Untold Stories: The Message

Much has been said & written about how Afrika Bambaataa's Planet Rock came into being as an amalgamation of European electronic music and American funk traditions. In fact, you will find quite a few Planet Rock genealogies on this very blog. But how about that other seminal 1982 classic, Grandmaster Flash's "The Message"? With its origins far less documented, you could think this was a truly independent and self-contained creation on Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five's part.



Not really - here's some fun facts.

Common knowledge:
- Grandmaster Flash didn't like the concept of The Message's gritty street realism. Neither did the Furious Five, except for Melle Mel. That's why he ended up doing most of the raps and being the only member of the group who appeared on the credits. And although it is Flash's first and most important record, Flash himself wasn't even part of it.

Untold story:
- Duke Bootee and Doug Wimbish of the Sugarhill house band wrote the music and part of the raps. Most of the experimental edge - the sampled and electronic noises and sounds - can be traced to the influence of Brian Eno's collage masterpiece "My life in the bush of ghosts".

Even lesser told story:
- Most of the music can be traced to the influence of another contemporary record: One Way's "Cutie Pie".



So although The Message has a completely different aesthetic - the slow pace, the street/social topics -, it's actually quite similar to Planet Rock: not only as an appropriation of other existing music, but more specifically as a clash of funk and experimental electronics.


Further reading/viewing:
- youtube clip on Duke Bootee's role in composing The Message
- interview with Doug Wimbish, co-composer of The Message

Street Sounds Nu Electro 2: A Sneak Peek

Doesn't it look beautiful? I think I even prefer the cover art to that of SSNE1. All in all it's a bit more reduced and purist than the first installment. The "electro" logo has its 80s flatness back - and isn't it incredible how bright and blinding a simple white shape can be? Light certainly is a leitmotif here, and the colour scheme goes well with the airy, minimal aesthetic. The appearance of the large figure steadily changes between sign/number and abstract shape - it's like looking at a drawing and seeing through the illusion, seeing that at a fundamental level there is nothing but a line dividing a plane and defining space ... only this time, the line is even more immaterial as it is made of "neon light, shimmering neon light".

Death Of Auto-Tune (Bonus Beats): A Brief Guide To Robot Voices

When KRS One and Buckshot dropped their anti Auto-Tune lamentation "Robot" a while back, they mentioned some pioneers of Auto-Tune that they exempted from their critique:

- Roger Troutman
- Afrika Bambaataa (Planet Rock)
- The Jonzun Crew (Pack Jam)
- Kraftwerk

One thing that these four have in common is: None of them has ever used Auto-Tune. So instead of lumping all robotic vocals together and calling them Auto-Tune, it might be instructive to have a look at the various types of voice modulation. Once you understand how they work it's actually not too hard to spot the differences (I am looking at you, KRS and Buckshot).


1. Auto-Tune


Auto-Tune is a device that tunes your voice. If used moderately - as in most of today's pop music - you won't even notice it's there. What you will notice though is the radical use of it as an effect to alter the sound of your voice. The human voice sings legato, meaning there is a smooth transition between notes of a different pitch. When you erase the transition and force the vocals to directly jump to the next note, the result will be an unnatural robot-like staccato effect that you know from too many bad songs. I will spare you the listening example.

How to recognize:
- flat and artificial sound of the voice
- sudden pitch shifts that create a stuttering effect

2. Talk box


A talk box involves two sound sources: your voice and a synth (or any other instrument). Or rather, the synth is the only sound source while the voice is only used as an effect. This is how it's done: First you play a sound or a melody on the synth. At the same time, the sound is sent into your mouth through a plastic tube. You use our mouth to shape the sound by "talking" without actually speaking - much like when you are at a concert or in a club and shape the surrounding noise by opening and closing your mouth, making "wah wah" without actually speaking.

It takes a lot of practice and articulation to get a good result, but when it's done correctly it produces a very distinct sound. Multiinstrumentalist and musical genius Roger Troutman was the master of the talk box, and I'd like to say DJ Quik is keeping his legacy alive. Posting the mandatory Roger Troutman video would be too obvious, so here is another one that I bet you all know (plus you can really see the talk box at work):




And here's a recent talk box tune that was definitely inspired by Roger Troutman:




And forget what I said before - here's the man himself:

How to recognize:
- metallic robot sound, often in the higher pitch/frequency area
- mostly monophonic (meaning there's only a single melody and no chords involved)
- can have vibrato and smooth transitions between pitches

3. Vocoder


This is basically the same principle: Two sound sources (voice and synth), one of which is used to shape the other. Technically it is a little different: First you speak into a microphone. The vocoder will analyze and filter your voice, pass it on to the synth and blend the two together to create the final sound. Vocoder voices can have a large variety of expressions, from deep and raspy to ethereal and dreamy sounds.

