September 2002 - Kraftwerk - mailman.xmission.com

Wolfgang Flur interview
by Electram 09 Oct '02

09 Oct '02

Hello to all, Recently, I foundd at Internet a DVD called "Better Living Through Circuitry" - (1999), a documentary about rave culture. To my surprise, I could see in the credits an interview with Wolfgang Flur about the Kraftwerk first american tour. You can see more details at http://shopping.yahoo.com/shop?d=v&id=1802834822 Does any member saw this DVD? It's a good interview? Let us know about this release. Marcelo Duarte http://kraftwerk.technopop.com.br Brasil

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Paris shows further observations
by Mark J Stagg 06 Oct '02

06 Oct '02

Having seen 2 of the Paris shows (1st and last) I thought I'd stick my oar in and add a few further observations that no-one else seems to have picked up on, along with a couple of personal thoughts... APRES SHOW No beer, just wine, mineral water or champage at the bar... very civilised! INTRO MUSIC The familaiar warm-up music from previous tours (that low level computer "data" noise) has been replaced with a constantly-evolving pattern using the same sound as the "Antenna" home-page from www.kraftwerk.com. About 10 mins before KW came on, I saw the front-of-house guy set a DAT (or possibly minidisc) going, solo the signal on the desk to check the level in headphones, and then slowly fade up the track. Gotta say I quite like this... it could be the basis of a great new track. EXPO2000 Not just based on the Underground Resistance main mix, but also contains elements of the DJ Rolando mix (the opening arpeggaited riff), along with bits of KW's original (the "stab" riff, and the lead "string" melody, but sped-up to the new tempo). Topically, I don't think the phrases "Expo" or "2000" were used at all, though all the others were, particuarly "Planet Of Visions" which surely would be a more appropriate title now. There was also that "Germany/Detroit/so electric" stuff from the UR mixes. Curious how this is the most open KW have been in collaborative terms... recycling material from other peoples' remixes. They obviously like the whole Detroit/UR vibe a lot. NEON LIGHTS As reported, quite like the 1981 live version, i.e. faster than the original album take. It basically splits into 2 neat sections, the first with vox from Ralf (one verse in English, the next in German), then, after a small breakdown, the syncopated bass riff starts and the lead line meanders nicely above it. Great to hear them do this track, seemingly one of most fans' favourites, but to be honest I reckon they could have done a bit more with it. The rhythm is very rigid, and surely would lend itself to a nice shuffle-groove if you were to update it more completely. Just a thought... POCKET CALCULATOR Must be the funkiest song of the show. Taking off further from "The Mix" version, the rhythm is not always straight house-style, but often morphs into a great breakbeat-style groove, which together with the choppy stab-like synth, rocks like mad. After a verse in English, Ralf sings the rest in French. Must say that I didn't mourn the loss of the hand-held devices at all; I think the music and graphics more than make up for that, and also allow KW to kind of grow-old gracefully, not having to attempt to boogie down at the front any more. Did kind of miss Florian's occasional mad calculator soloing though! MUSIC NON STOP/CONSOLES On the final midnight show, I got a good opportunity to look at what they were actually doing onstage, as I was watching from the second balcony, and moved right down the side of as far as you could go. Besides the laptops, all of the consoles are the same size, but have subtle differences. Henning and Fritz's seem identical; a small musical keyboard to the right, and rows of switches and faders to the left, with Fritz making particular use of these, creating reverb and delay FX on the drums. They also appear to have some kind of jogwheel on the top left. Ralf's console has a more full-length keyboard across the whole of the front, while Florian's has the shorter keyboard but replaces the fader panel with some kind of green-lit LED-covered device showing text; I'm guessing that this is something to do with the famous "Robovox" unit spotted on previous tours. I really do believe that they are doing most of the mixing on-stage; the front-of-house guy only had a dozen faders pushed up, seemingly in stereo pairs, and I'm guessing that 8 of these are the straight stereo feeds from the 4 KWers onstage. When it was time to make their exit, an illuminated "pathway" on the floor at Florian's side lights up, guiding the guys away. On the first show, Florian and Fritz gave shy little waves, otherwise I didn't notice any of them acknowledge the audience in any way at all. Robots to the end! AND FINALLY... Afterwards, I was chatting to a couple of fans who I'd seen before at previous shows. One told me that he's spoken to Gunther(?) from KW's crew, who told him that they were taking the show to Japan and then to Australia in Dec and Jan. Must say that this makes sense, given that they were going to play Australia at the end of the last tour. When pressed about when they would be touring more fully, Gunther said "they have to finish the album first"! Whether this is a joke or not, I've no idea, but don't hold your breath. Cheers, Staggboy.

