Kraftwerk return

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Official EMI press release:

KRAFTWERK RETURN WITH BRAND NEW SINGLE AND ALBUM

EMI Records are pleased to announce the rush-release of the new single and album from Kraftwerk.

The single, 'Tour De France 03' is released on 7th July to coincide with the centenary of the Tour de France bicycle race (which this year starts on 5th July) and will be available on CD and 12" vinyl.

The album, 'Tour De France' features the all-new recordings of 'Tour De France 03' alongside brand new compositions and a new version of their seminal, electro masterpiece 'Tour De France' from 1983.

Kraftwerk are currently working on the final album mix at their Kling Klang studio in Düsseldorf, with the release scheduled for 21st July, 2003.

Kraftwerk's music on 'Tour De France' acts as a soundtrack to the race and inspires similar feelings of drama, excitement and intensity.

Kraftwerk - Man and Machine in perfect harmony.

― JoB (JoB), Thursday, 12 June 2003 09:00 (twenty-two years ago)

i think that i'm pretty certain that a rather large % of ILM will, at the very least, be interested in hearing this (meself included, of course)

― Tad (llamasfur), Thursday, 12 June 2003 09:02 (twenty-two years ago)

Am I the only one who thought this would never happen? Check the "they will never release a record again" thread.

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Thursday, 12 June 2003 09:11 (twenty-two years ago)

An interesting question: after years and years of absence, will Kraftwerk sound in any way relevant, or will people buy the new record just for nostalgia's sake?

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Thursday, 12 June 2003 09:13 (twenty-two years ago)

Holy shit - I'm stunned..
But what does 'new compositions' mean? By the title of it - it sounds just like a long EP with tons of mixes of a reworked 'Tour De France'..

― Fabrice (Fabfunk), Thursday, 12 June 2003 09:18 (twenty-two years ago)

And if they do put out a "relevant" record, will anyone be able to hear it that way anyway?

― Andrew Thames (Andrew Thames), Thursday, 12 June 2003 09:19 (twenty-two years ago)

an 'interesting question' once somebody tells me what 'relevant' is

― dave q, Thursday, 12 June 2003 09:37 (twenty-two years ago)

hmmm, whats the betting the 'brand new compositions' are the (actually quite good) 'new' tracks they've been playing live since 1996? as classic as 'Tour De France' is, does it really warrant an album release that will probably feature several remixes including that Kervorkian rework from 2/3 years ago - new newness please!

― stevem (blueski), Thursday, 12 June 2003 09:37 (twenty-two years ago)

(I was referring to Tuomas' post btw)

― dave q, Thursday, 12 June 2003 09:38 (twenty-two years ago)

the relevance of Kraftwerk is irrelevant - but 'Tour De France' still, or at least once again, sounds fantastic today and that's enough surely.

― stevem (blueski), Thursday, 12 June 2003 09:39 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah I'm not too sure of its meaning, 'Radio-Activity' is perfectly relevant in my house

― Andrew Thames (Andrew Thames), Thursday, 12 June 2003 09:41 (twenty-two years ago)

i'd like to think that they'd have enough integrity not to return until they genuinely thought they had something new worth bringing out,rather than just doing it cause they need the money or something
hopefully this will be the case...

― robin (robin), Thursday, 12 June 2003 09:44 (twenty-two years ago)

Did Kraftwerk play live much/ever?

― Jon Williams (ex machina), Thursday, 12 June 2003 11:17 (twenty-two years ago)

ever, yes

much, no

― mark s (mark s), Thursday, 12 June 2003 11:20 (twenty-two years ago)

"Tour De France" is a marvellous record and I think the idea of a centenary mix and issue is quite sweet.

Anyway it's only been three years since the last record for goodness sakes.

― Tico Tico (Tico Tico), Thursday, 12 June 2003 11:23 (twenty-two years ago)

I can't imagine what the crowd at at American Kraftwerk show would look like now.

