Kraftwerk

[rynostar]

Florians' passing brings an interesting mix of grief, nostalgia, and deep thought.

Inchem commented on Prince, Bowie, and George Michael.

Manu Dibango, Bill Withers, Tony Allen, Florian... and just in the last few weeks.

[Ben_j]

Florians' passing brings an interesting mix of grief, nostalgia, and deep thought.

Inchem commented on Prince, Bowie, and George Michael.

Manu Dibango, Bill Withers, Tony Allen, Florian... and just in the last few weeks.

You can add to that The Stranglers' keyboardist David Greenfield and rapper Ty 

[rynostar]

And now Little Richard...

[gpro2005]

Was shocked when I opened Spotify today and saw something:

There's a new Kraftwerk single on streaming services.

Seems like it's just a new edit of Heimcomputer/Home Computer.

[ThePumisher]

Maybe this has something to do with their introduction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

[WhiteNoise]

Was shocked when I opened Spotify today and saw something:

There's a new Kraftwerk single on streaming services.

Seems like it's just a new edit of Heimcomputer/Home Computer.

Don't forget Non Stop, which released on the Remixes compliation a month or two ago. Previously unreleased version of Music Non Stop that played in MTV jingles.

I wonder if Kraftwerk is trying to get the German language versions of their albums up on all platforms? It'd be cool to be able to stream either.

[ThePumisher]

Music Non Stop that played in MTV jingles

=> Kraftwerk - 1993 MTV Jingle

[Wolkenkrabber]

May as well post it.

[I always think of KLF's What Time Is Love when I listen to this. As I didn't even know the sound they sampled was a sample back in 1990]

[gpro2005]

Don't forget Non Stop, which released on the Remixes compliation a month or two ago. Previously unreleased version of Music Non Stop that played in MTV jingles.

I wonder if Kraftwerk is trying to get the German language versions of their albums up on all platforms? It'd be cool to be able to stream either.

Non Stop is actually one of my favourites from Remixes.

Although, on Spotify, I can see the German versions of every album that had one (except Minimum-Maximum).

[WhiteNoise]

Non Stop is actually one of my favourites from Remixes.

Although, on Spotify, I can see the German versions of every album that had one (except Minimum-Maximum).

Only in English on American Spotify sadly

[inchemwetrust]

you can get the 7-inch single here with the musikexpress mag for € 9.90:

https://abo.musikexpress.de/produkt/musikexpress-ausgabe-06-21-mit-exklusiver-kraftwerk-vinyl-7-inch-single/

[inchemwetrust]

[Zesty]

"North American tour" but no mexico   

[Bosco]

Re-secured for Chicago. That Red Rocks show very tempting. Wonder if July 1 or 2nd could be Milwaukee Summerfest? A lot of shows in a short amount of time for Ralf. Best of health, maestro!

[gpro2005]

If you enjoyed the Remixes digital compilation from 2020, Kraftwerk have just announced a 3xLP release. Amazon and other stores will have a black vinyl version, but their official online store (sorry, Europe and Japan only) will exclusively offer a version on clear neon yellow (I think?) [the same type as Radioactivity, I believe] vinyl. I've attatched an image below. The differences between the LP and digital tracklists are:

Added:

• Home Computer - 2021 version
• Tour de France Etape 2

Shortened:

• Robotnik (swapped in order with Robotronik)
• Robotronik (swapped in order with Robotnik)
• La Forme - Hot Chip King of the Mountains Mix (this one has been shortened from 11:31 to 6:33)

Removed:

• Expo 2000 - UR Unfiltrated Mix
• Expo 2000 - Kling Klang Mix 2000

Also, Amazon lists a 2xCD version, here is the link (amazon.de), although weirdly Kraftwerk themselves have not mentioned this. The CD tracklist is unclear at the moment.

