Kraftwerk- Trans Europe Express

Kraftwerk is currently on tour performing “The Catalogue 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8” at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. There are eight 3-D multimedia performances, each highlighting one of their albums. Last night I saw them for the album, Trans Europe Express, but the majority of the show consisted of their greatest hits, including “Autobahn”, “The Model”, “The Robots”, “Tour de France”, “Radioactivity”, “Computer Love” (sampled in Coldplay’s Talk) and “Musique Non-Stop”. Though the majority of their albums were released between 1970 and 1981, their influence on a wide range of electronic music, from the past continuing into today, was evident throughout their performance.

One of the most interesting aspects of the show was witnessing the group’s prescience as cultural observers, as well as musicians.  When the lyrics to “Computer World” began flashing across the screen behind the band describing the elements of a “computer world”, it was incredible to see the relevance to present day. Issues of government spying, as well as the computer’s role in “business, numbers, money, people” and “crime, travel, communication, entertainment” in a song written over thirty years ago, never felt so current.

Here’s a video taken by an audience member of “Numbers/Computer World” when Kraftwerk played at the Tate Modern (the visuals are a little off because of the 3-D).