Kraftwerk – Autobahn (2009 Remastered)

Formed in 1970, it may come as a surprise to some that many of our favourite bands today have been influenced by German Electronic pioneers Kraftwerk in some way or the other. Depeche Mode, Coldplay, Radiohead etc have all cited Kraftwerk as an influence at some point of time in their careers. They set the standards for early electronic music, blurring the lines between music made by man and machine. Electronic music may not seem appealing to your average rock/metal fan, it may be even dismissed by purists, but if you approach Kraftwerk with an open mind, you’d be hard pressed to find any other band who have mastered this particular genre with such virtuosity.

Fun, Fun, Fun on the Autobahn

The simplest way to describe the music is instrumental electronica. The album is 95% purely electronic only featuring a bit of violin, guitar and flute. While the title track features both untreated and vocoded vocals; the remaining tracks are purely instrumental. Clocking in at a monstrous 23 minutes, Autobahn’s title track is meant to make the listener feel as if he/she is driving on Germany’s famed Autobahn (highway). Whether or not the song invokes images of cars and trucks is highly subjective (I certainly didn’t see any!), although it did remind me of old 8-bit video games from the 80’s. During my second listen, I realized the best way to enjoy the album was to let it play in the background while I pre-occupied my mind with some work. It serves as some fantastic background music, but just because it’s as long as ‘Echoes’ by Pink Floyd, it doesn’t make the experience the same! It’s not the kind of album you can pick up and listen to on the go, requiring a very specific mood. While the title track is epic in its own way, the rest of the songs are not so memorable. They all venture into similar sounding territory and are slightly disappointing.

Conclusion

Even after giving Autobahn a few listens, I’m still sitting on the fence with this particular album. On one hand, it sounds remarkably fresh, even though it was released a few decades ago. On the other hand, it’s hard not to think of it as somewhat sterile, unable to capture the emotions of traditional instruments. Ultimately, it is a difficult listen, but perhaps rewarding to those who can truly appreciate it.

[Note : this album was originally released in 1974]