been recommended, but I always liked Zoolook best. It's a bit of a sprawling mess of an album, random samples everywhere, almost world-musicy in places, but there's something about it.
Preferred Oxygene to Equinoxe always.
Rendez-Vous, while containing at least one super tune, for me was a bit too, I don't know, airbrushed or something, a bit too shiny and 80's-nice, a bit of a Go West type of effort. It killed my interest in JMJ stone dead, I remember that.
First album of his I got was actually The Concerts In China, and that was a pretty spectacular introduction, even on tape. Would recommend that highly.

[DaveyCakes]

Just bkd my tickets for the Godfathers of Techno who are doing gig at Wicklow in Sept.

Seem to be advertising quite a bit on radio, surprised they are taking time to sell even though they are an acquired taste.

Maybe people just aren't falling for this "green festival" **** that the promoters are spouting...the guts of 100 quid for Kraftwerk and a few assorted no-marks, plus the inconvenience of having to trek into Dublin to get a bus to somewhere that i could drive to in 3/4 of an hour...no thanks!

Oh and there's organic food some spurious hippy ******** attached.

[kingdom hoop]

Maybe people just aren't falling for this "green festival" **** that the promoters are spouting...the guts of 100 quid for Kraftwerk and a few assorted no-marks, plus the inconvenience of having to trek into Dublin to get a bus to somewhere that i could drive to in 3/4 of an hour...no thanks!

Oh and there's organic food some spurious hippy ******** attached.

What a wonderful attitude to life.

As regards Jean Michel Jarre, I know this doesn't help as almost all of his early stuff has now been recommended, but I always liked Zoolook best. It's a bit of a sprawling mess of an album, random samples everywhere, almost world-musicy in places, but there's something about it.

Friend happened to have this so have stolen it and just listened to the first track. Unbelievable stuff! Cheers for the tip off.

J'adore Jean Michel Jarre.

[jebus]

What a wonderful attitude to life.

Zing!