Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk were among the first successful acts to popularize the genre.
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Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk were among the first successful acts to popularize the genre.
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On commercially successful albums such as Autobahn, Trans-Europe Express, The Man-Machine, and Computer World, Kraftwerk developed a self-described "robot pop" style that combined electronic music with pop melodies, sparse arrangements, and repetitive rhythms, while adopting a stylized image including matching suits.
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Release of Autobahn in 1974 saw Kraftwerk moving away from the sound of its first three albums.
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Kraftwerk made videos and performed several European live dates to promote the album.
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In May 1978 Kraftwerk released The Man-Machine, recorded at the Kling Klang Studio.
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Ironically, Kraftwerk did not own a computer at the time of recording Computer World.
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Kraftwerk returned to live performance with the Computer World tour of 1981, where the band effectively packed up its entire Kling Klang studio and took it along on the road.
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In 1982 Kraftwerk began to work on a new album that initially had the working title Technicolor but due to trademark issues was changed to Electric Cafe for its original release in 1986 .
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Kraftwerk suffered head injuries and remained in a coma for several days.
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Kraftwerk preferred to spend his time travelling with his girlfriend.
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In 1997 Kraftwerk made a famous appearance at the dance festival Tribal Gathering held in England.
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Later English-language editions of the book were titled Kraftwerk: I Was a Robot.
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In 2009, Kraftwerk performed concerts with special 3D background graphics in Wolfsburg, Germany; Manchester, UK; and Randers, Denmark.
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Kraftwerk were going to play at the Ultra Music Festival in Warsaw, but the event was cancelled; instead, Kraftwerk performed at Way Out West in Gothenburg.
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Kraftwerk tickets were priced at £60 in London, but fans compared that to the $20 ticket price for tickets at New York's MoMA in 2012, which caused consternation.
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In 2014, Kraftwerk brought their four-night, 3D Catalogue tour to the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, and at NYC's United Palace Theatre.
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On 20 July 2019, Kraftwerk headlined the Saturday night lineup on the Lovell Stage at Bluedot Festival, a music and science festival held annually at Jodrell Bank Observatory, Cheshire, UK.
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Kraftwerk have been recognized as pioneers of electronic music as well as subgenres such as electropop, art pop, house music and synth-pop.
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Kraftwerk's lyrics dealt with post-war European urban life and technology—traveling by car on the Autobahn, traveling by train, using home computers, and the like.
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Many of Kraftwerk's songs express the paradoxical nature of modern urban life: a strong sense of alienation existing side by side with a celebration of the joys of modern technology.
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Kraftwerk sent a letter through the lawyers of the respective parties and several weeks later received an envelope containing a handwritten reply that simply said "yes".
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Kraftwerk influenced other forms of music such as hip hop, house, and drum and bass, and they are regarded as pioneers of the electro genre.
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Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys, founding members of OMD, have stated that Kraftwerk was a major reference on their early work, and covered "Neon Lights" on the 1991 album, Sugar Tax.
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In October 2019, Kraftwerk were nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for 2020.
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On 12 May 2021, Kraftwerk were announced as an official inductee into the Hall, for the class of 2021.
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