The word "unique" is over-used in music, but Kraftwerk have a stronger claim than most to the tag. Ralf Hütter (b. 20 August 1946, Krefeld, Germany; organ) and woodwind student Florian Schneider-Esleben (b. 7 April 1947, Düsseldorf, Germany; woodwind) met while they were studying improvised music in Düsseldorf, Germany. They drew on the influence of experimental electronic forces such as composer Karlheinz Stockhausen and Tangerine Dream to create minimalist music on synthesizers, drum machines and tape recorders. Having previously recorded an album in 1970 with Organisation (Tone Float), Hütter and Schneider-Esleben formed Kraftwerk and recorded their debut album with drummers Andreas Hohmann and Klaus Dinger (b. 24 March 1946, Germany, d. 21 March 2008, Germany). Guitarist Michael Rother and bass player Eberhard Krahnemann were subsequently recruited for live performances at art galleries. Hütter briefly left the line-up, but returned in time for the recording of a second self-titled album. During the recording of Kraftwerk 2 (1972), Dinger and Rother left to form Neu! Produced by Conny Plank (later to work with Ultravox and the Eurythmics), the bleak, spartan music provoked little response.
After releasing a duo set, Ralf Und Florian (1973), Hütter and Schneider-Esleben were joined by Wolfgang Flür (b. 17 July 1947, Frankfurt, Germany; electronic drums) and Klaus Roeder (b. 7 April 1948, Stuttgart, Germany; guitar, violin, keyboards). Autobahn (1974) marked Kraftwerk's breakthrough and established them as purveyors of hi-tech, computerized music. The title track, clocking in at more than 22 minutes, was an attempt to relate the monotony and tedium of a long road journey. An edited version reached the Top 10 in the US and UK charts. In 1975, Roeder was replaced by Karl Bartos (b. 31 May 1952, Berchtesgaden, West Germany), who played on Radioaktivität aka Radioactivity, a concept album based on the sounds to be found on the airwaves. Trans-Europe Express (1977) and The Man-Machine (1978) were pioneering electronic works which strongly influenced a generation of UK new wave acts such as the Human League, Tubeway Army (Gary Numan), Depeche Mode and OMD, while David Bowie claimed to have long been an admirer. The New Musical Express said of The Man-Machine: "It is the only completely successful visual/aural fusion rock has produced so far".
Kraftwerk spent three years remodelling their own Düsseldorf-based Kling Klang studio in the late 70s, complete with, inevitably, scores of computers. The single "The Model", from The Man-Machine, gave the band a surprise hit when it topped the UK charts in 1982, and it led to a trio of hits, including "Showroom Dummies", a remixed version of a track originally featured on Trans-Europe Express, and "Tour De France", a song that was featured in the movie Breakdance and became the theme for the cycling event of the same name in 1983. Electric Cafe, the first Kraftwerk release to be created using predominantly digital instruments, was a disappointment, but Kraftwerk were now cited as a major influence on a host of electro artists from Afrika Bambaataa to the respected producer Arthur Baker. Bambaataa and Baker's pioneering 1982 "Planet Rock" single was built around samples of both "Trans-Europe Express" and "Numbers' (from 1981"s Computer World).
Hütter and Schneider-Esleben remained enigmatically quiet following the release of Electric Cafe. In 1990, a frustrated Flür departed to be replaced by Fritz Hilpert (b. 31 May 1956, West Germany). Flür later collaborated with Mouse On Mars under the name of Yamo and penned a bitter memoir of his time with Kraftwerk, I Was A Robot). Bartos also exited in the early 90s with his place taken by Henning Schmitz (b. 26 September 1953, West Germany). Kraftwerk's best known songs were collected together in 1991 on the double, The Mix, aimed chiefly at the dance music market by EMI Records. "I think our music has to do with emotions. Technology and emotion can join hands . . ." said Hütter the same year.
Kraftwerk made a surprise return to live performance with a headline appearance at the UK's Tribal Gathering in the summer of 1997. The following year they headlined at Barcelona's Sonar festival. In December 1999, Hütter and Schneider-Esleben recorded a new single, "Expo 2000", to promote the Expo 2000 European Business Conference in Hannover. The duo's renewed creativity bore further fruit in the new millennium when they completed (with Hilpert and Schmitz) their first studio album in over 15 years, Tour De France Soundtracks (2003). Kraftwerk then embarked on their first world tour in over 12 years. Their first ever live release was issued in 2005.