How to recognize:
- can have a full and polyphonic sound
- will generally sound clearer and more articulate, especially when consonants are involved

4. Speech Synthesis


Speech synthesis is the artificial creation of human speech: You type a text and the computer converts it into a sound that resembles the human voice ... or rather an artificial, robotic version of the human voice. Here's a beautiful example of speech synthesis (for the nerds: correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the 1981 Computerwelt uses a vocoder for the chorus while this one has speech synthesis throughout the whole song):



P.S. The time is 6:57 a.m.

How to recognize:
- some words might not sound right and odd pronounciations might occur
- often there is only one pitch, creating a monotonous intonation

Miscellany Vol.3: Kraftwerk, Dynamix II, John Robie

Kraftwerk announce 8 cd box set


Kraftwerk have announced the release of an 8 cd box set comprising their works from 1974 - 2003. The release was already planned for 2004, however it was postponed at the last minute. The new date is set for October 5th. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

Included will be (digitally remastered, expanded artwork and whatnot):

Autobahn (1974)
Radio-Activity (1975)
Trans-Europe Express (1977)
The Man-Machine (1978)
Computer World (1981)
Electric Café (1986)
The Mix (1991)
Tour de France Soundtracks (2003)

Apparently there is also going to be a vinyl release of this.


And speaking of Kraftwerk, here's a completely unrelated video by Chicago rapper GLC. It's easily forgettable if it weren't for the first 35 seconds where Bun B of UGK makes a short introduction - check out the shirt he is wearing. Not too bad ...





Scratch D of Dynamix II vs. John Robie - They're coming


Electro bass pioneers Dynamix II (or rather, one half of Dynamix II) have teamed up with electro funk legend John Robie to create 3 mixes of a new tune "They're coming". Dynamix II are probably most known for their seminal "Just give the DJ a break" and can be credited as being one of the first groups to transform the traditional rap-based Miami bass sound into the new school: creating a dark and sparse version of electro bass, with extra low end, copious amounts of vocoderized vocals and even a hint of breaks influence.



I've always thought it's ironic that this tune which so perfectly embodies their heavy and sinister style is based on an early 80s New Wave song: The main break was sampled from Visage's "Pleasure Boys":




Keyboard wizard John Robie was the mastermind behind the earliest electro records. Together with producer Arthur Baker he created Afrika Bambaataa's "Planet Rock", "Looking for the Perfect Beat", Planet Patrol's "Play at your own risk" and was also responsible for some of the earliest Freestyle records. It's no overstatement to say that he was the main force that defined the music and the sound of electro, and by that created a blueprint that artists are still copying today.



What really set him and those early electro tracks apart was the fact that he was a musician. That was a rare occasion in early 80s hip hop where the focus was usually on the beat, and the compositions were crude and raw (not that there was anything wrong with that). A similar constellation can be found in contemporary electro. My biggest qualm with a lot of new school electro is its lack of musicianship. Most artists are beatmakers - and it shows: Sometimes you're left wondering if they are going for that reduced and minimal sound on purpose or if it's due to their limited abilites. So it's a welcome surprise to hear some artistry in electro music again.

UPDATE 08/24: I just got the news that this is not even supposed to be released yet. Please check back - I will write a more detailed review as soon as the final versions hit the stores.

Changes ... Vol.3: The Jungle Drum

Emiliana Torrini - Jungle Drum (2009)



When I saw this^ (#1 in the German pop charts for some weeks now), I had to think of that:

The Cool Kids - What Up Man (2008)



A long time ago, there was this:

Kraftwerk - Boing Boom Tschak (1986)



But even before that, there had been this:

George Kranz - Din Daa Daa (1983)




Honorable mentions: Italo Poppers Scotch with their Disco Band and MC Shy-D with the intro to "Gotta Be Tough". And "La Di Da Di" of course, but that's a whole different story.

Did I miss anything?