― Jon Williams (ex machina), Thursday, 12 June 2003 11:23 (twenty-two years ago)

If you hold the press release up to the light you can see stuff from the first draft that's rather disturbing if true, as for example the addition of vocalist Jizzy Pearl caused a stir in Kraftwerk fan communities this past winter, but most were won over when practice tapes were leaked that featured Pearl's emotional and moving rendition of "Pocket Calculator"

― J0hn Darn1elle (J0hn Darn1elle), Thursday, 12 June 2003 11:40 (twenty-two years ago)

Isn't this "all-new" stuff a bit like when Gary Numan releases a "new" record, and it turns out to be yet another bloody remix of "Cars"?!?!?!

― Old Fart!!! (oldfart_sd), Thursday, 12 June 2003 11:41 (twenty-two years ago)

hmm. not sure if this is a good idea.
karl bartos did a jolly fine version of tour de france and from the dodgy quality mp3's i have of his performance at expo 2000 (oh, the irony) a very good "best of" kraftwerk set.

i would want it to be good, but...

― frenchbloke, Thursday, 12 June 2003 12:09 (twenty-two years ago)

and in a somewhat convoluted part, what is the difference between "all-new recordings of 'Tour De France 03'" and "a new version of their seminal, electro masterpiece 'Tour De France' from 1983". Are we to understand that TdF 03 is a completely different song from TdF 83?

― Fabrice (Fabfunk), Thursday, 12 June 2003 12:09 (twenty-two years ago)

and have you noticed that gary numan has turned into the music of the bands he once influenced. (ie sad rock metal)

― frenchbloke, Thursday, 12 June 2003 12:11 (twenty-two years ago)

That Expo 2000 12" kind of blew.

― Aaron W (Aaron W), Thursday, 12 June 2003 12:13 (twenty-two years ago)

I like the idea of functional, time/place specific music, actually - Expo 2000, Tour De France 2003, the pop song as souvenir brochure.

― Tico Tico (Tico Tico), Thursday, 12 June 2003 12:18 (twenty-two years ago)

Expo 2000 was great. One of my fave KW tune actually.. all those remixes really blew though..

― Fabrice (Fabfunk), Thursday, 12 June 2003 12:20 (twenty-two years ago)

Mmm, sceptical at this point, it does sound like a sort of Tour De France E.P. with some other stuff thrown in. Ah well, still looking forward to it. Expo 2000 is amazing (hope they include it as well).

― Omar (Omar), Thursday, 12 June 2003 13:38 (twenty-two years ago)

i disagree Fabrice i really liked the Expo2000 remixes esp. DJ Rolando, Orbital and the radio edit (kling klang 2000 or whatever it was)

― stevem (blueski), Thursday, 12 June 2003 13:49 (twenty-two years ago)

I can't imagine what the crowd at at American Kraftwerk show would look like now.

I saw them in Chicago in 1998(?) and the crowd was fantastic. It was the most all over the place, people from all walks of life, ethnic backgrounds, ages I've ever seen at a show. The show was pretty kick-ass despite the fact that they tried to turn "radioactivity" into a political anthem.

― direct_program, Thursday, 12 June 2003 14:39 (twenty-two years ago)

there was a good expo and a rub one and i can never remember
which was which. by all accouunts the *field* the tent they were
playing in at tribal (97 ?) was impossible to get into.

― piscesboy, Thursday, 12 June 2003 16:06 (twenty-two years ago)

sigh. they announced an album of all new material several times, in 1999, in 2000, in 2001. all cancelled. now they announce a retrench remix compilation. it's like they gave up on producing a stand-alone statement. I'm buying it on sight of course, but it's more than a little frustrating because the new pieces were kind of promising...

they are still fantastic live. their show in sf in 98 will probably make my top 10 list, but I'm an easy mark, I've been listening since I was 12 in 1982 and they opened with 'numbers', I was reduced to a gibbering idiot in under 30 seconds. I remember after the third encore people stayed and screamed for more, literally for 15 minutes straight, louder and louder. torrents of applause begging them to come back, even though everyone pretty much knew their only option was to reboot and start the show over from the top. that would have been fine by me.

― jl, Thursday, 12 June 2003 17:52 (twenty-two years ago)

I was at that Chicago show, too. Best live show I ever did see.

― hstencil, Thursday, 12 June 2003 17:59 (twenty-two years ago)

I will gladly give it a listen but I'm not expecting much. Expo and The Mix were big dissapointments.