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Seriously Jealous
by Tom 04 Oct '02

04 Oct '02

Glad to hear the concert was fun. Also happy to hear the songs are changing and there are interesting new tech glitches. It make the Robots so much more human. No humor on the list? I'm not sure about that, it is usually entertaining. One off topic question. Why do people think Stella Artois is such a good beer? I've had it in bottles and draft here in the states and I was not impressed. There are about 1000 better beers in Europe to drink than that. Am I missing something? Tom

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Re: each album counts as much as the last one ... ;-)
by Oh Jay 01 Oct '02

01 Oct '02

From: Petter Duvander <petter.duvander(a)home.se> > "Electric Cafe" doesn't count either. may i ask u WHY_??? *jus'_curious* only because u don't like it ... maybe ??? :-o > the last one was "Computer World". if u mean "the last one that was completely recorded & mixed usin' mainly analog equipment" , then u're certainly right , but otherwise it's jus' BOGUS , sorry !!! > beat that. 21 years and counting. ;) well ... u better start countin' again , petter !!! *hehehe* ;-))) however ... many greetinx , oh jay , who's jus' finished readin' HUNDREDS of messages in daily digest format , since kw performed in g(h)ent !!! *phew* ;-o *~\^/~*

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R-O-B-A-T-O (OT)
by Dante de Conti Neto 01 Oct '02

01 Oct '02

Guys, I started the R-O-B-A-T-O Project: a Brazilian´s band of electronic music. Samples can be found in http://r-o-b-a-t-o.technopop.com.br Who will have interest please send email for robato(a)technopop.com.br Greetings from Brazil, Dante. http://kraftwerk.technopop.com.br

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Kraftwerk
by Mark Reed 30 Sep '02

30 Sep '02

> ----- Original Message ----- > From: Benjamin Ward <> > To: Analogue Heaven <analogue(a)hyperreal.org> > Sent: Monday, September 30, 2002 7:02 PM > Subject: [AH] Current Kraftwerk tour report > > > My friend Ian went to see the 'Werks in Paris at the weekend. This is > his report: > > "You asked for reports, so here goes... Kraftwerk were, as you might > expect, pretty amazing and bizarre. For aficionados, there were > significant 'aesthetic' changes from previous presentations, however. > > How to describe? Well the new stage set removes all previous banks of > keyboards, units, effects, etc. It is now down to literally the four of > them each standing behind their own most fantastic minimal console - a > totally flat board with a Sony Vaio computer protruding upwards from > the rear. Er, and that's it! (Other than a foot-pedal each). Gawd knows > what is in each console, but Ralf's seemed to contain a keyboard, and > they all seemed to have some buttons to press and wheels to bend. > > The new visuals were *stunning* (We were right at the front, no > surprises there, you might say). The new films and pictures for TEE, > Autobahn, Pocket Calculator were all amazing, and very beautiful, on an > enormous screen that was about 40 foot wide by maybe 12 foot tall, and > which sometimes was one picture, but at other times divided up into > three different shots. TEE was so amazing I almost felt giddy as I > danced along to the pictures. But, even better, not only were we > treated to a superb totally new dancey version of 'Expo 2000', but some > pretty amazing visuals with it. We also were indulged with 'The Model' > and my own personal poptatstic moment...... for the first time in 20 > years, 'Neon Lights' complete with utterly sublime, beautifully shot, > film pieces. So the set list was fab. > > Other memorable moments included poor Florian having a cold, and having > to sneeze a few times (this causing possibly the biggest human > movements of the entire evening's proceedings!) and a rather fantastic > machine breakdown of a false start when they attempted to kick off with > 'The Robots' only to find said console systems making no noises other > than the initial bleeps. Cue Teutonic puzzled looks, the dropping of > the curtain and the potential for some misplaced boings. However, all > was re-started and the action began! > > We danced and sang along; our French colleagues were (perhaps oddly) > far more restrained than the English contingent. Thus, we got plenty of > gently restrained quizzical looks from Ralf and Florian ("Ach, nein, > Wir haben Nutterz in das Haus" ) who, nonetheless, clearly appreciated > our enthusiasm The new song had progressed by at least few bars since > 1998, so things are now obviously moving rapidly at Kling Klang studios. > > Quite amazing; a real treat, and great to see at *such* close quarters > in such a personal and small setting. Here's hoping for a UK tour.... > (I did my best by shouting out 'Come back to England'!) Oh, and we got > to say 'bon soir' to Jean Paul Gaultier as we went in - extremely > strict security too so that the new visuals were not photographed. > > For those of you worried about details, I think the set list was > something like: The Robots; Expo 2000 (remix) It's more fun to > compute/Home Computer; Man Machine; Tour De France; The Model; Neon > Lights; Airwaves/New Song; Pocket Calculator; Autobahn; Radioactivity; > Trans Europe Express; Numbers; Computer World; Music Non Stop > > All rather groovy, and I am still recovering from that, and 3 days of > biere in gay Paris ;o) " > > > Thanks, Ian. From all accounts, it seems that he definitely wigged out > to it all :-) > Ben

