Kraftwerk – the founding fathers of techno

No German band has had a greater influence on international music than Kraftwerk. The band formed by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider, two former architecture students, laid the foundations for the development of electronic pop music and the techno aesthetic.

Kraftwerk came together in 1970 in Düsseldorf. Three years later, as true synthesiser pioneers, they decided to create all their music electronically. The album Autobahn (1974) was an international hit. Kraftwerk created the image of a mechanical, computerised world through their monotone rhythms and synthetic sounds, and on stage they styled themselves as robots. Today Kraftwerk's cyber visions are highly regarded in the international art world.