For a long time, electronic music was not meant to be aesthetically pleasing or commercially viable, which is something of an irony considering the proliferation of electro-pop in the 80s, and dance and house music in the 90s. Although Kraftwerk are synonymous with electronic music, they were by no means the first to create it. Pioneering works by Karlheinz Stockhausen, Edgard Varese and the peculiar works of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop were so bizarre to the ears of most people that electronic music was firmly relegated to the margins of the musical spectrum. But it was Kraftwerk who really demonstrated what could be done with electronically created music, and bring it  Read the complete review

In a world where people such as Madonna are labelled ' musical geniuses' by over-imaginative post-modernist critics and boy band's win countless awards for their less than brilliant musical ability. I began to think about contenders for pop music 'genius' (if one has to use such a overused term), my list consisted of Jimi Hendrix, Brian Wilson, Joy Division and a German group with the unusual moniker of 'Kraftwerk'. Not only did this band make beautiful 'pop' music but invented synthesisers, electronic drums and sample machines because they were so ahead of their time that these things did not exist, out of pure experimentation they  Read the complete review

The originators of electronic music's 1978 album is one of the finest. It is however a short album at just six tracks but it still manages to come in at 35+ minutes. I should also point out that I own a second hand vinyl copy and so I don't know whether of not the CD has extra tracks or not. The tracklisting is: The Robots Spacelab Metropolis The Model Neon Lights The Man Machine How to describe a band that have been cited as an influence by so many dance groups. Well in a nutshell they make space-age electronic music. If it were a room then it would be a minimal modernist sixties apartment – straight lines, curves, ...  Read the complete review