Yess im buying <| sep |> Kraftwerk artist picimg 2 . akamaized . netiu 252 ab 0 d 46 b 6 ctel 8 c 7 e 77 b 15 b 798 . png Kraftwerk power plant in English is an electronic band founded in 1970 in Dsseldorf , Germany . They pioneered electronic music in the 70 s and are considered one of the most important and influential bands of their genre , often described as the godfathers of electronic music . Kraftwerk ' s sound is minimalistic and strictly electronic it combines driving , repetitive rhythms with catchy melodies and vocals usually sung through a vocoder . The current lineup consists of Ralf Htter the only original member , Fritz Hilpert , Henning Schmitz and Stefan Pfaffe . The other founding member Florian Schneider left the band in 2008 . Ralf Htter born 1946 , Krefeld , Germany and Florian Schneider born 1947 , Dsseldorf , Germany met while they were studying improvised music in Dsseldorf , Germany . In 1967 Ralf Htter organ , Florian Schneider violin , flute , Basil Hammoudi vocals , Butch Hauf bass and Fred Monics drums formed the group Organisation , released the album Tone Float and split shortly thereafter . The album features repetitive percussion and bass drum patterns embellished with guitar , flute , violin and organ . After disbanding Organisation , Ralf Htter and Florian Schneider adopted the name Kraftwerk . Early Kraftwerk lineups from 19701974 fluctuated , as Htter and Schneider worked with around a halfdozen other musicians , most notably Andreas Hohmann drums 1970 , Houschng Njadepour guitar 1970 , Charly Weiss drums 197071 , Eberhard Kranemann cello , bass , hawaiiguitar 197071 , Klaus Rder electric guitar , electronic violin 1974 , Michael Rother guitar 197071 and Klaus Dinger drums 197071 . For a short period in 197071 Ralf Htter left the band to complete his degree in architecture . There were some sessionsconcerts with the lineup Schneider , Kranemann , Weiss , Schneider , Hohmann , Kranemann , Rother , Dinger and Schneider , Rother , Dinger in that time . In 1971 Rother and Dinger left Kraftwerk to form the band Neu ! . Their first three albums were more freeform experimental rock without the pop hooks or the more disciplined strong structure of its later work . Their debut album , Kraftwerk , released in 1970 , and Kraftwerk 2 , released in 1972 , were mostly exploratory jam music , played on a variety of traditional instruments including guitar , bass , drums , electric organ , flute and violin . Postproduction modifications to these recordings were then used to distort the sound of the instruments , particularly audiotape manipulation and multiple dubbings of one instrument on the same track . Connie Plank coproduced the first four Kraftwerk albums . Emil Schult has also collaborated on many releases , contributing both lyrics and graphics . Live performances from 197273 were made as a duo , using a simple beatboxtype electronic drum machine , with preset rhythms taken from an electric organ . These shows were mainly in Germany , with occasional shows in France . In 1973 , Wolfgang Flr electronic percussion joined the group . With Ralf und Florian , released in 1973 , the band began to move closer to its classic sound , relying more heavily on synthesisers and drum machines . Although almost entirely instrumental , the album marks Kraftwerk ' s first use of the vocoder , which would , in time , become one of its musical signatures . In 1974 , they issued the fourth studio album , Autobahn . This critically acclaimed album marked Kraftwerk ' s breakthrough and established them as purveyors of electronic music . The title track is intended to capture the feeling of driving on the Autobahn from travelling through the landscape , the highspeed concentration on the fast lane , to tuning the car radio and the monotony of a long trip . An edited version of Autobahn song reached # 25 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and # 11 in the UK . In 1975 , Karl Bartos electronic percussion , live vibraphone , live keyboards joined the band . The HtterSchneiderBartosFlr formation is now regarded as the classic lineup of Kraftwerk , which remained in place until the late 80 s . In 1975 , Kraftwerk released the concept album RadioActivity German version RadioAktivitt . The hyphenated album title displays Kraftwerk ' s typical deadpan humour , being a pun on the twin themes of the songs , half being about radioactivity and the other half about activity on the radio . The title track Radioactivity was released as a single , and became a hit in France after it was used as the theme to a popular music show . This was the first Kraftwerk album to be entirely selfproduced by Htter Schneider in their Kling Klang studio , and the first one to be performed by the classic lineup of Kraftwerk . In 1977 , Kraftwerk released the highly influential album , TransEurope Express . Critics have described the album as having two specific themes celebration of Europe and the disparities between reality and image . Musically , the songs on this album differ from the group ' s earlier Krautrock style with a focus on electronic mechanized rhythms , minimalism , and occasional manipulated vocals . Two singles supported the album TransEurope Express and Showroom Dummies . By the time of 1978 ' s The ManMachine German version Die MenschMaschine , Kraftwerk had created their own unmistakable brand of robot pop . NME said of The ManMachine ' It is the only completely successful visualaural fusion rock has produced so far . Kraftwerk spent three years building their own Kling Klang studios in the late 70 s , complete with , inevitably , scores of computers . The single The Model , gave the band a surprise hit when it topped the UK charts in 1982 . In 1981 Kraftwerk released their eight studio album , Computer World German version Computerwelt . This album combined the use of the sequencer to create the sound now known as electro , inspiring the first producers in Detroit in creating techno , as well as innumerable other artists including Gary Numan , Depeche Mode , and New Order , among many others . This album had the theme of computers taking over the world in the future . It was a commercial success , spawning the singles Pocket Calculator , Computer World and Computer Love . For this album , the band embarked on the massive Computer World world tour . The EP Tour De France was issued in 1983 . This song was featured in the film Breakdance and became the theme for the cycling event of the same name in that year . In 1986 , the ninth studio album Electric Caf was released . The album received mixed reviews . Two singles were issued from the album Musique NonStop and The Telephone Call . In 1987 Wolfgang Flr departed and it was replaced by Fritz Hilpert . In 1991 , Kraftwerk ' s best known songs were collected together and rerecorded on the compilation The Mix . The single Expo 2000 released in December 1999 came as a surprise for Kraftwerk fans . A brand new song , although low key , sparked hopes of a new album . A video was released for this track , showing the band playing in wireframe suits , but no public appearances or interviews until 2003 . In 2003 the band released Tour de France Soundtracks , its first album of new material since 1986 ' s Electric Caf . The album was recorded for the 100 th anniversary of the first Tour de France bicycle race , although it missed its original release date during the actual Tour . A completely new recording was made for the Tour De France track , based on the original 1983 arrangement . In June 2005 , Kraftwerk released MinimumMaximum , their first official live album . It features two CDs and tracks recorded on their world tour during 2004 , including concerts in Warsaw , Moscow , Berlin , London , Budapest , Tallinn , Riga , Tokyo and San Francisco . The band also released a live DVD . Florian Schneider officially left the band in January 2009 , though news of his departure was reported as early as April 2008 . His place will be taken over by Stefan Pfaffe . In 2009 , the band issued The Catalogue German version Der Katalog , a boxset comprising eight albums by Kraftwerk that were released from 1974 to 2003 . All albums were digitally remastered , with most of the cover art redesigned , including rare photographs in the liner notes that were not part of each album ' s original release . Kraftwerk ' s influence has been incalculable . Hundreds of artists today in nearly every electronic music subgenres bear witness to their work . They are also reclusive , rarely giving interviews and making no media appearances . Official site Read more on Last . fm . 869 , 668 listeners , 22 , 490 , 232 plays tags electronic , synthpop , german , electronica Please downvote if incorrect ! Selfdeletes if score is 0 .