Wolfgang Riechmann - Wunderbar

"If there is anyone today to whom we can pass on the responsibilities of the message, we bequeath it ... to the imaginary witness - lest it perish with us." (Theodor W. Adorno & Max Horkheimer)


(Our way today: from Düsseldorf (left) to Cologne (right))


Last week a precious message in a bottle finally found its way to the shore: Wolfgang Riechmann's 1979 album "Wunderbar" was re-released. Riechmann was a contemporary of Kraftwerk and part of the Düsseldorf electronic scene. His only album is one of the most slept on gems from this time, eclipsed by the artist's untimely demise and by the success of Kraftwerk's Man-Machine which was released around the same time. Unlike other kraut and electronic music of that time, "Wunderbar" has aged very well and still sounds exciting today.

Riechmann composed meandering, repetitive and ambient pieces of music that bear some resemblance to Kraftwerk and their contemporaries such as Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze. His music had an inherent beauty; it wasn't as erratic and abstract as Schulze's, had more soul than Kraftwerk's and less kitsch than Tangerine Dream's. He showed proof that electronic music can possess warmth and humanity. A strong undercurrent of palpable nostalgia and haunting romanticism pervades every song, and this content produces a beautiful dialectic when it rivals the electronic form.



Check out the first song off the album; a wonderful song with a slight spaghetti western feel that always reminds me of the For A Few Dollars More theme (as used in Babe Ruth's "The Mexican" ... as used in Afrika Bambaataa's "Planet Rock"). It's almost an instrumental piece - the only vocals are some onomatopoietic syllables and fragments that evoke a primordial language, a longing for lost security and happiness: (you might want to listen to the audio without watching the annoying video)




There is a sadness to it that becomes almost unbearable if you are aware of Riechmann's tragic fate. Only 2 weeks before the release of his album, he was brutally stabbed to death by two complete strangers while taking a walk with his girlfriend in the picturesque and peaceful old town of Düsseldorf. It was an act of utter senselessness, there was no motive and Riechmann was a random target.

DOWNLOAD "Wunderbar" from the web or order the re-released cd.

Talking about stabbings and knife attacks, this just in: Last week Bero Bass of Cologne gangsta rap group La Honda cut up a rival pretty bad. He is now incarcerated and facing charges of attempted manslaughter ... finally living the life he fantasized about in his lyrics. Here's my favorite La Honda tune. Fierce and aggressive, with simple yet effective raps over a 808/retro-flavored beat topped by a G-funk hook. You won't be able to understand the German lyrics, but the whole tune is basically just an extended chorus - incredibly catchy.

Robot

A while ago, Jay-Z proclaimed the Death of Auto-Tune, now hip hop's "grand oak" KRS One and Black Moon's Buckshot weigh in. The visuals are compelling, the beat is well-done but I cannot shake off the feeling that something is very wrong here. At first sight, it seems like another "the youth of today ..." lamentation - a story of generational conflict and the loss of authority on Jay-Z's and KRS One's side who have been left behind by a bunch of young and successful rappers. But there's more at stake here.

The general suspicion against the auto-tuning device rest on the bias against technological enhancement in music: the resentment that "we are being cheated". But can there be cheating in music? Only if you believe in the ideal of a true musician as master of his trade, working his ass off and shedding a lot of blood, sweat and tears for his art. Of course, this sounds much like the critique of "real" musicians when synthesizers and drum machines were introduced. Or even worse, a few years later when digital samplers became established. It's a bit unsettling to hear KRS One reproduce the same prejudice that hip hop had to face whose proliferating creativity was only made possible by new democratized technology.



He must have realized this, so we get a distinction between good and bad use of the technology. And as much as i like seeing Roger Troutman, Afrika Bambaataa, Kraftwerk and the Jonzun Crew mentioned (and even their cover art shown - good PR for some good music!), I cannot help but wonder: What do they have to do with Auto-Tune? Nothing of course - he is not only talking about Auto-Tune. A pitch correction via Auto-Tune is a very subtle effect and will go unnoticed in 99% of the cases. In today's Pop music, all vocalists use some sort of auto-tuning device. It is quite ironic that only the reflective, self-confident use of it draws critique: artists like T-Pain or Lil Wayne make no secret of the artificiality of their vocals.

