Slipping into gear It's taken Kraftwerk a while. But these Jerry mentalmen did come on their bikes. THE INTERMINABLY slow workrate of Kraftwerk has been a source of much ridicule. But even the most sceptical were surprised when the retiring electronic godfathers gave just two weeks' notice that they were to release a new single. Tour De France 03 came out on July 7 to mark the 100th anniversary of the celebrated French cyvle race, as well as both the 20th anniversary of Kraftwerk's original Tour De France single and the group's 33rd year of existence. A piece of undulating Detroit-style techno, the song "acts as a soundtrack to the race and inspires similar feelings of drama, excitement and intensity", apparently. Even more staggering was the news that they were also to release their first long-player since Electric Café in 1986. Also titled Tour De France, it's released via EMI on July 21. Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider declined all interview requests, citing a large surge of creativity at their Kling Klang studio in Düsseldorf. Speaking last January on the Triple J radio station in Sydney, however, band leader Hütter assured listeners the album sounded "Kraftwerk-like". (stage photo, legend: Drama and intensity: Kraftwerk 2003 (l-r) Ralf Hütter, no, make that, of forget it.) (MOJO Music Magazine, August 2003, p. 16/17) Jan