Kraftwerk: Future Music from Germany
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- Create Date：2021-06-18 08:51:36
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Uwe Schütte
- ISBN：0141986751
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Summary
'Highly stimulating 。。。 Kraftwerk is a pleasure to read' Jon Savage， New Statesman
The story of the phenomenon that is Kraftwerk， and how they revolutionised our cultural landscape
'We are not artists nor musicians。 We are workers。' Ignoring nearly all rock traditions， experimenting in near-total secrecy in their Düsseldorf studio， Kraftwerk fused sound and technology， graphic design and performance， modernist Bauhaus aesthetics and Rhineland industrialisation - even human and machine - to change the course of modern music。 This is the story of Kraftwerk the cultural phenomenon， who turned electronic music into avant-garde concept art and created the soundtrack to our digital age。
The story of the phenomenon that is Kraftwerk， and how they revolutionised our cultural landscape
'We are not artists nor musicians。 We are workers。' Ignoring nearly all rock traditions， experimenting in near-total secrecy in their Düsseldorf studio， Kraftwerk fused sound and technology， graphic design and performance， modernist Bauhaus aesthetics and Rhineland industrialisation - even human and machine - to change the course of modern music。 This is the story of Kraftwerk the cultural phenomenon， who turned electronic music into avant-garde concept art and created the soundtrack to our digital age。
Reviews
Ricardo Urresti
，
First: This is a must for Kraftwerk fans！ It discuss from early years the story of German pop and electronic arts （music included） back from 1920`s and how it influenced Kraftwerk own style。 Also， explore every big release， how media and fans around the world received it， and discuss the impact generated in the pop and electronic music at the time until present days。 The main members story are also tied to the content discussed。 It`s a book to be read with Kraftwerk`s songs in the back， and I be First: This is a must for Kraftwerk fans！ It discuss from early years the story of German pop and electronic arts （music included） back from 1920`s and how it influenced Kraftwerk own style。 Also， explore every big release， how media and fans around the world received it， and discuss the impact generated in the pop and electronic music at the time until present days。 The main members story are also tied to the content discussed。 It`s a book to be read with Kraftwerk`s songs in the back， and I believe any Kraftwerk fan will love to deep know origins， motivation and the impact of Kraftwerk`s art in the current pop scenario！ 。。。more
David Brimer
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An admittedly short， but well researched overview of Kraftwerk’s career。 You could ask for more， sure， but what is here is good enough。
Lee Osborne
，
Spotted this on a recent trip to my local bookshop， and as a big Kraftwerk fan， I couldn't resist。 This is a very readable and well-executed historical overview of the band and their work， and it goes into particularly interesting detail on cultural and artistic influences， particularly important for the founders of the band - they were born in the apocalyptic aftermath of World War 2。 As they were growing up， very few German bands rose to prominence， so Kraftwerk were able to pioneer some great Spotted this on a recent trip to my local bookshop， and as a big Kraftwerk fan， I couldn't resist。 This is a very readable and well-executed historical overview of the band and their work， and it goes into particularly interesting detail on cultural and artistic influences， particularly important for the founders of the band - they were born in the apocalyptic aftermath of World War 2。 As they were growing up， very few German bands rose to prominence， so Kraftwerk were able to pioneer some great concepts。 It's patchy in places， but this is generally a good， solid read， and takes a fascinating， deeper look at what lies beneath the surface of a true cultural phenomenon。 Possibly one for the fans rather than general readers， but well worth a read if you like the music。 。。。more
Joe O'Donnell
，
“Kraftwerk: Future Music from Germany” is an unashamedly intellectual analysis of one of the most influential music groups of all-time。 Rather than being content to write a boilerplate biography of the group， Uwe Schütte’s stated objective is to "look at Kraftwerk not just as a band， but as a cultural phenomenon， as an art project and multimedia concept”。Instead of your standard rise-and-fall， rags-to-riches narratives， what Schütte is trying to achieve in this book is to place Kraftwerk within “Kraftwerk: Future Music from Germany” is an unashamedly intellectual analysis of one of the most influential music groups of all-time。 Rather than being content to write a boilerplate biography of the group， Uwe Schütte’s stated objective is to "look at Kraftwerk not just as a band， but as a cultural phenomenon， as an art project and multimedia concept”。