KRS One's beef is not primarily with voice modulation. "Robot" is a metaphor for all that's wrong in today's hip hop: commercialization, selling out, going pop, fake rappers ... you name it. And that's a paradoxical situation: Hip Hop has always been haunted by the trope of realness. It cannot do without the appeal to authenticity, but the identification has alway been imaginary and fragile. Thus all the hyperbole, all the symbolic staging to conceal the nagging fear of the emptiness of the real. Pop music on the other hand doesn't know any authenticity, it embraces surface and dissolves any substance or essence. With hip hop's entrance into the pop canon the contradictions have only become more apparent - which isn't necessarily a bad thing, cause the resulting friction might convert into some great music.

Moonwalking in Space

Michael Jackson R.I.P.
For a great personal account of the whole thing, I'd like to refer you to Combat Jack.

As you might (or might not) know, Michael Jackson learned most of his dancing from Jeffrey Daniel - including the legendary moonwalk. Jeffrey Daniel started his career as a dancer on the TV show Soul Train and later became became known as a member of the disco/dance group Shalamar. Here's Jeffrey Daniel performing Shalamar's biggest hit "A Night To Remember" on the British show Top of the Pops in 1982:




Check out the first appearance of the moonwalk on TV, at about 1:40 into the video. When it comes to breaking, I have always been a big fan of the West Coast styles: popping & locking & slides & glides, i.e. all that pantomime and robot stuff that you see Daniel performing. He was probably the first to bring that street style to popular attention.

Needless to say, it was up to Michael Jackson to perfect it ... but if you review his dancing you will be surprised how many breaking moves he actually incorporated. The moonwalk is taken from the legendary Bucharest performance:




Ironically, there is a second person who claims to have taught Michael Jackson the moonwalk: Michael Chambers aka Boogaloo Shrimp. While that claim might not be 100% true, Boogaloo Shrimp is possibly the only dancer who could hold up against Michael Jackson: His liquid style was just incredible. As an L.A. native, he was also influenced by West Coast popping & locking. After appearing in "Breaking & Entering", a documentary on early 80s L.A. breaking and hip hop, he had his commercial breakthrough starring in the 1984 Hollywood production "Breakin". Here are 2 of my favorite scenes:




Here's a fun fact about "Breakin": If you carefully watch the following scene and resist the temptation to only look at Lucinda Dickey, you will spot an extra in a black bodysuit, busting some of the wackest moves ever seen. Yes, it really IS Jean-Claude Van Damme:




P.S. As I am writing this (2 a.m.), somebody is blasting "Beat it" in the street. YEAH!

Trans Europe Express Revisited

In my last post (which you might want to read as an introduction to this) I broke down the famous train sound pattern from Kraftwerk's Trans Europe Express. For the sequel I put together an (incomplete) selection of tunes that all sample this particular sound. The diversity of the material is truly reflecting Kraftwerk's cross-genre appeal, with songs ranging from hip hop (old and new) to electro funk and even some krauty ambient stuff ... Keep an open mind!

DOWNLOAD the Trans Europe Express compilation



1. Afrika Bambaataa & The Soulsonic Force – Planet Rock (1982)
The most famous sampling of Trans Europe Express – not the beat though. An emulated version of the train sound is played in the background when the synth melody from Trans Europe Express sets in. Search the blog for more stories about this track.

2. Anthony Rother – Trans Europe Express (1998)
That's a no brainer ... outstanding remix and probably the only one that can hold up to the original. To quote myself: Rother „took the sluggish juggernaut steam engine and remodeled it to a REAL express train by increasing the bpm. The driving beat features prominently in the mix while the rest of the instrumentation is reduced to a sparse frame. Whereas the original version was still rooted in a long musical tradition - a symphony that went through several movements -, Rother's tightly composed Trans Europe Express has finally arrived in the Modern Age, thus realizing what was only hinted at but not unfolded by Kraftwerk.“

3. Kool G Rap – Rhymes I Express (1989)
Only samples the pattern in the chorus but it's such a dope song that I had to throw it in. Nice play on the double meaning of „trans“ and „express“.

4. Special Request – Salsa Smurph (1983)
Electro novelty track (what the hell is a salsa smurph anyway?) that was quite a hit back in the days. I have no idea why; it's just SO odd. I'd say it's the musical equivalent of what art historians call bad painting, an opposition to the canons of good taste. Weird sounds, lo-fi production, weird keyboard playing ... did I mention this is really weird (and fascinating)?