So what happens at a live Kraftwek show. Do they just hit play and stand there or are there dummies on stage??

― brg30 (brg30), Thursday, 12 June 2003 18:04 (twenty-two years ago)

it's like they gave up on producing a stand-alone statement

or, perhaps more interestingly, that they renounced faith in the whole notion of the stand-alone statement.

― J0hn Darn1elle (J0hn Darn1elle), Thursday, 12 June 2003 18:09 (twenty-two years ago)

The Detroit show from that same tour (97 or 98) was electric, as much for the crowd as the performance.... seeing them crack smiles from the reaction was pretty fantastic.

― Aaron W (Aaron W), Thursday, 12 June 2003 18:12 (twenty-two years ago)

Best live show I ever did see.

You're not alone. My friend Matt, who sees upward of 40 shows a year and who has the most catholic musical taste of anyone I know, has said the same thing about that show.

― jaymc (jaymc), Thursday, 12 June 2003 18:33 (twenty-two years ago)

live it's sequencer heavy, for sure, but there are manual synth and drum lines, bits of tweaking. each member has a corresponding video screen behind them with different synchronized images for each song. 'pocket calculator' they're still coming out from behind their stands to trigger the sounds with handheld consoles.

for 'the robots', the first encore, they didn't come back on stage. the whole song is triggered while the MIDI mannequins do angular ballet. the wave of delirium that overtook the audience about 2 minutes in when they realized that the humans weren't coming on stage for this song was incredible.

many of the songs have gotten one more rev since 'the mix', usually for the better. 'numbers' sounds particularly insane. the third encore was 'musique non-stop/boing boom tschak' for 15 minutes and it sounded much better than the earlier versions.

they were a lot more of a live band in the 70's, the bootlegs of live shows that started coming out a few years ago are generally wonderful. the 1975 full length performances of 'autobahn' are impressive, with subtle differences (seek that 'concert classics' CD that came out in 98). also, '71 koln (schneider/dinger/rother sounding like black sabbath playing one chord for 30 minutes), and 1976 side two of the 'somewhere in europe' LP has some great versions of things from 'Ralf and Florian'. 'ANANAS SYMPHONIE', live in louisville kentucky 1975, very very lo-fi but pulsey and vibraphone heavy, good to have if not throw on alla time.

― jl, Thursday, 12 June 2003 18:50 (twenty-two years ago)

Ralf, or Florian, I forget which is which, was hanging out with his 6'2" black girlfriend at the afterparty. They were in this roped off VIP section but everyone could see them. It was pretty funny.

Oh, and one of the robots stopped working... hahahaha.

But it still was indeed one of the best shows I've been to.

― Aaron W (Aaron W), Thursday, 12 June 2003 19:03 (twenty-two years ago)

i got into that tent at Tribal Gathering '97 and saw half their show - wasn't actually too impressed at the time. of course soon after i realised that it was one of the greatest things in the history of anything ever and you may well be able to find the mp3s of the Radio 1 broadcast that proves this. when 'Numbers' kickdrums dropped the whole tent just exploded and the atmosphere was incredible, esp. affirming when you read in Muzik about how Jeff Mills and peers were all down the front going totally mental, while relatively unappreciative clods like me were skulking at the back trying to get a view. like i say, i saw the light soon after...

― stevem (blueski), Thursday, 12 June 2003 22:46 (twenty-two years ago)

does anyone know/have the correct info on whatever 'new' tracks Kraftwerk have unveiled since '97? 'Tech Talk' aka 'Lutton' (mis-spelling of Luton where the gig took place) was the only new one they played but years ago i heard a couple of others known then as 'ZKM' 1 & 2 as that was the name of the festival in Germany they were played at. sounded quite good, not dated, not futuristic, just something else.

― stevem (blueski), Thursday, 12 June 2003 22:49 (twenty-two years ago)

They announced (this may be common knowledge) another album in the mid-80s, Techno Pop, which would feature the single "Tour de France". I saw an ad in Trouser Press I think that was a Warner Brothers promo for about a dozen new records, with a little blurb on each, and this was among them.

