it's kraftwerk jim, but not as we know it...

I recently came across a Kraftwerk gig from nearly 41 years ago, 25/01/74 - a long lost concert, never bootlegged before, that was recently rebroadcast in spiffing quality on German radio.

It was originally recorded for a radio show called "Avantgarde Und Pop", which I think pretty much sums up Kraftwerk. It pre-dates the recording of Autobahn by some months and finds Kraftwerk playing tracks from their first three albums but with an increasingly mechanical beat. This is primarily due to recent recruit Wolfgang Flur and the knitting needle / metal plate electronic percussion that he and Florian had developed in late 1973.

Also in the band - Klaus Roeder on guitar and violin, which gives some of the tracks a weirdly dreamy quality. Florian is still breathily playing his electrified flute and Ralf is in charge of the electronics.  

The first three Kraftwerk albums rarely sound like the band we know from Autobahn onwards. The massive leap in tech, in sound, in compositional approach, between Ralf Und Florian in 1973 and Autobahn in 1974 is almost inexplicable based solely on the records. But this gig sort of shows the band in transition. Whilst they are still playing the older, more freeform pieces there is a new, more regimented approach. No longer are Kraftwerk really improvising, instead they are nailing down the melodies, the rhythms, the essence of the band, and gently hammering it into a form that would, just a few months later, create the mechanised, factory-honed "Autobahn". 

For a long time I've had a gig from the summer of 1974, after the Autobahn album has been finished (and they play a version of the title track that runs for over 40 minutes!) - it's primitive for sure, but allowing for the valves and chunky wires and knitting needles and everything, it's still recognisable as the Kraftwerk that's touring today. But this gig is something else. And it's brilliant to have it in such wonderful quality.