Electronic Music entry

 

Music History II

By: Thomas A Jenkins III

Kraftwerk

Instructor: Christopher Pierce

Electronic Music Entry

23 Kraftwerks is a group from Germany whose music was completely different from the image they dressed as. They would dress in suits but their music was kind of Revolutionary and experimental. They were able to put together a new sound that wasn’t being used. In fact when they had initially come to the U.S to perform they were not very well accepted. They had to build a fan base through time. Hutter and Schnieder were the 2 main members of the group, and everyone else it seems were additional.

Kraftwerk released Autobahn, Trans-Europe Express, The man Machine, and Radio Activity within the periods of 1974 and 1981. Autobahn, which was influenced by “The Beach Boys”, was the release that made them international stars. It also had a theme of road travel. The Trans-Europe Express had the theme of travel from one country to another by taking a train. The rhythm of the beat of Trans-Europe Express was made to sound like a train riding over train tracks. Radio Activity, which was released in 1975, was about the radio polluting the minds of the people in Germany and nuclear energy. One of the big influences they had was a conceptual album. An album built off of an idea like driving across Europe. They also influenced big artist like David Bowie. They have touched people from every genre of music including hip-hop with Afrika Bambaata, and artist from all around the world including the U.S and Japan. Their lyrical themes were usually about being free to live.  There music was very electronic in its design and a key instrument they used was a rare Synthesizer.

Honestly speaking I am not a fan of Kraftwerk and do not really like their music, but that is just a matter of opinion. They obviously are good artist because they touched the world with their music; it’s just not something I personally like.