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What else can be said about Kraftwerk that hasn’t already been said? They truly stand as being one of the most influential pioneering acts of all time. Saying anything less truly underestimates the major impact that their work has had on popular music over the last 35 years. The group was formed in Germany in 1970 by Florian Schneider and Ralf Hutter when both of them where students at the Dusseldorf Conservatory. Their first recordings didn’t really reflect the sound that they would ultimately be recognized by, it revolved around experimental music that incorporated acoustic instruments and featured an ever-revolving cast of musicians. It was also around this time that they founded their infamous Kling Klang studio which has served as their headquarters ever since.

Augmented by Wolfgang Flur and Karl Bartos, Kraftwerk became a quartet by the time they recorded 1975’s “Autobahn”. By this time many major artists had come forward praising the group such as David Bowie who’s “V-2 Schneider” is widely seen as a tribute to the band. “Trans-Europe Express” followed in 1977 and it laid the foundation for what would be known as Hip-Hop and Electro over the next decade. In 1982 Afrika Bambaataa heavily sampled the title track on the seminal “Planet Rock” single. “Man-Machine” was released in 1978, it continued in the same vein as their previous work and it featured the key-track “The Robots”. As the 1980s arrived Kraftwerk’s influence was undeniable, it could clearly be seen that they had inspired groups such as Joy Division, The Human League or Depeche Mode. Kraftwerk continued to record into the 80s with albums like “Computer World” and “Electric Café”.

After the best-of compilation “The Mix” released in 1991, the group went into inactivity. It wasn’t until six years later that Kraftwerk reconvened for a live performance at the Tribal Gathering festival in the UK. Expanding on an idea that began with the single “Tour de France” in 1983, the group surprised everybody in 2003 by releasing the “Tour de France” album (their first in almost 20 years) to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the prestigious race.

It was around this time of that I had the pleasure to talk to founding member Ralf Hutter on the phone to discuss at length about the new album and Kraftwerk’s career. I have to admit though that out of all the interviews I have ever done, this must be the one where I was the most nervous. I mean it is not every day that you get to speak to someone who has truly revolutionized modern music as we know it. In the end I found out that Mr Hutter had a great sense of humor and was really open to my questions that despite my nervousness it made for a very pleasant interview.