Electric Picnic preview: teutonic for the troops

“That’s because nowadays Kraftwerk are weatherproof,” laughs founder member Ralf Hutter. Yes, you read right – the Teutonic man machines have a sense of humour!
“Being in Kraftwerk is a lot of fun, but only when things are functioning properly! Touring used to be difficult for us because the equipment was heavy, hard to set up and sensitive to different climatic conditions. The temperature only had to increase by a few degrees, and what had worked perfectly in Düsseldorf would start to malfunction.
“Now, with the improvements in technology, it doesn’t matter whether you’re standing out in the snow or have water dripping off the roof of the tent because of the heat. The computers only went down once on the last tour, which didn’t matter because the crowd thought it was part of the composition and still applauded.”
The user-friendliness of their equipment isn’t the only thing that’s changed since Kraftwerk re-wrote the musical rulebook with 1974’s groundbreaking Autobahn album.
“The first Minimoog I bought cost as much as my Volkswagen,” Hutter chuckles again. “Also, what then took up a whole room now fits into a suitcase. My answer to people who ask whether one day we’ll stop making music is, ‘Kraftwerk will give up when technology does!’”
We wouldn’t want it any other way!