Instead of your standard rise-and-fall， rags-to-riches narratives， what Schütte is trying to achieve in this book is to place Kraftwerk within a broader German avant-garde tradition， connecting them with the inter-war era culture of Bauhaus， Modernism， and Fritz Lang’s “Metropolis”。 By extension， Schütte sees Kraftwerk’s “futurist nostalgia” and their visions of a new electronic future as an attempt to overcome the catastrophic history of Nazism， and of being part of a post-war struggle to create an “innocent， positive， prosperous， 。。。 socially just Germany”。As such， “Kraftwerk: Future Music from Germany” is nearly as much about design， typography， image and presentation as it is about music。 Schütte skilfully outlines how Kraftwerk’s wildly diverse range of influences – from Italian Futurism， Warholian Pop Art， Gilbert and George， through to Stockhausen， Classical Music and even the industrial sounds of the Rhineland – forged the identity of the group。Schütte doesn’t wear his learning lightly， and if you are looking for a salacious ‘tales from the tour bus’ biography， then very likely you’ll be disappointed by this book （although Kraftwerk were never really ones for chucking TVs out of hotel room windows – such debauchery was far too ‘rockist’ for them）。 But if you’re even a casual fan of the band， and aren’t afraid of music criticism that leans towards the high-brow （think Simon Reynolds or David Stubbs）， Schütte’s book will explain how Kraftwerk arguably “accomplished the biggest revolution in popular music since The Beatles” and changed the course of modern music by pioneering the concept of an electronic pop music”。 。。。more
Ian
，
It’s become a cliché for people to say that when they first heard Kraftwerk they were struck by how “different” the group sounded， but I suppose statements like that become cliched because they contain an element of truth。 The author of this homage to the band highlights that they not only pioneered electronic music， but also a sound that owed nothing to the jazz and blues rhythms that were the foundation of rock and roll。 The book quotes Ralf Hütter as saying that Kraftwerk’s music belongs to i It’s become a cliché for people to say that when they first heard Kraftwerk they were struck by how “different” the group sounded， but I suppose statements like that become cliched because they contain an element of truth。 The author of this homage to the band highlights that they not only pioneered electronic music， but also a sound that owed nothing to the jazz and blues rhythms that were the foundation of rock and roll。 The book quotes Ralf Hütter as saying that Kraftwerk’s music belongs to industrial Düsseldorf in the same way that country music belongs to Texas。 In their turn， Kraftwerk were immensely influential in the history of pop music， giving rise to the British synth-pop of the eighties， and influencing the House and Techno genres。 After the success of Autobahn in 1974， Kraftwerk released their albums simultaneously in German and English language versions， so the listener can take their pick。 Since I speak English， I’ve used the English-language titles below。The author makes it clear in his Foreword that this book is about the cultural impact of Kraftwerk， and it is a mostly thoughtful account of that。 I say “mostly” because I felt he made some sweeping statements， particularly when he moved off the subject of music and on to wider social issues。 Unsurprisingly， the author is a huge fan and gives the band the benefit of the doubt over any contentious matters， such as their reworking of the lyrics of Radioactivity from initial ambivalence to an openly anti-nuclear power stance。 Cynics thought this change was motivated by commercial considerations， whereas the author credits it to a genuine political conversion。The main argument in the book is that Kraftwerk must be considered not just as a pop group but as a Gesamtkunstwerk， a sort of integrated art project that combines audio， visual and theatrical elements。 In their early years they drew inspiration from Italian Futurism and the culturally innovative aspects of the Weimar Republic， particularly The Bauhaus and the science fiction films of Fritz Lang。 The group produced concept albums around the overarching theme of technology， and carefully linked the music with accompanying imagery， not just videos and album cover artwork but extending to things like typeface and the tickets printed for their concerts。 Perhaps most famously， their concerts involve the group members dressing identically and standing rigidly on the stage， projecting a robotic image。 When playing We Are The Robots ， the band members are actually replaced on stage by robotic dummies。Kraftwerk haven’t produced any new material since the nineties， concentring instead on reworking their classic tracks。 Their video work is now however exhibited in prestigious art galleries， underlining the idea that they are a conceptual art project rather than a pop group。 I was interested in Kraftwerk during their “classic” period of the 70s and 80s。 I hadn’t really thought about them much since those days， so this book opened up a lot of new information to me。 It’s a decent read and a fitting tribute to the group。Incidentally the book was first published in 2018 so doesn’t take account of the death of Florian Schneider in the summer of 2020。 。。。more