5. Kartoon Krew – Inspector Gadget (1984)
Nowhere near my favorites from the era but it still is a nice little tune, featuring some solid synth and vocoder work.

6. Sir Mix-A-Lot – Society's Creation (1990)
Heavy minimalistic beats and some unusual socio-political commentary from the Bumpasaurus. We are treated with a chopped up and barely recognizable version of the Kraftwerk sample. The 909 snare drum sounds a bit too technoid for my taste ... but then again even Mantronik used the 909 and he is the king of the beat, so who am I to complain?

7. Ras Kass – Ghetto Fabulous (1998)
That song is way past my usual timeframe, but it is a strong track and remarkable in its own right for slowing down the Kraftwerk sample to the point of disintegration. The relation to a train sound is completely lost, but it still retains its floating, ethereal character – „essence precedes existence“.

8. Professor Griff – Last Asiatic Disciples (1990)
PE's own conspiracy theorist/wingnut Professor Griff with a nice upbeat version of the sample which drops quite unexpectedly and is over before you know it. Well seasoned dosage of subsonic boom provided by Luke Skyywalker of 2 Live Crew fame.

9. Ultramagnetic MC's – Crush Kill Destroy (1984-1990)
Traveling at the speed of thought isn't the only Ultra song sampling Kraftwerk. I think I even prefer Crush Kill Destroy for its raw and unpolished minimalism ... even if the production is a bit on the „raw and unpolished“ side too. Call me biased but how can you not like Kool Keith's wacky space scientist lyrics?

10. De La Soul – Ghetto Thang (1989)
Very subtle use of the pattern and a great example of freeing a sample from its original context to create something completely different.

11. Wolfgang Riechmann – Wunderbar (1978)
Riechmann was a contemporary of Kraftwerk and part of the Düsseldorf electronic scene. His only album (also titled „Wunderbar“) is one of the most slept on gems from this time, eclipsed by the artist's untimely demise and by the success of Kraftwerk's Man-Machine which was released around the same time. It is not exactly the same pattern as in Trans Europe Express but you can clearly hear the similarity. This is a wonderful song with a slight spaghetti western feel that always reminds me of the For A Few Dollars More theme (as used in Babe Ruth's „The Mexican“ ... as used in Afrika Bambaataa's „Planet Rock“. And there we are, full circle.).

12. Cosmic Rockers – Exodus (2007)
I couldn't resist sneaking one of my own songs in. Probably the darkest and most Detroit sounding tune I ever made. The percussion pattern adds to the chilling and mechanical atmosphere. A little challenge (not too tough though): Can you ID the two vocal samples?

Guest Appearance on T.R.O.Y.

I just finished the sequel of my last post about Trans Europe Express - it can be found on the T.R.O.Y. blog. I will repost it over here in a few days, but for the time being: click here.

Trans Europe Express - The Deconstruction of a Train Ride

When Arthur Baker and Afrika Bambaataa „sampled“ Kraftwerk's Trans Europe Express in 1982, they changed the sound of hip hop forever. The success of Planet Rock almost single-handedly put an end to what I'd like to call hip hop's infant stage: the early era of happy, feel-good party raps based on disco breaks. What was about to follow was a more mature sound: a wave of synth-laden tunes with heavy electronic drums, based on dark minor chords and sometimes exploring an unheard of lyrical realism of street topics (like Planet Rock's equally important counterpart The Message).

Much of this new signature style was due to the influence of Trans Europe Express which juxtaposed its cool and mechanical soundscape with an ominously haunting, almost romantic harmonic structure. This was no coincidence – Kraftwerk always sought to combine futuristic elements with a consciousness of tradition and a nostalgia for the past:



The album cover ironically features the four members in a classical pose and even the lettering alludes to a vintage Art Deco style of design. (And that's nothing compared to the hilarious inner sleeve)

The dominant concept of Trans Europe Express – the whole album - is the train metaphor. Most of the songs are built around the notion of a train ride. The title track also has one of Kraftwerk's more interesting beats - a very funky, layered and playful pattern with lots of fast 16th notes. Legend has it that one night while working on Trans Europe Express in the studio, Kraftwerk went over to the Düsseldorf train station to actually listen to the trains. It's not impossible that a beat can be inspired by the sound of a machine – after all, if a sound is repeated in a mechanical fashion, it will necessarily become rhythm. So let's see if there's any truth to the story. As you probably know, most train cars look like this:



