Kraftwerk

Kraftwerk (pronounced , German for "power plant") are a German avant-garde musical group who have made significant contributions to the development of electronic music. The band was founded by Florian Schneider and Ralf Hütter in 1970, but became widely known as a quartet consisting of Wolfgang Flür and Karl Bartos alongside the founding members.

Stage shows

Kraftwerk also pioneered the use of computer graphics as a backdrop for their shows. Their stage act involves the members standing behind minimalistic desks, controlling the various sequencers that drive the show. Mannequins built to look like the band members, known simply as "the robots", replace the live musicians for the track of the same name. This is usually the highlight of a live show, and "the robots" have evolved over the years from being hid behind screens (that were lowered halfway through the track), to appearing on stage for the full track (since the 2004 World Tour).

Related Topics:
Computer graphics - Mannequin

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The group does however state that a reasonable fraction of the instrumentation is actually played live, and that they do improvise somewhat from show to show. The latter is most noticeable at the end of the show when the track "Musique Non-Stop" is played. Each member takes turns to improvise a small segment, while the rest of the members backs off from their respective consoles. This is also one of the few times when it's somewhat obvious which member is playing what part of a track.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The equipment used on stage has also changed over the years, from the early 1970's, when the full Kling Klang studios were packed down and moved to the concert venue, complete with vocoders, drumpads and analog synthesizers, to the 2004 World Tour, when each member was simply equipped with a keyboard and a laptop.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~