Review of Kraftwerk: Minimum-Maximum

Introduction

Kraftwerk. The very name evokes a certain image, albeit a very mysterious one. Not much is known about the German synthesiser pioneers from Düsseldorf, other than that they like robotics and cycling. The two core members of the band are Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider, the two other members are Fritz Hilpert and Henning Schmitz who replaced the better known Wolfgang Flür and Karl Bartos from their classic lineup.

Classic albums such as Autobahn (1975) and Computer World (1981) have seen the band sampled and cited by many as the godfathers of electronic music. Not only that, but the static synth-meisters have also influenced a myriad of hip-hop, r&b and rap artists which has probably indirectly led to the unfathomable world domination of r&b/rap music. Of course, sometimes it`s worth it when you`re watching something banal like the Smash Hits Poll Winners Party or something, and both Wyclef Jean and Shaggy break into Trans Europe Express in the middle of their tracks much to the confusion of your children as you suddenly spring to life after effectively dissing everything up to that point.

Anyway, Kraftwerk have hardly been prolific since the release of 1986`s Electric Café album; just a remix album, stunningly called The Mix, on which the band effectively reworked some of their earlier tracks. Then in 2003 the band released a new studio album, Tour de France Soundtracks. At first glance it looked like another reworking of some of their earlier work and more to do with Schneider`s famed cycling mania than anything-else, but this album was a grower and showed that the teutonic masters of synth hadn`t lost their touch.

A glorious performance of Aero Dynamik at the 2003 MTV Music Awards (that probably confused many of the youngsters in that audience) led to a world tour to support the album. This was a major event, one probably never to be repeated, and now Kling Klang have released live concert footage to accompany the earlier live album of the same name.

Video

It`s effectively four middle-aged blokes stood still for 2 hours playing solitaire (or something). Fortunately they also have both the presence to carry it off and a stunning visual backdrop show. Lots of retro touches in there such as pixellated images and wire-frame models, but also state of the art CGI employed during numbers like Vitamin. Newer fans probably won`t appreciate some of the older style visuals, but it takes me back to time when it was also state of the art.

Audio

A phenomenal DTS soundtrack that, for me at least, raises the bar for music DVD. I thought the Jarre in China one was superb, but this is much more impressive. I think the reason for that is because Jarre is much more of a showman with big hooks and big melodies. Kraftwerk keep it simple all the way through; pulsing hypnotic rhythms carry you off to some magical place with some strikingly simple melodies to keep you company.

Features

None, but oddly I don`t find this disappointing as it just fits in nicely with the mysticism surrounding the band.

Conclusion

There`s just something about this band. I don`t know what it is, but they have it. They have a stage presence that is both mystifying and mesmerising at the same time. Kraftwerk look for all the world like bank managers stood behind a podium with a laptop on, except there`s four of them in a line and there`s no boring PowerPoint presentation on the screen behind them. You don`t get to see much of their consoles, so for all we know they could just be playing solitaire or IM`ing each other. They are oddly endearing though, the sight of Hütter raising his hand to his mouth for his vocals and the sight of feet tapping from most of them just has something that pulls you to them. Schneider is almost the personification of The Robots that the band use during their costume change, I don`t think he moves or changes his facial expression at all. Despite this, you know you are watching masters of their craft and can only watch in complete awe.

The visuals are superb and complement the music well. French contemporary Jean Michel Jarre set the bar high last year when he recorded his latest album Aero in 5.1 Surround (the first ever) and then produced a fantastic live DVD set in front of a stunning backdrop of the Forbidden City in China. Jarre is ever the showman though, and everything is big with him. Kraftwerk are the masters of minimalism and their understated performances combined with their unparalleled mastery of rhythm set the bar just that bit higher. I really liked Jarre`s work, but this one surpasses it for me. What does amaze me is that it is taking the original pioneers of electronic music to move the audio DVD format up to that next level. Jarre started the ball rolling, but Kraftwerk have without doubt produced the finest sounding music DVD ever (so far).

Vorsprung durch Technik.