Autobahn
Song by Kraftwerk
“Like everything else, music works in cycles. ”
First, there's the initial sparkle, the new idea (if you are fortunate!). Then comes the hard work it takes to develop it (if you have a lot of dedication). Then, and only sometimes, a good mix of your new idea, public exposure, luck, and a necessarily accessible melody can lead you to a commercial success.
It's not easy to reach this final step.
In our journey through the history of electronic music, we've already mentioned Kraftwerk several times, and that's because they made it. They brought their experimental ideas to commercial success.
If you listen to their fourth album, Autobahn, it is clear from the opening track why that happened, especially If you compare it to all of the other albums we've previously covered, like the Cluster, Harmonia, or Tangerine Dream.
“All of these bands were experimenting with similar styles and gears, but listening to their albums makes me think they were more focused on the essence of sound and experimental landscapes. They didn’t worry too much about other people’s reactions. ”
Kraftwerk was just the most famous chapter of the same story.
They had and still have a success that other German bands and artists have gained only many years later, mainly for their role in developing experimental music, specifically electronic music, and not in commercial terms. If you aren't a musician or an aficionado, it's most likely you don't know them or have never even heard their names.
Formed in 1969 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider, Kraftwerk roots go back to West Germany's experimental rock scene of the early 1970s and subsequently developed their "robot pop" style which arranged electronic music with pop melodies, sparse arrangements, and repetitive rhythms.
Their sound engineer was Konrad Plank. He played a significant role in developing their early sound. He worked with many of the other leading German electronic acts of the era, including members of Can, Neu!, Cluster, and Harmonia.
The radio edit of Autobahn (the original track is 22 minutes long) was released in 1974 and became a surprise international hit. It led Kraftwerk and electronic music to mainstream audiences with their mix of drum machines, vocoder, synths, arpeggiators, and catchy melodies.
The most significant difference between them and other German electronic bands of that time lies in using a more defined and understandable narrative.
Autobahn features both untreated and vocoded vocals with lyrics. The song was intended to capture the feeling of driving on the German Autobahn (Highway). Listeners could go from traveling through the landscape, the high-speed concentration on the fast lane, to tuning the car radio, experiencing the monotony of a long trip.
Kraftwerk used a Minimoog, an ARP Odyssey, an EMS Synthi AKS, a Farfisa Professional Piano, and various devices of their design and implementation, such as their famous electronic drums. Autobahn is not only an electronic album, and in fact, the second part features violin, flute, piano, and guitar.