― Sean (Sean), Friday, 13 June 2003 00:46 (twenty-two years ago)

I predict the 'new' Kraftwerk release will never occur; or, if it does, there will only be one or two new tracks on it.

Old Fart, Gazza Numan has averaged a new album every year since about 1979, more or less, and his last few have been good! Oh, yeah, and he's as famously sick of Cars as the rest of us.

― colin s barrow (colin s barrow), Friday, 13 June 2003 02:51 (twenty-two years ago)

Ner ner ner ner -- bam.

I'm a dyed-in-the-wool Numan fanatic myself at this point but Pure was a little too one note. I'm waiting for the next album with interest, though.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 13 June 2003 04:14 (twenty-two years ago)

also, '71 koln (schneider/dinger/rother sounding like black sabbath playing one chord for 30 minutes)

It's worth knowing that the tape of that show (or at least one LP release of it) runs about 10% too slow. Played at the right speed, it sounds much more Neu!-ish.

― Phil (phil), Friday, 13 June 2003 16:25 (twenty-two years ago)

Does this mean that Ralf and Florian have finally mastered that "Thoughtwaves directly into Music" technology they've supposedly been working on since, what, 1982?

― Lord Custos Epsilon (Lord Custos Epsilon), Friday, 13 June 2003 17:13 (twenty-two years ago)

Aaron's right, Expo 2000 really bit it; I'm excited by the prospect of new Kraftwerk, but I live in fear at the same time.

― Sean Carruthers (SeanC), Friday, 13 June 2003 18:18 (twenty-two years ago)

what is supposed to be the new single is streamed here
http://www.kraftwerkcenter.free.fr/tdf03.php

its nothing like the original, and very, erm, minimal.

― joni, Monday, 23 June 2003 17:21 (twenty-two years ago)

Oh no! OH NO! Why, Kraftwerk, why?

Generic early 90s trance riffing, removal of all melodic or textural interest, this sounds like the dullest digi-fluff remix you could imagine, a kind of James Last of electronica. Conny Plank is radiating in his grave.

I like the idea of an ecological theme album about cycling, but I fear a middle-aged Kraftwerk equipped with the same software as everyone else, making records that sound like demos given away with FutureMusic magazine to demonstrate ChilloutLoops V4.2. I fear a Kraftwerk without their sense of irony, which seems to have got lost somewhere between 'Radioactivity' (1975) and 'Stop radioactivity' (1991). The spirit of old Kraftwerk lives on in Japan's Maywa Denki.

On yer bikes, Kraftwerk, if you want to catch up!

― Momus (Momus), Monday, 23 June 2003 18:04 (twenty-two years ago)

sounds like Sasha

― stevem (blueski), Monday, 23 June 2003 19:34 (twenty-two years ago)

Momus is OTM sadly - still its not actually that BAD as such, just somewhat disappointing perhaps. i'd have preferred to hear at least some elements and influence from the original track.

― stevem (blueski), Monday, 23 June 2003 19:37 (twenty-two years ago)

We don't need Kraftwerk anymore; we have Daft Punk.

― scott woods (s woods), Tuesday, 24 June 2003 03:05 (twenty-two years ago)

Perhaps it's just impossible to create that kind of music in 2003, knowing what we know, having the technology we have. Almost all Kraftwerk's songs were about some kind of new fangled technological innovation or other. Do people really get very excited about technological innovation per se any more? I wonder if the very idea of Kraftwerk is a thing of the past.

― colin s barrow (colin s barrow), Tuesday, 24 June 2003 03:14 (twenty-two years ago)

nah. Interpol sing about PDAs fer chrissake. why don't they make a song about Bluetooth or something.

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Tuesday, 24 June 2003 03:16 (twenty-two years ago)

"i'm the operator on my internet refrigerator"

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Tuesday, 24 June 2003 03:17 (twenty-two years ago)

I give you my affection and I give you my time
Try to send an SMS on the telephone line

― colin s barrow (colin s barrow), Tuesday, 24 June 2003 03:26 (twenty-two years ago)

Doesn't have the same ring does it? In spite of Terrence McKenna's predictions, the innovations are slowing down, not speeding up, and getting more fiddly and detailed. Who gives a stuff about home computers per se? "It's more fun to compute"? That depends mate, that depends! Am I computing for me or for some slate grey multinational corporation? Am I just entering figures? Wow, bring on the future etc.

