Music Fans

Kraftwerk – The man machine communicates again

At the age of 13 my best friend came back from the library with two LP’s. Yes, from the library. In Sweden you can borrow music as well as literature. Although today the system is much more advanced.

Anyway the albums that my friend proudly displayed were Black Sabbath’s Vol 4 and Kraftwerk’s Computerworld. Both of them appealed to me, but for very different reasons. Sabbath was cool and a bit scary while Kraftwerk were strict in style and represented the future. They were also able to communicate with very few words or without. I had never experienced music like that before.

The live experience
It took years until I got to see the band live, but finally they played at the Roskilde Festival in 1998. Since then I have had the privilege of attending a couple of more shows. It has been an amazing experience.

You may think that four men behind computers and electronics may be a boring set, but the stage show is a cool multimedia experience incorporating videos and of course the classic robots at the end. I can guarantee that I have seen Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider smile once or twice during gigs as well. Suddenly the man machine seems a lot more human.

Favourites
The track Computer Love is still a favourite track but among the albums I think that Trans Europe Express still speaks to me the most. It depicts journey and I have always loved to travel and discover new places. In my professional life I frequently travel to Germany. One day I will write a blog post about songs to play in your car during highway travel. Let’s just say that Kraftwerk’s Autobahn is one of them.

Epilogue
As we write 2009 the band will finally tour again. They begin this spring in Central- and South America and continue to Europe during spring/summer. I will try to see the show in Denmark on August 15th.

Even electronic bands make statements. The first version is the song “Radioactivity” from French TV in 1978. The second one is from 2004. The stage show has really transformed But the message is still frightening. In a way as eerie as the Black Sabbath album was at first. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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