Kraftwerk

Kraftwerk are a German group considered to be leading pioneers in development of electronic music.

Kraftwerk were founded by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider who met while studying at the Kunstakademie in Düsseldorf. They later studied together at the Düsseldorf Conservatory where they formed Organisation, an experimental rock band that met with little success. When Organisation was disbanded in 1970 Hütter and Schneider formed Kraftwerk. Growing tired of traditional musical instruments, Ralf and Florian began experimenting with new technologies such as sythesisers, tape loops, drum machines and vocoders.

Their breakthrough came in 1974 with the album Autobahn, the title track of which was a hit both in America and Europe. By this time Wolfgang Flur and Karl Bartos had joined the group and the rest of the 1970s and early 80s were a golden period for the band.

Their songs celebrate the beauty of technology - songs such as Neon Lights, Europe Endless, Trans-Europe Express and Autobahn reflect this ethos.