Prediction: in about 500 years, Kraftwerk lyrics will be like chan and zen poetry, because the innovation factor will have evaporated entirely from everyone's perception of the lyrics. "I'm the operator with my pocket calculator" will sound like "I carry water and chop wood". People will go, 'wow, they found mystery in their commonplace, rustic daily acticities.

― colin s barrow (colin s barrow), Tuesday, 24 June 2003 03:37 (twenty-two years ago)

jarvis cocker to thread

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Tuesday, 24 June 2003 03:38 (twenty-two years ago)

any kraftwerk tribute bands should be taking notes here.

― frenchbloke (frenchbloke), Tuesday, 24 June 2003 06:03 (twenty-two years ago)

Colin is OTM.. I already get that feeling from 'Trans-Europe Express'.. The whole spirit of adventure, cruising the autobahn across a unified Europe seems now, well, a bit quaint (though I still completely relate to it)

― Fabrice (Fabfunk), Tuesday, 24 June 2003 06:55 (twenty-two years ago)

one month passes...

their new album tour de france soundtracks is album of the week at the bbc right now. all tracks can be streamed. i never got into this band but they are certainly very very classic.

― alex in mainhattan (alex63), Tuesday, 5 August 2003 04:35 (twenty-two years ago)

It's fantastic. Everything that I hoped for and more - absolutely beautiful. Still miles ahead.

― Dr. C (Dr. C), Wednesday, 6 August 2003 14:16 (twenty-two years ago)

Dr. C saves the day!!! Now I'm excited again. :)

― Omar (Omar), Wednesday, 6 August 2003 15:13 (twenty-two years ago)

yeah, I was pleasantly surprised by what I heard on the listening post yesterday. must investigate further.

― zebedee (zebedee), Wednesday, 6 August 2003 15:45 (twenty-two years ago)

Why are people calling this an album?

― Mark (MarkR), Wednesday, 6 August 2003 16:11 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah I was a bit scared, especially since opening TdF 2003 suite is rather boring... but the second half, "Vitamin", "Aero Dynamik" and "Elektro Kardiogramme" are all fantastic!

― Fabrice (Fabfunk), Wednesday, 6 August 2003 18:20 (twenty-two years ago)

Mark: because it is an album. Full length with several different movements. Not to be confused with the slightly discouraging 'TDF2003' single.

It's okay stuff actually. It does pick up on the second half. Initially sounds generic but then the precise attention to detail really comes out; you'll be sitting there listening, unimpressed and then all of a sudden the high hat will come to your attention and you'll realize that's the most oddly scultped, undulating, precisely engineered high hat you've heard in a long time.

It does sound like a hurried batch of stuff rather than the 8-years-in-the-making statement some have been hoping they'd make, and it's certainly following the lead of the last 10 years of cologne techno. but 50 years from now, a lot of those things will just be random compilations, and this one will be a Kraftwerk album, so critics hold your tongues... this isn't groundbreaking, but it isn't totally humiliating either.

― jl (Jon L), Wednesday, 6 August 2003 19:30 (twenty-two years ago)

though I really do miss Bartos' melodies. the new material has impeccable, peerless design but if there's a problem, it's that nothing's catchy. I really hope he can rejoin the group at some point.

― jl (Jon L), Wednesday, 6 August 2003 21:06 (twenty-two years ago)

Bartos rocks. You rock, Karl Bartos.

― colin s barrow (colin s barrow), Wednesday, 6 August 2003 22:39 (twenty-two years ago)

Mark: because it is an album.

You're right I was confused.

― Mark (MarkR), Thursday, 7 August 2003 02:09 (twenty-two years ago)

True, on most of the tracks, there seems to be a big hole just waiting to be filled by a mono-finger melody.

― Fabrice (Fabfunk), Thursday, 7 August 2003 06:29 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm on my third or fourth play of the album now and it's working its way into my system, so to speak. Even TDF03 is starting to grow on me now it's heard in context - and I'd not noticed the way "Stage 3" suddenly throws in a totally unexpected melody about halfway through. There's a lot of detailed sound sculpting involved, and I'm starting to see the progression from tracks like "Numbers". I just wish there was a bit more rhythmic interplay, but that's all that I'm missing. A good 'un, worth the wait.