Edit: Thanks to Reddit user FR3SH2DETH for the heads-up: as per the Rhino Records site, the tracklist is very similar between the CD and LP with the following exceptions:

• Robotnik and Robotronik are not swapped, although they remain slightly shortened.
• Tour de France Etape 2 is last (end of CD2) instead of third-to-last (start of side F) and Home Computer is track 10 (end of CD1) instead of track 4 (start of side B).
• La Forme - Hot Chip King of the Mountains Mix is not shortened.

Both are released on March 25th and preorders are open now.

[Stefan]

Kraftwerk performed last week in Vienna. The show took place directly in the courtyard of Schloss Schönbrunn (the former royal palace of Austria) and the castle's facade was used as a screen for the visuals:

I wasn't there and only learned about it because a colleague lives some 600m from the castle and wondered where the loud music was coming from.
Fun fact, most of the castle is a museum now, but there are also some flats (afaik most of them are normal flats with a surprisingly reasonable rent), so I can't imagine what it must felt like for the residents

[Bosco]

Just learned that Kraftwerk's "Autobahn" has turned 50 last month (first release November 1, 1974)

Kraftwerk will return to North America, in 2025, for a tour that celebrates the 50th anniversary of Autobahn. The dates will take the form of multimedia concerts blending music, visuals, and performance art. Get a preview in the video below, starring Tony Hawk and other skateboarders zipping around a half-pipe soundtracked by Kraftwerk music.

https://pitchfork.com/news/kraftwerk-announce-2025-north-american-tour-enlist-tony-hawk-for-trailer-watch/

Hoping they have Rick Moranis as a special guest on tour...

[ThePumisher]

Hoping they have Rick Moranis as a special guest on tour...

He's the Keymaster to all of this

[gpro2005]

Autobahn is getting reissued for its 50th anniversary in two formats:

• A vinyl picture disc (Kraftwerk's first ever, apparently)
• A Blu-ray featuring a brand new Dolby Atmos mix of the album by Ralf Hütter and Fritz Hilpert based upon the original master recordings (the Atmos mix will also be released digitally)

https://superdeluxeedition.com/news/kraftwerk-autobahn-50th-anniversary-blu-ray/

Personally, I'm excited to hear the Atmos mix on Apple Music. I know my mere AirPods won't give anything near the experience of even a basic home theatre, but it should still give some indication.
Atmos is a bit hit-and-miss, I'd categorize my experiences with it like this:

• Good: Kraftwerk's The Catalogue 3-D Live, Björk's back catalogue, Charli xcx's Brat, Underworld's Strawberry Hotel, Pet Shop Boys' Nonetheless... (basically any newer big name (re)releases have at least a competent Atmos mix)
• Some issues, but otherwise good: Lady Gaga's back catalogue (all of the songs seem to have a 3 second pause inserted at the start, so all the lyrics are synced wrong)
• Questionable: Any song I've heard a lot that suddenly gets an Atmos version takes some getting used to (Sub-culture by New Order). I've also heard reports of some songs using significantly worse alternate vocal takes (some Ariana Grande song, I think?)

Since Kraftwerk have already taken to Atmos/surround sound on some of their live concerts, I'm pretty optimistic that this'll be good. I don't think Atmos is the future of music like some, but when it's implemented well, I'd rather have it than not.

[gpro2005]

Personally, I'm excited to hear the Atmos mix on Apple Music. I know my mere AirPods won't give anything near the experience of even a basic home theatre, but it should still give some indication.

Update: one of the edits of "Autobahn" included on the Blu-ray is already in Atmos on supported streaming services. I gave it a listen the other day and it was very very good! Let's just hope the rest of the albums have similar mixes in the pipeline. Tour de France Soundtracks would almost certainly be an instant buy for me!

Also on the topic of the song "Autobahn", I saw that someone on MuseScore had transcribed all 22 minutes of Autobahn for solo piano. Pretty interesting, take a look:
https://musescore.com/user/57792718/scores/9271438