Before the Internet, before laptop computers and cell phones, before DVDs and wireless technology there were the futurists, Kraftwerk. This was a time for true invention. No redo of retro. No flashback with a new skin. Ralf Hutter, Florian Schneider, Fritz Hilpert and Henning Schmitz were the Alexander Bell to Can’s Thomas Jefferson, but on a much greater scale. It was a time when dance music was born, music not from this world, filled with machinery, knobs, and gobs of untold imagination.
For more than 35 years there have been countless bands that have taken a bit or a byte from these German pioneers, including Afrika Bambaataa in 1982 with their classic hip-hop track “Planet Rock.” You know all those electroclash honeys that make your day? Well, most that sample them to this day were mere twinkles in the eye, including most of you that are reading this.
Recorded over the course of a worldwide tour in 2004, Minimum Maximum is filled with our favorite songs like “Tour De France” recorded in Le Grand Rex in Paris, which is merged into the fast lane with “Autobahn,” played for their hometown fans at the Tempodrom in Berlin. The double CD takes you on their journey, from country to country and stage to stage with the production perfection one would come to expect from the Kling Klang Krew. You can almost picture the visuals experience as the second CD opens with “Radioactivity” with a commanding voice, warning us about the dangers of our world’s contaminations, which then transcends into the tranquil twilight of the song’s formula.
Plus, they’ve included a brand new track, “Aerodynamik” that not only has the signature Kraftwerk title, but is fits in perfectly with songs that are over 20 years old or more. This just goes to show that their talent for songwriting still shines bright, and they are still innovating and creating inspiration for music fans and music makers alike.
If you still don’t own a single kling of Kraftwerk, I suggest you high tail it to the record store and grab this jewel if you want to keep up your musical snob of a reputation.