― Rob M (Rob M), Thursday, 7 August 2003 06:59 (twenty-two years ago)

Yes Rob's right the kind of *statis* of the first 5 trax is a bit off-putting at first. First you're just ...waiting for something to happen... then with repeated plays I began to pick out details and understand what's going on. It's Kraftwerk from the inside - it's like seeing the source code for the first time. Then.... they way that it switches into classic, yet freshly etched, Kraftwerk from 'Vitamin' to the updated 'TDF' is genius. Maybe tracks 1-5 should be considered as the longest intro ever?

― Dr. C (Dr. C), Thursday, 7 August 2003 08:26 (twenty-two years ago)

two weeks pass...

Just got this yesterday...more thoughts? I noticed that one of the tracks contains Kraftwerk's first-ever drum lag behind the beat (maybe this is "Vitamin?" Don't have it on me at the moment.) They're trying to be "funky" and it sounds WRONG.

― Mark (MarkR), Monday, 25 August 2003 15:13 (twenty-two years ago)

I like the album as background noise, but there really isn't much meat on the bones. It does *sound* great, though. If there were a few melodies it would work better for me.

― Sean (Sean), Monday, 25 August 2003 16:28 (twenty-two years ago)

my first impressions (noted above) were affectionate & a bit relieved. but each time I tried to play it again, I just put on old stuff. for 3 weeks, going through the whole back catalog. now that I'm back to the new one... sounds 'great', no depth at all. the album's title is descriptive.

the other thing that strikes me is that it sounds like a software album. precise, but very thin. hollow filter sweeps. not to talk shop but that really is a Reaktor preset on 'vitamin' isn't it?

― jl (Jon L), Monday, 25 August 2003 16:45 (twenty-two years ago)

one year passes...

OK live CD and DVD confirmed by Pfork. I'm so exicted by the DVD although I should know that the live experience would translate that well on my tiny TV...

― Baaderonixxxorzh (Fabfunk), Thursday, 14 April 2005 12:19 (twenty-one years ago)

I already get that feeling from 'Trans-Europe Express'.. The whole spirit of adventure, cruising the autobahn across a unified Europe seems now, well, a bit quaint

It sounded quaint at the time, too. That was the point!

― Jonathan Z. (Joanthan Z.), Thursday, 14 April 2005 12:44 (twenty-one years ago)

exactly! the quaintness of the ideas is a big part of the appeal for me, i find there's something almost romantic about it all. even 'computer world' has it, "I program my home computer, beam myself into the future" sounds quaint today - who programs their own computer these days?

― zappi (joni), Thursday, 14 April 2005 12:56 (twenty-one years ago)

i find there's something almost romantic about it all

Yeah, I think it's exactly that, it's a form of German romanticism. Kraftwerk aren't futurist at all, they're nostalgic about a pre-war vision of the future. In retrospect, it's obvious that they were ultimately going to obsess about bicycles for 20 years.

― Jonathan Z. (Joanthan Z.), Thursday, 14 April 2005 13:15 (twenty-one years ago)

Well the covers say it all, don't they? TEE's cover is blatantly a reference to 50s post-war optimism.

― Baaderonixxxorzh (Fabfunk), Thursday, 14 April 2005 13:27 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah I find this quote upthread kind of strange
"I'm the operator with my pocket calculator" will sound like "I carry water and chop wood". People will go, 'wow, they found mystery in their commonplace, rustic daily acticities.

Isn't that the whole point of what they were doing in the first place? They sang about mundane aspects of daily life in an industrialized society: the banality of trains, roads, computers and calculators.

― walter kranz (walterkranz), Thursday, 14 April 2005 14:34 (twenty-one years ago)

los angeles tickets on sale as of ten minutes ago, ticketmaster, pre-sale password "greek"

― dan (dan), Thursday, 14 April 2005 16:12 (twenty-one years ago)

one month passes...

