On November 16, the pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk, will perform in Riga's Palladium concert hall as part of an ambitious multimedia tour. This concert series is dedicated to the long creative journey of the association, which began for a wider audience 50 years ago with the important album "Autobahn".
During the two-hour audiovisual performance, all the best-known hits of the band will be played: The Man-Machine, Spacelab, The Model, The Robots, Autobahn, Computer Love, Tour de France, Radioactivity, Musique Non Stop, etc.
Combining special musical, visual and performance art, Kraftwerk concerts are a true "Gesamtkunstwerk - an absolute work of art".
Ticket advance sale only for L Tips Agency news subscribers from July 22, at 10 a.m. until July 24, at 10.00 If you are not yet a subscriber, you can easily register here: https://ltips.lv
Public ticket sales in the entire "Bilešu serviss" network, starting from July 25, at 10.00
It is no exaggeration to say that Kraftwerk are almost as important to electronic music as The Beatles are to pop music in general. Formed in the late 1960s, the quartet, whose main creative force is Düsseldorf Conservatory graduates Ralf Hitter and Florian Schneider, were so advanced for their time that they influenced an extremely wide range of modern musical genres, from Detroit techno to hip-hop, and from EDM to computerized synthpop. New Order and Madonna have adopted his compositions for their samples, Coldplay used the Computer Love theme for their hit Talk, and David Bowie even named a song after Schneider. Dozens, if not hundreds, of musicians have recognized "Kraftwerk" as their authority.
Initially experimenting in the German krautrock genre, in the mid-70s "Kraftwerk" turned to the creation of electronic music. Using synthesizers, drum machines, voice changers, samplers, as well as self-made instruments, they gradually develop their unique style, which they call "robot pop", in the famous "Kling Klang" home studio. Catchy melodies interspersed with repetitive beats; a distinctly industrial electronic sound with alienated "robot" vocals is a typical signature of the band.
Additional mystery is created by the almost static 4 musicians at the concerts with electronic instruments and generally very poor communication with the audience. Also, the media rarely manage to get an interview or comment from the band members. As Ralf Hitter, currently the only original member of Kraftwerk, emphasizes, they have always believed that the group's work should speak for itself and comments are unnecessary.
The quartet gained its first wider recognition with the album "Autobahn" (1974), followed by the increasingly popular "Trans-Europe Express" (1977) and "Man-Machine" (1978). In the 1980s, with the albums "Computer World" and "Electric Cafe", the group's sound also featured slightly more lyrical notes. In total, the group has released 10 studio albums, two live recordings and one remix album.
In 2014, Ralf Hitter and his former creative partner Florian Schneider were awarded the "Grammy" Lifetime Achievement Award, and in 2021 the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Although the members of "Kraftwerk" have admitted that they feel best in their "Kling Klang" studio, where the sound is honed time and time again with perfect care, concerts have always been an important part of their expression. But even then, the sound and visual message must be worked to absolute nuances. Therefore, the quartet cannot be called an intensive concertist, and each of their performances is a really special, well-planned show.