I'm mostly interested in the wheels cause they are responsible for the train sound:



There are 2 wheels at each end of a train car. When multiple train cars are coupled this will result in a pattern of 2+2 followed by an empty space:



Any time the train crosses a rail joint, this pattern will produce a characteristic rhythm:



There are different possible ways to translate this into a percussion pattern. Let's treat the first train wheel of the 2+2 pattern as an upbeat, so the second wheel will become the first beat of the bar - sounding like this:



If we straighten this out just a tiny bit by adding a hit where the snare drum would usually be played, the resulting pattern will sound like this:



And voila, there's the famous percussion pattern of Trans Europe Express - a relentless motion against the backdrop of the kickdrum's sluggish thump.

Cosmic Rockers - The Movement

This is my second song ... and the first one that i wrote myself, also in late 2006.

Here's a quick breakdown:

As you can hear, I was still experimenting with the sound: Beat-wise I went for an 808 kit. The result came out a bit too sterile and trebly, so I put a lot of effort into building a nice warm, funky, organic and old school sounding groove for the bass as a counterpoint. Newcleus were an inspiration both to the groove and to the sound of the bass.

I was listening to a lot of kraut music then, and I was really impressed by Klaus Schulze's and Manuel Göttsching's approach to songwriting and their discarding the hierarchical structure of the pop/rock song. Don't let yourself be fooled, though: There still IS order in their tunes, just an order that isn't enforced by any transcendental principles. No ahistorical conditions of possibility, just internal conditions of existence. Emerging layers of ambient sound which are repetitive yet subtly changing, floating, meandering ... drifting in a Dérive kind of way.

Scape One was somewhat responsible for the idea of two melodies moving simultaneously in a fifth interval (first half of the song). Oh yeah, and the beat in the "breakdown" part was inspired by the "breakdown" beat of Planet Rock. In case you've never heard of that, stay tuned - one of the next posts is going to be THE definitive and comprehensive Planet Rock 101.

Title:
Ever heard of "DIALECTIC OF ENLIGHTENMENT - THE MOVEMENT"?
I wouldn't think so ... it's an inside joke, really.

Influences:
- Newcleus: Why?
- Scape One: Retropolitan (Dusseldorf)
- Manuel Göttsching: E2E4
- Afrika Bambaataa: Planet Rock
- Kraftwerk: Tour de France
- Adorno: Dialectic of Enlightenment

Cosmic Rockers - More Fun To Compute

This is my very first song ... it's basic cut'n'paste, no own material ... done late 2006 if I remember correctly.

The idea was to rework my favorite Kraftwerk song and add what's missing in this teutonic piece of engineering - the FUNK. I took the beat from Planet Rock which is - to this day - one of the heaviest beats I know. Of course, in 1982 when Arthur Baker and Afrika Bambaataa produced this masterpiece, the boom hadn't been invented yet ... that's why I added a shot of that extra low end. I wanted the first half to have more of a verse/chorus structure and make the second half an extended outro which retains the symphonic, repetitive quality of the Kraftwerk original.

You know that little conversation in the middle of Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five's "The Message"? I have always wanted to appropriate this bit. And since I had already used the famous "Don't push me" part, I thought I could throw that in as an intro.

Influences:
- Kraftwerk - It's more fun to compute
- Afrikaa Bambaataa - Planet Rock
- Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five - The Message
- Kraftwerk - Home Computer

Funny thing is, just a few weeks ago I stumbled upon a brilliant remix of "The Message" by a British outfit called Datashat. They are using the exact same sample, and also right at the start of the song ... I guess Hegel would have called that "ruse of reason".
Check it out:





A note on Kraftwerk remixes

I do realize that probably the last thing the world needs is another Kraftwerk remix ... most of them range from unbearable to plain awful. A noteworthy exception is what Anthony Rother did to "Trans Europa Express". He took the sluggish juggernaut steam engine and remodeled it to a REAL express train by increasing the bpm. The driving beat features prominently in the mix, while the rest of the instrumentation is reduced to a sparse frame. While the original version was still rooted in a long musical tradition - a symphony that went through several movements -, Rother's tightly composed Trans Europe Express has finally arrived in the Modern Age, thus realizing what was only hinted at but not unfolded by Kraftwerk.





Just as beautiful as his version of "Trans Europa Express" is Rother's remix of "Nummern / Computerwelt 2": see here.