In the late 1960’s, a new wave of experimental music emerged
in Germany. This electronic music was developed in response to the American and
British popular music of the time. Kraftwerk is considered one of the pioneers
of electronic music. Created by Ralf Hutter and Florian Schneider in 1970,
Kraftwerk was one of the first groups to introduce electronic popular music
into the mainstream. Their first two albums were completely instrumental in
nature and consisted of traditional acoustic instruments in addition to the
electronic element. The third album, Ralf
and Florian, began relying more heavily on electronic instrumentation,
setting the tone for future releases.
Between 1974 and 1981, Kraftwerk released 5 albums and
experienced varying degrees of success. The first of these, a concept album
called Autobahn, propelled them into
spotlight in 1974. The use of flute and guitar started to fade on Autobahn and completely disappeared on
their next album, Radio-Activity.
Although the follow-up album Trans-Europe
Express in 1977 was not commercially successful, it was during this time
that Kraftwerk and other German electronic music bands attracted the attention
of David Bowie and Brian Eno who would travel to Germany and bring this style
of music increased attention.
The largest impact that Kraftwerk had on electronic music is
probably through the artists that they influenced. Bands such as Depeche Mode,
Bjork, and Soft Cell attribute Kraftwerk as being influential to their music. Kraftwerk
influenced the creation of entire genres of music like electro, hip-hop, house
and techno as well. They also had an effect of the evolution of electronic
instruments. Kraftwerk was one of the first bands to use a vocoder live and in
the studio. Ralf and Florian also held the patent for an electronic drum kit
that was first used on Autobahn.
I have recently become more of a fan of electronic music
(after being forced to create a techno music track a few months ago). While Kraftwerk music isn’t something I’d listen to on my way to work, I
recognize the impact that the group had on the music industry.
Jonathan
ReplyDeleteLove your post here. Very informative. I like that you can navigate through it easily and find some great info on Kraftwerk. I also like the mention of the patent that they had for the electronic drum kit they basically built from scratch. That's the kind of innovative stuff that I think inspires artists today. There's something to be said for people that can create things from their bare hands and turn it into something inspiring. Ralf and Florian were certainly capable of doing that. Nice post here.
Jonathan,
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I too have only recently begun to listen to and dissect electronic music. I have become a fan of sorts, but I do find a lot of electronic music to be a rather hard listen for me. I understand the influence that electronic music has had on the industry as a whole, through hip-hop, house, and techno. I appreciate that you made special note that Kraftwerk didn’t just influence other artists, but that they also helped along with some innovations such as the electronic drums that they held the Patton for. Even though this may not be my desired form of music I do believe it is important for us to know how it came to be.