Kraftwerk (album)

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For the Sarah Connor album, see Kraftwerk (Sarah Connor album).

Kraftwerk
Studio album by
Kraftwerk
ReleasedNovember 1970
RecordedJuly–September 1970
Genre
Length39:39
LabelPhilips
Producer
Kraftwerk chronology
Kraftwerk
(1970) 		Kraftwerk 2
(1972)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]

Kraftwerk is the debut studio album by German electronic band Kraftwerk. It was released in Germany in 1970, and produced by Konrad "Conny" Plank.

Recording[edit]

The album was recorded from July to September 1970.[2] Chief Kraftwerk members Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider used two drummers during the recording of the album; Andreas Hohmann and Klaus Dinger.[3] Dinger played on "Vom Himmel Hoch",[4] while Hohmann played on "Ruckzuck",[3] and "Stratovarius", however, these last ones were completed before Dinger joined the sessions.[citation needed]

The other instrumentation features Hütter on bass and Hammond and Tubon electric organs, the latter was made by Swedish factory Joh Mustad AB in 1966,[5][6] whilst Schneider supplied flute.[5] The song "Ruckzuck" is driven by a powerful multi-dubbed flute riff,[7] along with electric violin and guitar; these instruments often connected to further electronics via an Electronic Music Studios pitch-to-voltage converter.[citation needed] "Vom Himmel Hoch" has slight pitch curves that emulate the Doppler effect.[6] The artwork featured a fluorescent-coloured traffic cone drawn.[4]

Release[edit]

Kraftwerk was released in November 1970.[8] In early 1971, Hutter left the group and Schneider was left alone with drummer Dinger and newcomer guitarist Michael Rother.[9] The 3-member Kraftwerk line up of Schneider, Dinger and Michael Rother made an appearance on Radio Bremen,[10] and also on the TV shows Beat-Club and Okidoki.[11] After this, Dinger and Rother left to form revered band Neu!, with Hütter rejoining Schneider to continue Kraftwerk and both parties recording under the mentoring of Conny Plank.[citation needed]

No material from this album has been performed in the band's live set since the Autobahn tour of 1975 and, to date, the album has not been officially issued on compact disc. The band are seemingly reluctant to consider the album a part of their canon and in later interviews, Schneider referred to the first three Kraftwerk albums as "archaeology". However, unlicensed CD and vinyl pressings of the album have been widely available since the mid-1990s on the Germanofon and Crown labels. Kraftwerk has hinted that the album may finally see a re-mastered CD release after Der Katalog boxed set.[12]

Use in medias[edit]

"Ruckzuck" was used as the theme song for the PBS show Newton's Apple in the United States.

Track listing[edit]

All tracks are written by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider-Esleben

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Ruckzuck[13]" ("Right now")7:47
2."Stratovarius[14]"12:10
Side two
No.TitleLength
3."Megaherz[15]" ("Mega heart", also a play on the word Megahertz)9:30
4."Vom Himmel Hoch[16]" ("From Heaven above")10:12
Total length:39:39

Personnel[edit]

Adapted from liner notes:[17]

Kraftwerk[edit]

Additional personnel[edit]

Charts[edit]

Weekly charts[edit]

Chart (1971) Peak
position
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[18] 30

Year-end charts[edit]

Chart (1971) Position
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[19] 27

References[edit]

  1. ^ Ragget, Ned. Kraftwerk at AllMusic. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  2. ^ Koch, Albert (2005). Kraftwerk (in German). Hannibal. p. 58. ISBN 978-3-85445-213-3.
  3. ^ a b Stubbs, David (5 August 2014). Future Days: Krautrock and the Building of Modern Germany. Faber & Faber. p. 130. ISBN 978-0-571-28334-7. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  4. ^ a b Esch 2016, p. 22.
  5. ^ a b Albiez, Sean; Pattie, David (1 January 2011). Kraftwerk: Music Non-Stop. A&C Black. p. 98. ISBN 978-1-4411-9136-6. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  6. ^ a b Smolko, Tim; Smolko, Joanna (11 May 2021). Atomic Tunes: The Cold War in American and British Popular Music. Indiana University Press. p. 148. ISBN 978-0-253-05618-4. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  7. ^ Adelt, Ulrich (30 August 2016). Krautrock: German Music in the Seventies. University of Michigan Press. p. 25. ISBN 978-0-472-05319-3. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  8. ^ Schütte, Uwe (27 February 2020). Kraftwerk: Future Music from Germany. Penguin UK. p. 29. ISBN 978-0-241-32055-6. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  9. ^ Thompson, Dave (1 August 2021). I Feel Love: Donna Summer, Giorgio Moroder, and How They Reinvented Music. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 41. ISBN 978-1-4930-4981-3. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  10. ^ Esch 2016, p. 29.
  11. ^ Esch 2016, p. 32.
  12. ^ ":::: KRAFTWERK.TECHNOPOP.COM.BR - DATA - INTERVIEWS - DUMMY MAGAZINE - RALF HUTTER - SPRING 2006 - 2007-FEB-12 ::::". Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  13. ^ Ruckzuck by Kraftwerk official _ Free Listening on SoundCloud
  14. ^ Stratovarius by Kraftwerk official _ Free Listening on SoundCloud
  15. ^ Megaherz by Kraftwerk official _ Free Listening on SoundCloud
  16. ^ Vom Himmel Hoch by Kraftwerk official _ Free Listening on SoundCloud
  17. ^ Kraftwerk (LP). Kraftwerk. Germany: Philips. 1972. 6305 058.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  18. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Kraftwerk – Kraftwerk" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts.
  19. ^ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. 1971. Retrieved 2 April 2022.

Bibliography[edit]

External links[edit]

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