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Luxembourg show
by j.musik＠airtel.net 30 Sep '02

30 Sep '02

Hi All, Delay in Louxembourg. I'v been in Bruxelles for a extra week. I'm just in home. Some pictures, poster... I'll put my comments soon. MuSiK __________________________________________________________________ Gestione su oficina en movilidad a través de Parquempresarial.com. Desde Wap y PDA accederá a Servicios de Gestión y Comunidades Sectoriales. Visite http://www.parquempresarial.com

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Re: jus' in case ...
by Oh Jay 30 Sep '02

30 Sep '02

johan assumed : > Busy forwarding mails to a pretty quiet yahoogroup? :-) "a pretty quiet yahoogroup" ??? >:-O fyi : the "kraftwerkfans" group is actually THE_BUSIEST kw related yahoogroup EVER ... especially right now !!! *sly_grin* ;-) but to answer your question in all seriousness ... nope , i'm busy with settin' up a new college radio station currently !!! *G+* ;-) much work , but also LOTS of fun ahead !!! *hehehe* ;-))) however ... many greetinx , oh jay ;-) *~\^/~*

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the "k" question ... ;-)
by Oh Jay 30 Sep '02

30 Sep '02

hi again , y' all ! well ... what can i say about those people , who try to imitate my style , eh ??? they're jus' like "komputer" ... when they try to imitate kw , but later deny it !!! *slyest_grin* ;-))) my humble opinion about kw's latest "mini tour" ??? well ... i can only repeat , what i've already posted here a few times before : the great holger czukay of can once said about kw : "once they were pioneers of electronic music , but by now they are only 'sound designers' !!!" ... & he was damned right , especially regardin' the latest kw concerts !!! *slighly_disappointed_sigh* :-o ... & finally my humble opinion about "the new album" of kw : hmmm ... i already HEAR it !!! *ROTFLMAO* ;-))) however ... many greetinx , oh jay wan kenobi ;-) *~\^/~*

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SV: [Kraftwerk] jus' in case ...
by johan.andersson＠allers.aller.se 30 Sep '02

30 Sep '02

Busy forwarding mails to a pretty quiet yahoogroup? :-) ! / Johan -----Ursprungligt meddelande----- Från: oh_jay(a)freenet.de [mailto:oh_jay@freenet.de] Skickat: den 30 september 2002 16:16 Till: kraftwerk(a)mailman.xmission.com Kopia: kraftwerkfans(a)yahoogroups.com Ämne: [Kraftwerk] jus' in case ... .... that u've wondered , why i haven't said a word to the latest news & concerts of kw : i'm currently VERY_BUSY & simply DON'T have the time to read all your messages right now , so i'll do it later !!! if u have ANY requests , PLEASE mail me privately & i'll try to answer u asap , fellows !!! ;-) however ... many greetinx , oh jay ;-) *~\^/~* _______________________________________________ Kraftwerk mailing list Kraftwerk(a)mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/kraftwerk <<Fil: ENVELOPE.TXT>>

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