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Versione 1
Rating:
THE REVIEW
Kraftwerk ergo “How To Build Your Own Automaton”.
Cap. VI: An eternal mechanism.
Linear motion is a movement that longs for what it does not yet possess, and therefore it is imperfect.
Circular motion, on the other hand, returns only to itself, and thus is a living image of eternity.
It is an immobile movement, etched beyond time, as its boundary.
To the eternity of the synthetic, the perishability of the human is opposed.
Like a closed system, Europe.
A train eternally crosses it.
The path is designed so that the two extremes — beginning and end — align.
Between the extremes, some stops of this Uroboro on rails.
Some grim forays into a twilight world, into a world of masks, of mirrors, and of mannequins.
Some moments, also etched beyond time.
Then, a relentless repetition makes its way again, rising from the inoxidability of steel (“Metal on Metal”) to the intangibility of melody (“Franz Schubert”).
Repeated sequences, nothing else.
(Potentially repeated to infinity.)
Through them, the impossible happens.
A finite time (about 40 minutes) is capable of becoming a concrete image of infinite time.
The product of man, with that, surpasses the temporal limits imposed on man by his transience.
The product of human industry, finally emancipated from human perishability, becomes eternal.
The product of imperfect man reaches perfection.
CAP.7: https://www.debaser.it/kraftwerk/the-man-machine/recensione-123asterisco
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Summary by Bot
This review analyzes Kraftwerk's Trans-Europe Express as a conceptual work embodying eternal circular motion and the transcendence of human limitations through synthetic sounds. It emphasizes the album's repetitive structures as a metaphor for infinite time and mechanization. While thoughtful and poetic, the reviewer assigns a moderate rating reflecting a balanced perspective. The album is portrayed as an exploration of industrial modernity and timelessness.Tracklist Lyrics Videos
Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk are a German electronic music group formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider, known as pioneers of electronic, krautrock and synth‑pop music.42 Reviews
Other reviews
By Qzerty
An album a masterpiece of inspiration, composition, production, and content.
Trans-Europe Express deserves to be listened to at least once in a lifetime by anyone who calls themselves a music enthusiast.
By Breus
"The album's title-track...offering a vivid sensation of cultural and emotional journey projected both towards the past and the years to come."
"The formula...no one before them had consolidated so evidently in black and white."
By Rocky Marciano
"The music creates the same union between modern technology and homage to old Europe."
"The four German robots, at the peak of their inspiration, aimed for the formal perfection of their music."
By R13569920
It’s as if the train had been sampled, we are indeed in the carriage observing Europe flowing from Berlin to Paris up to the predictable, shrill final brake at the station.
Trans Europe Express remains the album to be prioritized to get to know this unique and fascinating band, which had the merit of imposing a musical and cultural aesthetic through its albums.
