Kraftwerk
Ralf And Florian

The Kraftwerk may have written the history of electronic music, but they originated as Kraut in the early '70s and thus were free from the rigid structures that classic electronics impose. They experimented, as the first three albums teach us: "Kraftwerk1" (1971), "Kraftwerk2" (1972), and "Ralf and Florian" from 1973, composed of six tracks typical of the period. It starts with "Elektrisches Roulette" featuring gentle percussion and a drum set flagged intermittently on command. Then "Tongebirge", a disharmonic melody of fairies flying over enchanted meadows.

And the masterpiece "Kristallo", free synthesizers over what are now classic electronic rhythms, echoing what Kraftwerk would become. Close your eyes and you're hypnotized on a dance floor, moving your shoulders and head in short, sinuous motions. Gritty inserts on the musical wave accompany you to the sped-up finale (did Ralf Hutter and Florian Schneider perhaps hit FF in the recording studio?). The reflective "Heimatlange" flows, with the piano marking the rhythm and "Tanzmusik", obsessive with few variations, joined by distant choirs, handclaps, and shattered crystals.

The symphony of the pineapple arrives to close ("Ananas Symphonie"), as an electronic voice repeats, one that would soon be stolen by a thousand other groups for a thousand other songs. It begins disharmonic... then the sea arrives, the wave that smooths the mirror of sand, the wave that breaks and then regains strength offshore. Then it flattens, giving way to a musical speed woven with soft arabesques. And it's a pity that the asynchronous applause concluding "Tanzmusik" isn't reused here for the album's finale. It would have been the applause of the listener who didn’t quite understand what they had experienced. Masterpiece or something else? On the second listen, the "mysterious" answer awaits...