Meg
，
Real review is probably 3。5 stars。 A pretty interesting insight into a band I don't know much about， got a little bored halfway through but the Tour de France stuff got me back into it。 Definitely one for a proper Kraftwerk fan！ Real review is probably 3。5 stars。 A pretty interesting insight into a band I don't know much about， got a little bored halfway through but the Tour de France stuff got me back into it。 Definitely one for a proper Kraftwerk fan！ 。。。more
Louise Whomack
，
A tiresome book。 Repetitive in many places and the authors own opinions thrown in at will and presented as fact。
Nicholas Why
，
Not an in-depth look into Kraftwerk but a casual look into how they single handedly created and maintained the mystic of electronic music。 Saw them live twice and the description of the live experience is spot on。 Essential for all synth heads。
Dozy Pilchard
，
Quite low key but well researched。
Manuel Antão
，
If you're into stuff like this， you can read the full review。Vor uns liegt ein weites Tal: "Kraftwerk - Future Music from Germany" by Uwe SchütteListened to “Trans Europe Express” last night:“Rendezvous on Champs-ElyseesLeave Paris in the morning with TEEIn Vienna， we sit in a late-night cafeStraight connection， TEE"Just doesn't cut it like this:"Rendez-vous auf den Champs ElyseesVerlass Paris am Morgen mit dem TEEIn Wien sitzen wir I'm NachtcafeDirekt Verbindung TEE” If you're into stuff like this， you can read the full review。Vor uns liegt ein weites Tal: "Kraftwerk - Future Music from Germany" by Uwe SchütteListened to “Trans Europe Express” last night:“Rendezvous on Champs-ElyseesLeave Paris in the morning with TEEIn Vienna， we sit in a late-night cafeStraight connection， TEE"Just doesn't cut it like this:"Rendez-vous auf den Champs ElyseesVerlass Paris am Morgen mit dem TEEIn Wien sitzen wir I'm NachtcafeDirekt Verbindung TEE” 。。。more
Tim
，
I picked this up on impulse just before closing time on a rare visit to a high-street bookshop。 My Kraftwerk background before this book: fairly big fan， saw one of the 3D gigs in 2013， have quite a lot of their product and enjoy it， know the names and a bit of the story as well as the cliches about their influence on hip-hop and electronic music， their notion of making pop music that didn't draw primarily on US pop tropes， the cycling turn， etc。 Their story， on this showing， is not rich in hith I picked this up on impulse just before closing time on a rare visit to a high-street bookshop。 My Kraftwerk background before this book: fairly big fan， saw one of the 3D gigs in 2013， have quite a lot of their product and enjoy it， know the names and a bit of the story as well as the cliches about their influence on hip-hop and electronic music， their notion of making pop music that didn't draw primarily on US pop tropes， the cycling turn， etc。 Their story， on this showing， is not rich in hitherto unfamiliar event or anecdote （they made a few records and then re-released them repeatedly in 'updated' tweaked formats， and started touring a lot when they stopped making new music）。 It is， on the other hand， positively overflowing with repeated use of the word 'Gesamtkunstwerk'。 Schutte （apologies for the missing umlaut - limited keyboard skills） writes English that is careful， dry and often almost correct （"my biggest gratitude"， to take the final example）， but it certainly never sings and has all the rhythmic suppleness of a Schwarzbrot sandwich。 In short， it's a plodder。 Schutte has put in the work， but come up short in terms of worthwhile material。 His editors were much too gentle with him。 I note that he credits his wife Antje with copy-editing - surely not a good idea to have a spouse edit your book， even if she is a native speaker of English， which both her name and the resulting text suggest is not the case。 His proofreader is called Andreas Hagstrom， again suggesting he may not be best qualified for that particular job。 I'm doubtful that shortening the book by a third or so would have made it much better， but it would have been a start。 In fairness， poor editing is at pandemic levels in the 21st-century publishing trade， but that's hardly an excuse。I'm sure Schutte worked hard on this， but really the best I can say about it is it encouraged me to enliven my reading sessions with a Kraftwerk soundtrack。 However， for me the soundtrack was at least as good without the accompanying text。 Not recommended。 。。。more
Steve
，
Comprehensive hagiography of Kraftwerk from an entirely uncritical author。 While interesting and readable， it lacks humour and lets Kraftwerk off the hook in a number of areas。 For example， their constant re-working of Radio-Activity is generously interpreted as lending weight to the anti-nuclear cause， whereas it could equally be interpreted as a cynical move by a bunch of upper-middle class Dusseldorf lads to ride a bandwagon and maintain their popularity。
