Easy run through U, Federal Heights, Avenues. Beautiful morning to run. I'll devote the remainder of today's entry to the influence of the German band Kraftwerk on electronic music: K R A F T W E R K
Group formed in: 1970, Dusseldorf, Germany
Members: Ralph Hutter Florian Schneider Karl Bartos Wolfgang Flur
Very few groups can claim to be more seminal than Kraftwerk,
which was formed in the early 1970s but continued to have an enormous
impact in the late 1990s. To say that the German group was way ahead
of its time is no exaggeration - Kraftwerk built its sound around electronic
instruments at a time when many rock and soul artists had never even
touched synthesizers or electronic drums.
But as the 1970s progressed, more and more artists were
getting hip to Kraftwerk's innovations - and its impact could be heard
in recordings by Giorgio
Moroder, David Bowie and Tangerine Dream. The list of artists Kraftwerk
influenced is amazingly long, but suffice to say that everyone from
Afrika Bambaataa,
Grandmaster Flash,
Zapp/Roger Troutman, The
Egyptian Lover, Whodini and The System to Throbbing Gristle, Bauhaus,
The Human League, Depeche Mode, The Shaman, Skinny Puppy and New Order
was directly or indirectly influenced by Kraftwerk. From hip-hop, disco,
Latin freestyle and house to new wave, industrial noise, alternative
rock, techno and gothic, Kraftwerk's influence seems unending.
All of Kraftwerk's seminal 1970s albums fall under the
heading of "essential." Trans-Europe Express (1977) and The Man Machine
(1978) are gems, as are such groundbreaking efforts as Kraftwerk 2 (1972),
Autobahn (1974) and Radioactivity (1975). The impact of these classics
was still being felt in the late 1990s. Unless electronic music goes
away (which is most unlikely), Kraftwerk's direct or indirect influence
probably won't be decreasing any time soon. (from http://www.globaldarkness.com/articles/kraftwerk_bio.htm)
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