Fuck Yeah, Krautrock!

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German newspaper clippings where Kraftwerk is mentioned, 1970.

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A very different version of “Kometenmelodie" from Kraftwerk’s first single, “Kohoutek Kometenmelodie", released in 1973 as 7" before “Autobahn" album. The order of “Kometenmelodie I" and “Kometenmelodie II" is the other way around than it is on the album - fast part coming first, slow - after.

Kohoutek is a comet that was spotted in sky by Czech astronomer Luboš Kohoutek in March of 1973. By December 24 it reached it’s epoch. A comets tail illuminates as it gets nearer to the sun.

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Eberhard and Florian together with PISSOFF, 1967.

One day he dragged along a new guy from Krefeld he had met at musical improvisation courses - Ralf Hütter - who played  Hammond organ. After a jam session they took Ralf in their band. Later followed countless evenings in Düsseldorf’s jazz clubs until the band with ever-floating line-up dissolved.

Florian stayed with Ralf, forming a new group, Organisation, and then finally, in 1970, Kraftwerk. Meanwhile Eberhard was looking for a flutist for his own band which played in Düsseldorf Theatre. The Theatre house had an engineer, Conny Plank. Eberhard invited Florian over and introduced him to Conny. Conny let them play in the recording studio during the night, and Ralf and Florian soon began working on their first album. It wasn’t an easy process, and after many people coming and going only the drumming of Andreas Hohmann and Klaus Dinger stayed on the album.

Dinger was installed as a permanent member of the band, and Schneider arranged him a place to live at his own house, with his family, while he himself moved out to start his own independent life. But after only a few months Ralf Hütter decided to leave the band, leaving Klaus and Florian on their own. At that time playing concerts was a question of survival, because both Schneider’s and Dinger’s living depended on what they earned as musicians.

They played almost every night, joined by various musicians, and at last, guitarist Michael Rother in the end. There was an ever growing tension between the band, which was heightened by the workload until neither Dinger nor Rother could bear it anymore and they both left Florian to form their own, now legendary, band, NEU!.

Florian looked up Ralf again and convinced him to return. From then on the duet became inseparable and they continued as Kraftwerk.  A Few years later Eberhardt Kranemann joind them again for a short while.

Such were the many twists and turns of early Kraftwerk.

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LIVE CONCERT: Kraftwerk at St. Ingbert, Beckerhallen, recorded on 11th of July, 1971

Running time: 57:37 minutes

track list: vom himmel hoch - improvisation 1- improvisation 2 - stratovarius - encore: ruckzuck

On youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0f_khlvdBPw&feature=youtu.be

Or download lossless audio: http://rapidshare.com/files/3227895849/Kraftwerk%201971.zip

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A selection of pictures with Kraftwerk & their fans after a request:

Some lucky boys at the right time and place at the back door of Hammersmith Odeon, London, 3rd of July, 1981

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Inner gatefold of Klaus Schulze's Moondawn

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Ralf und Florian

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More like fuckyeahmy-life-in-the-bush-of-ghosts...

but you have cool stuff...

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Conny Plank’s studio, Hamburg, 1972.

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Moebius & Plank

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