João Diogo
，
Great look into the inner-workings and history of one of the most influential and fascinating artistic ensembles of all-time。 Although it shares plenty of behind-the-scenes stories it feels like it lacks something exclusive and works more as a compendium of the band's story。 No complaints from me though: the more Kraftwerk I can have in my life， the better。 Great look into the inner-workings and history of one of the most influential and fascinating artistic ensembles of all-time。 Although it shares plenty of behind-the-scenes stories it feels like it lacks something exclusive and works more as a compendium of the band's story。 No complaints from me though: the more Kraftwerk I can have in my life， the better。 。。。more
Sach
，
Highly recommended A perfect accompaniment to the body of work。 Very erudite and thorough。 Drills down through the myths and yet still is bounding with love and passion for Kraftwerk。 Especially considering the lack of interviews from Hutter and Scheider。 Definitely one of the best music bonus I've read。 Highly recommended A perfect accompaniment to the body of work。 Very erudite and thorough。 Drills down through the myths and yet still is bounding with love and passion for Kraftwerk。 Especially considering the lack of interviews from Hutter and Scheider。 Definitely one of the best music bonus I've read。 。。。more
Melting Uncle
，
Kraftwerk is a band I've always admired more than loved， especially compared to other German bands from the 70's like Can， Faust， Neu！， Amon Düül II， Ash Ra Tempel， etc。 However， they're unquestionably the most popular of the "krautrock" bands and are one of the few bands from the subgenre still operating。 This summer， a 50th anniversary tour was scheduled to take place but was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic。 I hadn't planned to go to the concert in my city even though I've listened to Kraftwerk is a band I've always admired more than loved， especially compared to other German bands from the 70's like Can， Faust， Neu！， Amon Düül II， Ash Ra Tempel， etc。 However， they're unquestionably the most popular of the "krautrock" bands and are one of the few bands from the subgenre still operating。 This summer， a 50th anniversary tour was scheduled to take place but was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic。 I hadn't planned to go to the concert in my city even though I've listened to and enjoyed most of their albums。 After having listened to this audiobook， I pray that the tour is rescheduled so that I can buy tickets immediately。The main aspect of the band that I had taken for granted， and the one that this book elucidates， is the conceptual unity guiding every facet of everything the band does。 The music on Kraftwerk's albums is just one strand in a giant， decades long multimedia art project， a gesamtkunstwerk that incorporates music， video， graphic design， and live performance。 Their pioneering use of computers and electronics is widespread in almost all genres of popular music today to such an extent that it's not unreasonable to compare their influence with that of The Beatles。 The main difference， I think， is that the music of the Beatles is easily enjoyed by most people with no explanation or context needed。 By comparison， Kraftwerk's music can feel be puzzling， ironic， and inaccessible。 I think this is because they're actually a very weird avant-garde band， influenced by the Bauhaus movement， Joseph Beuys， Andy Warhol， and others， masquerading as a "normal" pop band。 Their influence on not just electronic music but hip-hop and mainstream pop music （now made on computers） is incalculable。Kraftwerk subverted the cliches of rock and embraced technology to engage in radical anti-normal worldbuilding。 They loved their machines and knew that they were imbued with souls， like plants in a garden that need to be watered。 Every detail of their album art， lyrics， and concert videos is carefully considered and adds up to a whole greater than the sum of its parts。 None of this would matter， though， if their music wasn't extremely good。 Uwe Schütte dissects each album in illuminating detail with track-by-track analysis。 I have a new appreciation for Radioactivity as a concept album。 The crushing funky beat of "Numbers" from Computer World cannot be denied。 But my favorite song of Kraftwerk that I had never even considered before this book is "Metal on Metal" from Trans-Europe Express。 Part of a tripartite suit， it merits attentive listening with headphones。 Apparently， to imitate the sound of a track going over metal tracks on a bridge， Kraftwerk tried constructing a beat by with the sounds of different metal objects being struck。 They finally achieved the perfect sound that you hear on the recording by using a hammer to strike a wheelbarrow and a cabinet made of zinc。 Hell yeah。I can now say I'm a fan of Kraftwerk。 This style of book， a brief introduction to the work of a band， could be very helpful in appreciating many musical artists， and I encourage the music writers of the world to wholeheartedly embrace it。 Five stars。 。。。more
