09

We’ve no doubt that there are few readers of this magazine unfamiliar with the name Kraftwerk. Moreover, it’d be a fairly safe assumption that most of you already have an idea of what they sounded like. Yet it may come as something of a surprise to learn that the smartly-dressed synthpop pioneers only achieved their signature sound after years of evolution. Indeed, when mainmen Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider formed the band in 1970, there was nary a synthesiser in sight! As a matter of fact, Kraftwerk’s first two (eponymous) LPs were rooted firmly in the experimental ‘Krautrock’ style that was popular at the time of their formation. Synths would come into play on the third album, Ralf und Florian, on which both the Minimoog and EMS Synthi AKS would appear. Still rooted in Germanic psychedelia,

Ralf und Florian nevertheless saw the

Düsseldorf duo’s first tentative steps into electronic ambience and minimalism.

Even the band’s breakthrough, 1974’s Autobahn retained such conventional instrumentation as guitar, flute, and violin and, though now seen as a seminal electronic album, Autobahn also contains elements of ambience and kosmische musik.

Still, the repetitious rhythms of the title track were a taste of things to come. By the time The Man-Machine was released in 1978, the transformation was complete – Kraftwerk were dedicated to creating their signature brand of electronic pop music. This seminal synthpop sound was best exemplified by The Model. Overlooked at the time of its release, The Model would belatedly find favour in 1981, when it was re-issued as the b-side to the band’s thencurrent single, Computer Love. Re-re-issued as an A-side, The Model topped the UK singles chart in 1982.

An exercise in minimalism, The Model is a near-perfect pop construct, with a simple progression, spare percussion, and a pretty much instantly memorable melody played in octaves throughout.