I actually *really* like this album. So pristine and warm and sounds great with Isolee.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Tuesday, 7 June 2005 17:49 (twenty-one years ago)

Unsurprisingly I agree with my psychic musical twin. This album rules.

― Sociah T Azzahole (blueski), Tuesday, 7 June 2005 17:54 (twenty-one years ago)

If you're referring to Tour de France Soundtracks... I agree, I think it's terrific.

Agree about the sound too, it sounds great.

― KeefW (kmw), Tuesday, 7 June 2005 19:21 (twenty-one years ago)

the new live album is 100x brilliant than i was expecting it to be - definitely worth a listen, if only for the bizarre audience participation...

― CharlieNo4 (Charlie), Tuesday, 7 June 2005 19:33 (twenty-one years ago)

I am referring to Tour de France Soundtracks.

The show at the Greek last night was astonishing. And the audience was really funny.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Tuesday, 7 June 2005 19:34 (twenty-one years ago)

Funny as in they had good jokes?

― peepee (peepee), Tuesday, 7 June 2005 19:48 (twenty-one years ago)

Funny as in all the cheers after the doomy Radioactivity intro?

― The Sensational Sulk (sexyDancer), Tuesday, 7 June 2005 19:51 (twenty-one years ago)

All that and more. It was a bemusing crowd.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 7 June 2005 19:52 (twenty-one years ago)

Funniest moment -- dude a row behind me getting all aggro at someone behind him during the "Metal on Metal" sequence and shouting something like "Don't you fucking tell me you motherfucker fuck fuck" etc. in a rage. At least it happened during the most aggro song.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 7 June 2005 19:53 (twenty-one years ago)

Funny as in all the cheers after the doomy Radioactivity intro?

The DC show was that way, too.

robo-voice: ... cause... death... and... skin... cancer
audience: "WoOoOoO!"

― Brian Miller (Brian Miller), Tuesday, 7 June 2005 19:57 (twenty-one years ago)

it's perserved on the live cd for all time!

― The Sensational Sulk (sexyDancer), Tuesday, 7 June 2005 19:58 (twenty-one years ago)

REMIX PLEASE

― moley, Tuesday, 7 June 2005 20:33 (twenty-one years ago)

it's perserved on the live cd for all time!

There's some selective applause mixing going on with the live CD, makes me wonder why they put in any at all. There are no cheers at the voice into to Man Machine but there are when the music comes in?!?

― Brian Miller (Brian Miller), Tuesday, 7 June 2005 20:52 (twenty-one years ago)

Live album caught in mixing the audience in and out shokkkah.

― The Sensational Sulk (sexyDancer), Tuesday, 7 June 2005 20:55 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm just surprised Kraftwerk put any applause on there, unless they digitally recreated applause at Kling Klang and put that on the CDs.

― Brian Miller (Brian Miller), Tuesday, 7 June 2005 20:57 (twenty-one years ago)

A fight almost broke out between an oversized gentleman in his forties and the three hipsters who cut in front of him — one of the hipsters shouted, "I don't appreciate you talking to my girlfriend that way!!" I would have supported the fat guy's case, had three of his friends, easily topping 275 lbs. apiece not squeezed in to the area themselves shortly thereafter.

― Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Tuesday, 7 June 2005 21:02 (twenty-one years ago)

xpost: might as well, faint applause should still be heard through the vocal mic.

― The Sensational Sulk (sexyDancer), Tuesday, 7 June 2005 21:03 (twenty-one years ago)

I sort of got into the incongruous audience behavior last night by yelling "F*CK YEAH" at the top of my lungs at a completely random moment - it seemed like the thing to do, I hope it didn't annoy any of you!

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Tuesday, 7 June 2005 21:06 (twenty-one years ago)

Hahahah, I think I remember that!

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 7 June 2005 21:37 (twenty-one years ago)

I hope none of you were guy sitting behind me singing "cheeseburger, cheeseburger, cheesburger," instead of "Machine, Machine, Machine." Inexcusable.

― walter kranz (walterkranz), Tuesday, 7 June 2005 22:21 (twenty-one years ago)

the guy

― walter kranz (walterkranz), Tuesday, 7 June 2005 22:21 (twenty-one years ago)

Hahahah, I think I remember that!