Russell Barton
，
More of an academic study or these than a new reference work （which is perhaps unsurprising given the author’s background） this is nevertheless an interesting read。 It does however suffer from jarring bursts of the author’s own opinions （for example， he insults Daft Punk on more than one occasion） which are presented as facts。
Chris Meloche
，
A quite well done overview of the career of Kraftwerk。 A full review can be found on my blog at:http://www。chrismeloche。com/？p=576 A quite well done overview of the career of Kraftwerk。 A full review can be found on my blog at:http://www。chrismeloche。com/？p=576 。。。more
Michael
，
Very little new here， but a solid history and analysis of Kraftwerk and their socio-historical roots。
Monica Hide
，
Read for my dissertation。 A really exciting and entertaining book on the Düsseldorf group， Kraftwerk。 Schütte perfectly communicates the idea that Kraftwerk are more than pop band and in fact are a conceptual art form — a Gesamtkunstwerk。
Stephen
，
interesting book looking at the career of kraftwerk from their origins in dusseldorf to the modern day and looking at the cultural societial of the modern industrial music of the rhineland from experimental to the techno pop and the technological changes and the modern german sound of post second world war
Michael Legge
，
Shame he dies in the end。
Shane
，
I had been planning to dive deeper into Kraftwerk music for a while。 Therefore， it was marvellous that by accident， I saw this book on some records collector's instagram account the other day。 It has caught my interest because of the publishing （I mean， how could Penguin make something that is not at least worth checking out？）， because of the fact it is about the band I'm interested in and also because of the cover artwork that made it stuck in my head。 When I realize it is available in my local I had been planning to dive deeper into Kraftwerk music for a while。 Therefore， it was marvellous that by accident， I saw this book on some records collector's instagram account the other day。 It has caught my interest because of the publishing （I mean， how could Penguin make something that is not at least worth checking out？）， because of the fact it is about the band I'm interested in and also because of the cover artwork that made it stuck in my head。 When I realize it is available in my local bookshop online， I immediately bought it。 It was the great choice。 I got excited reading the foreword where Uwe Schütte highlights that there are no gossips and revelations about band member's private life， only an analysis and a story of workers， scientist， robots。 During my read， I was listening to Kraftwerk's discography but also in other moments of the day。 It has helped me understand （I suppose） the phenomenon of the band and I have also gotten into it。 I cannot stop thinking how interesting， different， inspiring their approach on music （or rather on art because Kraftwerk members claim that music was never a reason why they have started doing it in the first place）。 As a performer trying to find my own style of expression meandering between （in）complete devotion towards music and spiritual passion towards performance as a concept， art， visual， allegory， I got struck by inspiration。 I think， I will continue discovering Kraftwerk now。 I recommend this book to everybody who is interested in music theory， not only in the band。 It might be correct that for die hard Kraftwerk fans， it is nothing groundbreaking in this book because they have already read about it in dozens of other publications but for me， rather new in all that jazz， it was a fascinating journey。 Despite having loads of connotations to art history， cultural figures and having mentioned many artists that are not very well known for people who have never lived in Düsseldorf， the text here is really comprehensible and I have floated through it。 Once it gets translated， I will definitely recommend it to non-English speaking fans of Kraftwerk。 I hope this book will get many language versions and also wider recognition as I really cannot recall a better biography or anthology on music figures and I have read quite a few。 。。。more
Jim Mcmanus
，
Nothing particularly new in this book。 A couple of daft assertions here and there。
Kay Smillie
，
Very interesting look at Kraftwerk。 Their history， undoubted influence， secrecy and not just about the music。 Music is art and art is music。 I stumbled upon them in the late 70s， when I was a teenage punk。 They were never punk but I loved them。 Still do。 The secrecy of the main two， Hutter and Schneider， is part of the appeal。 For them it was all about the music/art。 Interested in the band？ If so then this is a must read。Ray Smillie
Chris Jones
，
Overall enjoyable， I never need to read the word “gesamtkunstwerk” ever again though
Martin
，
Not much new if you've read other books about the band but a great summary and overview including their latest phase。 Not much new if you've read other books about the band but a great summary and overview including their latest phase。 。。。more
Petr Šrajer
，