A Conversation for Rockin' Around The Clock
Paul Hindesmith
Blues Shark - For people who like this sort of thing, then this is just the sort of thing they'll like Started conversation Apr 1, 2004
Not a name I'm familiar with, but he certainly has the right credentials to have been a major influence on both Hutter and Schneider, albeit I *think* their musical education was in Dusseldorf. I'll have to check that. maybe one day I'll find a way to contain the mass of material in my head about this most remarkable of bansds and actually get something up for the Guide...
In terms of their vision of the future, I'm pretty sure that Fritz Lang, and in particular Metropolis played a huge part. It's never been confirmed, but I still suspect that Man Machine, the album, is mostly made up of parts that were written when the band attempted to buy the rights for that movie, only to beaten out by Giorgio Moroder.
Paul Hindesmith
Post Team Posted Apr 1, 2004
Ah, I wondered if you would know the name or not. Hindemith was an earlyish 20c German composer who scorned the use of any recognisable scale/key. Most of his work was firmly written with no key signature at all although the number of accidentals (#, bs etc) were frightening at times. 
Kraftwerk actually use at least two themes I know which originated from his work. One from his clarinet sonata and one from his flute and I have a sneaky suspicion that there are some bits of the trombone sonata mixed in as well. 
I only know because those sonatas were on the grade 8 instrument curriculum for a long time and I had to learn the piano accompaniments! 
Listen to some if you get a chance. It is better than it sounds from my description. 
shazz 
Paul Hindesmith
Blues Shark - For people who like this sort of thing, then this is just the sort of thing they'll like Posted Apr 1, 2004
Hmm, I shall have to search some out. Certainly both Hutter and Schneider are classicly trained (as was original fourth member Karl Bartos), and they met on a jazz-inprovisation course, and promptly recorded several atonal records that owe something to Stockhausen. I suspect if the truth were known, and Wolfgang Flur certainly says as much in his book, that it was Krautrock legend Conny Plank who whipped them into sensible shape whilst they were recording 'Autobahn' with him as producer as possible (co)-arranger.
The difficulty with The 'Werk is that they don't talk about anything, let alone their influences (the only recorded influence being Schneider's not entirely humourous assertion that they like the Beach Boys), so it's almost impossible to know unless by pure chance you know something like this for reasons such as yourself.
There have been rumours that one day Hutter and Schneider will produce the ultimate Kraftwerk book, including behind the scenes stuff and explanations of their thinking etc. It'll never happen but we can dream...
Hmm, my notes are silent concerning where the boys met. I will look it up and post later.
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Paul Hindesmith
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