Ned, I swear I wasn't the only one!!

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Tuesday, 7 June 2005 22:31 (twenty-one years ago)

YEAH RIGHT ;-)

I wasn't sitting behind you, Walter, unless you are huge and bald (and even then I said nothing of the kind).

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 7 June 2005 22:56 (twenty-one years ago)

Nope. I'm a tiny longhair.

― walter kranz (walterkranz), Tuesday, 7 June 2005 23:59 (twenty-one years ago)

Funny as in all the cheers after the doomy Radioactivity intro?

this was a classic wtf moment at the chicago show as well.

― tricky (disco stu), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 00:09 (twenty-one years ago)

When is the DVD coming out?

― original bgm, Wednesday, 8 June 2005 00:39 (twenty-one years ago)

Radioactivity was the peak of their set for so many reasons!! (the odd cheering being one) It was just MASSIVE.

― original bgm, Wednesday, 8 June 2005 00:40 (twenty-one years ago)

At the Deeetroit show, the crowd was polite and well behaved....
.....even the line-ups at the urinals afterwards ran efficiently!

― peepee (peepee), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 01:10 (twenty-one years ago)

three months pass...

I was intitially disappointed with TDF Soundtracks, but it's sounding even better every time I return to it (which isn't too often, but still.)

― Michael F Gill (Michael F Gill), Saturday, 17 September 2005 04:13 (twenty years ago)

http://s23.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1EQZZ6R3UIC0P0WZJMU11GN7PE

from karl bartos' 1993 album Elektric Music

― milton parker (Jon L), Saturday, 17 September 2005 05:13 (twenty years ago)

(any time I'm tempted to put on TDFS I just put that track on instead)

― milton parker (Jon L), Saturday, 17 September 2005 05:16 (twenty years ago)

Amen, milton. I play it when I DJ and people get very excited over it. With good reason!

― moley, Saturday, 17 September 2005 07:48 (twenty years ago)

what is the rest of elektric music like?

― amon (eman), Saturday, 17 September 2005 14:56 (twenty years ago)

http://www.discogs.com/release/52467

most of it I'm not as into, there is one other track 'information' with some hooks that really make it clear how much Bartos took with him when he left Kraftwerk, but it's all worth it forever for 'overdrive'

― milton loggedout, Saturday, 17 September 2005 21:06 (twenty years ago)

nineteen years pass...

Saw Kraftwerk in Portland last week and it was just stunning, a revelatory show in so many ways and I found myself surprisingly emotional that I was hearing Ralf fucking Hütter singing “Computer Love” in the same room as me in the year of our lord 2025.

Anyhow… they played a surprising amount from Tour de France Soundtracks, an album which (like many posters upthread) I found utterly underwhelming 20+ years ago. I’ve been revisiting it and have been delighted to find that it has aged incredibly well. Beautiful production and attention to detail - what sounded overly slick and generic makes much more sense in the context of so much electronic music that has been produced since then. The melodies and warmth are there in spades. Where classic Kraftwerk is more concerned with the pop song format and compact in its scope, TDFS sprawls and relaxes and envelops.

See these guys if and while you can.

― Davey D, Sunday, 13 April 2025 21:32 (one year ago)

I’ve always felt Tour de France Soundtracks was underrated. I know they lifted the main riff for TDF from Paul Hindemith but I could listen to it over and over.

― Crack's Addition (Boring, Maryland), Sunday, 13 April 2025 21:42 (one year ago)

I didn't like that album when I first heard it either. But I listened to Minimum-Maximum a bunch and it really started growing on me. It's actually kind of weird hearing the studio album now, you kinda forget how much these tracks got reconfigured for the live show.

Nowadays I think TDFS is nearly on par with their classics. Main issue is its just too long, I'd forgotten how much these tracks just repeat themselves without anything all that new happening. That doesn't apply to the first side though, I know people ragged on it when the album was released but to me it's up there with Autobahn. A total highlight of the live show too. Amazing sounding record too. God, I can't believe that was 22 years ago. At the time the 17-year gap between it and Electic Cafe felt like an impossibly long time.

― frogbs, Monday, 14 April 2025 00:08 (one year ago)

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