DrRingDing

so, i'm thinking about buying a Kraftwerk album..

but i don't know which...

also, how would you describe their sound? i keep reading that they are the godfathers of techno. is this true? how would YOU describe them?

any fans? any recommendations on albums?
-di doctor-

palebluedot

Lo-fi electronic music. I suggest you start with Autobahn. I have it in DTS and it's preety cool, they are not for everyone though.

modiman

I would most definately agree. They're what you might consider an aquired taste. My favorite album is probably "The Man Machine". What's amazing to me is I can mix this with ease into numerous techno tracks of today. Ground breaking stuff for the 70's.

modiman.

atlantamoi

I'll second "Man Machine", but if they have a hits CD out there that might be your best start. What amazes me about Kraftwerk is that their recordings still sound fresh to me. I'm not a musician so I might not be able to word this well, but their percussion and drum sounds aren't annoying like a lot of early 80's synth music. New Order is one of my favorite bands, but a large chunk of their 80's songs have a dated, clunky sound. Kraftwerk DOES sound dated, but not in a bad way. They aren't the first band to dable in electronics... not by a long shot. But there is no question their influence was massive. Anything they did after 1974 is worth hearing/owning.

RevLiver

Pick up The Mix. It's basically their "greatest hits".

DrRingDing

thank you, few!
-di doctor-

benedict

Yeah, many moons ago soon after getting my player I bought The Mix.

I like to try a little of everything so that together with "best ofs" from Tangerine Dream and Yello comprise the techno section of my CD collection!

atlantamoi

FYI, "The Mix" is like a greatest hits, but the songs have been remixed. And not badly I might add. I think that CD is about 10 years old now and it's still pretty good.

SFranke

I like 'The Mix' also. Godfathers of Techno is really a ridiculous title for Kraftwerk. Instead of merely making music with electronics, they made music with warmth using cold electronics. When they made music, it didn't speak to a bunch of high school kids on ecstasy while swinging glow sticks; it was more repetitive, stiff and conservative (they are German). Look at Trans-Europe Express. Many long, repetitive, yet innovative and wonderful songs. I think the real Godfathers of Techno as it is known today would be Front 242.

raithen

So are you saying that Front 242 made music for "a bunch of high school kids on ectsasy while swinging glow sticks"?

Personally, I feel that Kraftwerk are indeed the godfathers of electronic music. Sure, other bands had dabbled with synthwork, but none to the extent that Kraftwerk did. They didn't just dabble in an electronic sound - they immersed themselves in it! And on that note, I think it would be unfair to not mention Jean Michel Jarre in the same boat (albeit, K were certainly more influential).

As for the Fronters, I would say that they are the most influential band when it comes to industrial music. Sure there were groups such as Einsturzende Neubaten and Throbbing Gristle who preceded them, but Front 242 added a melodic sensibility to the harsh industrial sound presented by those two bands. They brought industrial music to the clubs and to a broader audience. They also managed to found the ebm (electronic body music) sound, which merged club/dance sensibilities to electro-industrial.

As for techno? I suppose if you wanted to really get down to who founded that style of music I would have to say it was influenced by bands like Kraftwerk, New Order, Front 242, and Depeche Mode (among others), but it was really born from the sounds of Detroit DJ's such as Derrick May, Juan Atkins and Kevin Saunderson.

Of course, in a way, every music genre has been inspired and/or is derivative of a previous sound... but those are my $0.02 on the matter.

-matt

ChrisKnudsen

As someone who doesn't listen to a great deal of electronica, my favorite album is "Computer World." Alright.

wilson ttc

THere's a Kraftwerk album called "The Model, Retrospective 1975-1978", which is a greatest hits spanning their early years.

icondude

I'd also recommend The Mix. It's good.

Hondo

The Mix is a good place to start. It updates some of the older, more experimental tracks with a more current sound. Man Machine and Computer World are my favorites, though. I would recommend those too.

I must confess that I don't understand palebluedot's "lo-fi" comment. Kraftwerk has always been at the cutting edge of technology. If anything about their sound was lo-fi, it's because a better way to do it, just didn't exist.

Also, we can argue endlessly about who is the godfather of what, but I can tell you as someone who was around at the time, NOTHING sounded like Man Machine when it came out in 1975. It wasn't until the first wave of british synth pop bands in '79-'80, that the rest of the world caught up to them. They are revered by other electronic musicians, too. I saw both Juan Atkins and Derrick May in the audience at the 1998 show in Detroit.

joefrog91

Musique Non-Stop is one of my all time fave songs. Kraftwerk is a great band.