Autobahn (album)
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| Kraftwerk studio album | ||||
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Publication |
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| Label (s) | Philips | |||
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Electropop |
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Title (number) |
5 |
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running time |
42:43 min. |
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Autobahn is the fourth studio album by the band Kraftwerk from Düsseldorf . It was published in November 1974.
To this day it is best known for its title song, which entered the American and British charts as a heavily shortened single version . The album was also very successful with international top 10 placements and is therefore one of the most famous works by the band.
Emergence
For the band, the album marks the end of the Krautrock- oriented early phase; already on the follow-up album Radio-Aktivity , only electronic instruments could be heard. As a result, the album was also the last with the guitarist Klaus Roeder , whose conventional instruments no longer found a place in the sound of the band. Conversely, a new musician, Wolfgang Flür, found his way into the band, who played an electronic drum kit on comet melody 2 . A whole range of electronic instruments can be heard on the album, as a result of which Autobahn already shows strong inclinations towards electro or electro pop , for which Kraftwerk were later known.
As the last album, Autobahn was recorded by Conny Plank with his mobile equipment in the Kling-Klang-Studio in Düsseldorf and mixed in Plank's studio in Wolperath. Exceptions were the titles Comet Melody 1 and Comet Melody 2 , which were recorded in Plank's studio in Wolperath. All of the following recordings took place in the band's own Kling Klang studio in Düsseldorf.
The original record cover was designed and painted by Emil Schult . It shows the view of a motorway in a hilly landscape on which a Mercedes sedan and a Volkswagen drive. A motorway bridge and a sunset can also be seen. The picture is kept in the sober, idealizing style of advertising drawings from the time of the economic miracle . The front of the booklet of the original autobahn music cassette shows the traffic sign indicating a motorway ( catalog of traffic signs no. 330.1 ) with the words "Kraftwerk - Autobahn".
The back of the record sleeve originally shows the band members in the back seat of a car. When the CD was released, this image was replaced by a live photo from the early 80s. In the case of gatefold LP editions, the traffic sign indicating a motorway ( catalog of traffic signs no. 330.1 ) with the words "Kraftwerk - Autobahn" can be seen on the inner cover and in the booklet of CD editions .
In 2009 a remastered new edition called "Kling Klang Digital Master 2009" appeared in a cardboard slipcase, the cover of which shows the motorway traffic sign.
style
Accordingly, the sound of the band changed slightly on the Autobahn . The monotonously repetitive structure of the songs remained characteristic, but the title song, which takes up the entire A-side of the LP, is outstanding. After various interpretations of text and music, the monotony is seen as the sound of the eponymous drive on the autobahn . Various sound effects are used to reinforce this impression: Among other things, according to the Doppler effect, rising and falling tones can be heard that resemble passing cars. From a musical point is highway quite varied and the complete playing time of 22 minutes through-composed . In addition, it also offers some variations of the tempo as well as various instrumental melodies interspersed.
Autobahn is also the first Kraftwerk song to use vocals . The lyrics were written in collaboration with Emil Schult, who also painted the cover artwork. The chorus-like line of text "Wir fahr'n, fahr'n, fahr'n auf der Autobahn", which appears again and again, is known . Additional lines of text, which are only used individually, describe additional impressions of the journey (lane markings, weather, radio broadcast, landscape) and, in combination with the laconic and "cold" chant, contribute significantly to the monotonous impression of the piece of music. The specialist magazine Musikexpress declared the album No. 1 of the best records from Germany in its 04/2019 issue and enclosed a blue-colored single with the title Autobahn in a 4:35 minute version with this issue .
Compared to the title song, the other songs on the album take a back seat. The two comet melodies had already been released as a single in 1973 with the name Kohoutek - Comet Melody . The original naming alludes to the comet C / 1973 E1 (Kohoutek) named after Luboš Kohoutek , which was seen in 1973 and whose appearance attracted great interest in the media (" comet of the century") and science. The composition is based on arpeggios performed in various positions on a C major cadence . Midnight and Morning Walk are shorter and more minimalist sound collages that are intended to capture the mood of the eponymous situations (eerie darkness at midnight, a spirit of optimism in nature during a morning walk ).
Track list
Original LP
page A
- Motorway (22:30)
Side B
- Comet Melody 1 (6:20)
- Comet Melody 2 (5:44)
- Midnight (4:40)
- Morning walk (4:00)
CD edition
- Motorway (22:42)
- Comet Melody 1 (6:20)
- Comet Melody 2 (5:45)
- Midnight (3:40)
- Morning walk (4:00)
occupation
- Ralf Hütter - vocals , organ, piano , guitar, electronic drums and synthesizer
- Florian Schneider-Esleben - vocals, flute, vocoder, electronic drums and synthesizer
- Klaus Roeder - electric violin at midnight
- Wolfgang Flür - electronic drums on comet melody 2
Instruments
- Minimoog
- Customized Farfisa Rhythm Unit 10
- Vox Percussion King
- Farfisa Professional Piano
- EMS Synthi AKS
- Schulte Compact Phasing A
- Mutron biphase