In early 1974 Kraftwerk were on the cusp of international recognition with the imminent release of their 'Autobahn' album, when they were asked to perform at the large broadcasting hall of the Hessischer Rundfunk HR1 as part of a festival of music. The theme was to be various minimalist musical concepts under the title "Between Pop And Avantgarde", with Kraftwerk performing their set on the 25 January 1974, and with some of the performances being recorded and broadcast on German radio. At this point the band had released three albums of minimalist electronic music, one under the name Ralf & Florian, and two as Kraftwerk, and for this performance the core trio of Ralf Hutter, Florian Schneider and Wolfgang Flur were joined by Klaus Röder on electro-violin and guitar, making a unique line-up for this one concert. The band played pieces from their three albums, as well as one from the forthcoming 'Autobahn' record, and as it was recorded for radio broadcast the sound quality is excellent. There were some very long announcements in German throughout the broadcast which I've removed or edited out, so that we can enjoy the music uninterrupted, and although I don't usually post live albums, this is of such historical importance that it deserves to be heard, as it features a line-up of the band which never made it to a recording studio.
Track listing
01 Klingklang
02 Ruckzuck
03 Atem
04 Tongebirge
05 Tanzmusik
06 Kohoutek/Kometenmelodie I & II
Personnel
Ralf Hutter: minimoog, farfisa professional piano, mixer
Klaus Röder: electronic violin & guitar
Wolfgang Flur: electronic percussion
Florian Schneider: Arp Odyssey, EMS Synthi AKS, amplfied flute, mixer
Thank you!
ReplyDelete