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Kraftwerk
The future of modern music began in Dusseldorf in 1970, when an avant-garde German band, The Organisation re-invented themselves as Kraftwerk, setting in motion a train of events which introduced a whole new language into popular culture.
- GenresMusic
256 pages, Paperback
First published July 21, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 9, 2013
Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider Are Düsseldorks
Kraftwerk is an electronic music pop group formed by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider in 1970 in Düsseldorf, and was fronted by them until Schneider's departure in 2008. The name is German for "Power Station." The signature Kraftwerk sound combines punishing, repetitive rhythms with catchy melodies, some inspired by German folk music, with a minimalistic and strictly electronic instrumentation. The group's simplified lyrics are at times sung through a vocoder or generated by computer-speech software. Kraftwerk were one of the first groups to popularize electronic music and are considered pioneers in the field.
Writer Tim Barr's book follows Kraftwerk from Düsseldorf to the future (with Love). There is a lot of interesting material in the book, though sometimes Barr sucombs to hyperbole claiming that Kraftwerk is responsible for virtually all of the developments in music, art, and culture since their beginning in 1970. Also, even if they did inspire music like House, Techno, Disco, and Rap, I don't really care because all of those genres pretty much create a hoovering vacuum. One group that they did inspire that I actually like is Depeche Mode. But Barr belittles them when they start to eclipse Kraftwerk in the charts, calling their music "pallid synth-pop."
Actually, other than a few quibbles, I enjoyed the book and enjoyed reading about Kraftwerk even though I haven't really heard a lot of their music. I was aware that David Bowie was a fan, and can definitely hear their influence on his sound, on such albums as Heroes and Low. I was surprised that Rammstein wasn't mentioned as they are another very interesting German band and did a cover of Kraftwerk's song, Das Model. It was interesting to hear about Kraftwerk's studio, called Kling Klang, and all of the innovations they pioneered in electronic music and computer sequencing.
Barr does a good job of putting Kraftwerk in context. They were from a post war generation whose culture was overshadowed by the music of England and America. There was a thirst to create something truly German, and so they looked to the future. One of their early and most successful songs celebrated the highway system called the Autobahn. Their roots were in the electronic music of Stockhausen, who taught nearby. They were able to weather the storm caused by punk and new wave since they weren't considered Rock Dinosaurs. Their music was so futuristic. Later, Kraftwerk were extensively sampled and incorporated into the new sounds of Rap and House music coming out of Detroit, Chicago, and New York. They were also a huge hit in discothèques.
A few random thoughts:
Tim Barr should write his name like: Tim Barr! If he used an exclamation point like the group Neu! does, it would convey the excitement you feel as he chops down your cultural assumptions, like a lumberjack in the forest of culture.
Kling Klang Klan would have been a funny title for a book on Kraftwerk, or this review, but would be problematic. The name of their studio does bear a resemblance to the name of a certain organization, but it would be unfair to tar them with that brush. They already carry enough negative cultural baggage as it is, coming from Germany.
The Bottom Line is that Tim Barr does a good job of describing the music of Kraftwerk and its influences, but sometimes he gets a bit carried away making exaggerated claims for them. Also, though he has done a great job of research, it just gets a little tedious at times, once you reach the saturation point of hearing about all the people that Kraftwerk have influenced when you have never heard about most of them and don't really care.
Kraftwerk is an electronic music pop group formed by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider in 1970 in Düsseldorf, and was fronted by them until Schneider's departure in 2008. The name is German for "Power Station." The signature Kraftwerk sound combines punishing, repetitive rhythms with catchy melodies, some inspired by German folk music, with a minimalistic and strictly electronic instrumentation. The group's simplified lyrics are at times sung through a vocoder or generated by computer-speech software. Kraftwerk were one of the first groups to popularize electronic music and are considered pioneers in the field.
Writer Tim Barr's book follows Kraftwerk from Düsseldorf to the future (with Love). There is a lot of interesting material in the book, though sometimes Barr sucombs to hyperbole claiming that Kraftwerk is responsible for virtually all of the developments in music, art, and culture since their beginning in 1970. Also, even if they did inspire music like House, Techno, Disco, and Rap, I don't really care because all of those genres pretty much create a hoovering vacuum. One group that they did inspire that I actually like is Depeche Mode. But Barr belittles them when they start to eclipse Kraftwerk in the charts, calling their music "pallid synth-pop."
Actually, other than a few quibbles, I enjoyed the book and enjoyed reading about Kraftwerk even though I haven't really heard a lot of their music. I was aware that David Bowie was a fan, and can definitely hear their influence on his sound, on such albums as Heroes and Low. I was surprised that Rammstein wasn't mentioned as they are another very interesting German band and did a cover of Kraftwerk's song, Das Model. It was interesting to hear about Kraftwerk's studio, called Kling Klang, and all of the innovations they pioneered in electronic music and computer sequencing.
Barr does a good job of putting Kraftwerk in context. They were from a post war generation whose culture was overshadowed by the music of England and America. There was a thirst to create something truly German, and so they looked to the future. One of their early and most successful songs celebrated the highway system called the Autobahn. Their roots were in the electronic music of Stockhausen, who taught nearby. They were able to weather the storm caused by punk and new wave since they weren't considered Rock Dinosaurs. Their music was so futuristic. Later, Kraftwerk were extensively sampled and incorporated into the new sounds of Rap and House music coming out of Detroit, Chicago, and New York. They were also a huge hit in discothèques.
A few random thoughts:
Tim Barr should write his name like: Tim Barr! If he used an exclamation point like the group Neu! does, it would convey the excitement you feel as he chops down your cultural assumptions, like a lumberjack in the forest of culture.
Kling Klang Klan would have been a funny title for a book on Kraftwerk, or this review, but would be problematic. The name of their studio does bear a resemblance to the name of a certain organization, but it would be unfair to tar them with that brush. They already carry enough negative cultural baggage as it is, coming from Germany.
The Bottom Line is that Tim Barr does a good job of describing the music of Kraftwerk and its influences, but sometimes he gets a bit carried away making exaggerated claims for them. Also, though he has done a great job of research, it just gets a little tedious at times, once you reach the saturation point of hearing about all the people that Kraftwerk have influenced when you have never heard about most of them and don't really care.
August 17, 2012
Uno de los mejores libros de música que he leído. Barr hace un periodismo cultural que debería estudiarse en las universidades y ubica a Kraftwerk no solo en el contexto de la música alemana, también registra su influencia en el techno de Detroit, el nacimiento del electro y el rap, el post-punk británico, la música industrial, el pop electrónico de los 80 y la vanguardia europea. Y eso en lo músical, porque Kraftwerk también fueron únicos en su discurso extramusical de "trabajadores" o "científicos" del sonido, y como creadores de un pop-art futurista que ha creado su propia escuela.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews