Trans Europa Express by Kraftwerk

A treatise could be written on their musical style, from their inspiration in Stockhausen's minimalism to their influence on the birth of genres like techno, house music, and hip hop, through cosmic music and electronic rock, all the way to this album, with its blend of melodic and electronic styles, extraordinary use of sequencers, particularly the Synthanorma Sequenzer, and minimal, post-processed vocals.

How to describe an album with these characteristics? I'll Try

A triumph of synthesizers, a sort of musical symposium of what this instrumentation can do, fast midtempo rhythms, simple melodies where every accent and minute detail makes the difference, slow electronic beats, lyrics, half spoken and half sung, that make no sense to those who don't speak the language. And then there's the title track, a hymn to the trains that explored Europe with Interrail (represented in the album cover) , the sound of wheels on tracks, already used in boogie woogie in a futuristic key, and instrumental parts with influences from musique concrète. The album closes with a fantastic homage to the composer Franz Schubert, in which the melody is wonderfully returned to.

A masterpiece by Kraftwerk. a work that left an indelible mark that went so far as to influence modern music, of the unsuspecting kids who, dancing in the disco, cannot even imagine the origins, the experimentation, the cultural complexity behind the strobe lights and the pressing and complex times within and thanks to which they have fun.

Tracks

1. Europe Endless (Europa Endlos) (9:35)
2. The Hall Of Mirrors (Spiegelsaal) (7:50)
3. Showroom Dummies (Schaufensterpuppen) (6:09)
4. Trans Europa Express (6:52)
5. Metal On Metal (Metal auf Metal) (6:39)
6. Franz Schubert (4:25)

Line-up

- Ralf Hütter - electronics, synth, Orchestron, Synthanorma Sequenzer, vocals, co-producer
- Florian Schneider - electronics, synth, Votrax, vocoder, vocals, co-producer
- Karl Bartos - electronic percussion
- Wolfgang Flür - electronic percussion
7. Endless Endless (Endlos Endlos) (0:54)

Durata 42:24