Kraftwerk
Minimum - Maximum

What is the musical future according to you? Is it that deafening noise clubs blast on Saturday nights? That "boom boom boom boom" without art and without part? (and without a score) What is the musical future? All these revivalistic nonsense that radios play every day? Or the dry and asthmatic rhythms of Britney Spears? Is this the music of the future? Is Giusi Ferrero the music of the new millennium?

When I was little, I believed that in 2000 there would be flying cars, androids, enormous futuristic metropolises, and above all, truly futuristic music! Of that future, only the flatness of society and the mechanization of the human soul have come true. Musically, we have stood still in time, while a German group called Kraftwerk was STUDYING the future at the drawing board over 40 years ago; a meticulous, attentive, perfect, almost scientific study that led two conservatory students to change their classical music into something mechanical, cold, minimal, robotic, yet expressed their concept of the future at its best, and behind those icy notes, there was probably more soul than any romantic song of our days, in those deliberately repetitive and seemingly emotionless music, there was a touch of goosebumps-inducing romance (try listening to "Neon Light" again after all these years!). They are known as the workers of noise, the sound technicians par excellence, theirs is "organized anarchy", the concept behind their compositions is stunning! Kraftwerk's music is not just electronic music to dance to or listen to; their records are scientific concept albums! Through these organized sounds, they tell stories, talk about the future of humanity, a future dominated by machines, calculators, computers, robots, a future seen with optimism (they never expected this future to screw us over!).

Their sonic minimalism is brilliant! A way to so beautifully unite robotic sound with a hint of human sound has never been seen again! (There is no one like them). Absolute pioneers of electronics, after them... everything else followed! From commercial Techno, to dance music, and so on, every Rock band with electronic cadences, every DJ producer, every bloody musician on this planet has been technically influenced by Kraftwerk, creating both good results (Bowie, Depeche Mode, and the likes... up to the modern Daft Punk and Chemical Brothers, behind their pill-induced dance music, hide endless tributes and influences towards the German group), and shameful results, like modern commercial disco techno, which takes the basic and "studious" idea of Kraftwerk and completely distorts it, using it only to increase beats and make the drunk dance on Saturday nights (there's no art! These are scores made on the PC in six hours!, based solely on tunz tunz tunz and this kind of Techno is shameful, and is an offense to those who made it an art decades ago!, and fortunately, Kraftwerk had nothing to do with tunz tunz!)

The masters of mechanical sound present themselves to the new millennium with this double cd/dvd that every electronic enthusiast should worship better than their girlfriend's buttocks and masturbate in front of their live show, where they propose a "past" idea of the future! (on the screen are projected 80s calculators and Commodore 64 graphic effects) updating it to modern technologies (their current setup consists of Sony laptops connected to synthesizers, mixers, and samplers placed on elegant pedestals) the sounds are clean, perfect, on the double DVD you can choose audio in DTS! An orgasm for the ears. The fan's joy is to see the old-style Kraftwerk, updated to modern means, but still remaining faithful to the style that made them famous, my fear was seeing them TOO updated, and maybe making us all dance with acid rhythms like the Chemical Brothers, but no, they are the fathers of this genre, middle-aged men, mature, masters, sound mathematicians, appear on stage motionless in front of their computers, composed, in suit and tie, with their longtime fans, and here professionalism makes the difference between students and masters. Behind them, a huge screen projects minimal designs, black and white footage of old Europe, images of the Tour de France, and a thousand psychedelic foolishness made of 80s PC pixels...

There is room to dance (but composedly) with their modern renditions of the most famous tracks, but before showing the 2000 Kraftwerk, it is right to remember who they are and what they have done, and there is nothing better than starting the concert with "The Mean Machine"! The introduction is nothing short of orgasmic, with the crowd going crazy as soon as the first notes are heard, the screen projecting the famous repeated words "machine machine machine machine" and them motionless playing the PCs! I feel a kind of orgasm every time.

The old tracks revamped with a more modern sound do not disappoint at all, the magic of the 70s/80s remains intact, but at the same time, the sound quality reaches maximum levels of detail and perfection!

The two CDs feature the most beautiful songs from their live shows; we have a wonderful rendition of "The Model" and an almost moving "Neon Lights" sung live, a powerful "Numbers" that even peels the walls at home (without falling into modern dance-floor acidity), a nostalgic "Pocket Calculator" (in the DVD, while playing they smile... as if happily recalling the old times, when they showed up live on TV shows with real calculators attached to the stereo system! And the homemade hand electronic drum!!... good times!!!!!), in front of this bounty of classics, the new songs from the latest album "Tour de France" do not pale at all, the tone is more dance, but all Kraftwerk techniques are present! The noise of bicycle spokes, the breathless breathing of the riders, the heartbeat, all sampled on excellent melodies and dynamic futuristic beats, a masterpiece! A must-have at all costs.

Recommended is the double DVD! Seeing them live is something majestic, seeing these almost 60-year-olds playing with electronic music in a mature and professional manner, putting to shame all these youngsters who want to be the little kings of dance, is sublime! Only the "Trans Europe Express" piece is worth the price of the DVD, with the projections from the era in black and white of trains traveling in Europe, with the camera attached a few centimeters from the tracks, it's a pure psychedelic journey made of real footage! The past that becomes the future. A masterpiece concert.

Go back to discover the future. Let's all bow!