KRAFTWERK „Musik, Maschinen, Mythos“ - Wir sind die Roboter und die Erfindung der elektronischen Pop-Musik
Discussion round with Andreas Dorau, Carsten Brocker (Alphaville), and Uwe Schütte, author of Wir sind die Roboter
Discussion + Party
Followed by
Kraftwerk Quirky Disco
DJ Felix Kubin plays Bastard-Pop from the Kraftwerk laboratory
50 years ago, Autobahn marked a turning point not only in the history of German pop music. Kraftwerk developed their concept of "industrial folk music," a new synthesis of pop and experiment that proved to be highly influential for the further development of electronic music. Bands, artists, and producers from initially Great Britain and later the African-American ghettos were inspired by the alien sound from Düsseldorf, Germany, to create innovative music styles.
So, a critical retrospective of half a century of electronic pop music will be held, as the history of Kraftwerk is teeming with myths, stylizations, and exaggerations. On the occasion of the release of the Kraftwerk retrospective Wir sind die Roboter, the author Uwe Schütte will try to explore in conversation with the musicians Andreas Dorau and Carsten Brocker what is myth and what is truth. Were the four musicians from Düsseldorf truly the inventors of electronic music? Are Kraftwerk making Techno Pop or avant-garde art music? How has their work influenced the music of Dorau and Brocker? And, last but not least, what remains of "industrial folk music" when soon artificial intelligence takes over music composition?
Andreas Dorau, who landed a significant hit at a young age and has been making good music ever since. He has released over a dozen albums, most recently In the Bush (2024) on Tapete Records, a colorful journey through various forms of electronic music, where Dorau also sings in English for the first time.
Carsten Brocker, studied Jazz/Rock/Pop with a major in piano at the Carl Maria von Weber University of Music in Dresden and is the keyboardist and Musical Director of the band Alphaville. In 2023, he obtained his doctorate on Kraftwerk with a dissertation on the interactions between technology and composition in their work.
Felix Kubin, is a musician, radio play maker, and curator from Hamburg, whose sound research is rooted in the futuristic approaches of German electronic music, radio art, and contemporary classical music. He is currently working on a radio play for BR about the spoken poetry scene in L.A. and San Francisco.
Uwe Schütte, taught for over 20 years as a lecturer in German Studies at an English university and has written several books on pop music, including on Krautrock, David Bowie, or Genesis P-Orridge. Wir sind die Roboter. Kraftwerk and the invention of electronic pop music is his third book on Kraftwerk.
Doors open at 6:00 p.m.