In 1982, a teenaged-Organized Noize member Patrick “Sleepy” Brown heard Afrika Bambaataa and the Soulsonic Force’s “Planet Rock” for the first time. He was hooked by the song’s combination of rap lyrics over a funky electronic beat but was surprised to learn the song actually borrowed its melody from German electronic music quartet Kraftwerk’s “Trans-Europe Express.”
The song, released in 1977, had locomotive drum cadences, sinister organ melodies and robotic vocals singing the hook. Those unorthodox sounds were also present in 1974′s “Autobahn,” 1981′s “Numbers,” and 1983′s “Tour De France,” which helped develop other styles of Black music, especially Atlanta hip-hop.
Formed in 1970 by members Ralf Hutter and Florian Schneider, Kraftwerk performed its earliest concerts standing behind instruments made of metal, propped on stands and connected with exposed wires. The latter performances added pixelated videos behind the band that synced and transitioned along with the rhythms of their music.
Brown told UATL he admired the risk-taking and forward-thinking musical act.
“They were some of the first guys to come with drum machines, but it was dangerous for them, because if it was bad weather, they couldn’t do certain things. They gave hip-hop its connections to outer space, and full permission to take music to the next level,” Brown said.
Credit: Tyson A. Horne
Credit: Tyson A. Horne
Kraftwerk brings its Multimedia Tour 2025 - 50 Years of Autobahn to The Eastern on Sunday. It’s a rare Atlanta performance for the group.
The Detroit Techno Experience, an event that celebrates Kraftwerk’s contributions to Black dance music, happens Saturday at The Echo Room. The event will feature clips from “God Said Give ‘Em Drum Machines,” a 2024 documentary focused on Detroit’s techno music scene. Electronic instrument demos, and all-vinyl sets of music made and inspired by Kraftwerk are also planned.
Kai Alce, an Atlanta event organizer from Detroit, said Kraftwerk’s arrangements preserved dance records as music shifted in the 1980s and into the ‘90s.
“They were making some interesting sounds and changing the culture around the dance floor when disco was fading out and house music was coming in. It was our culture that took it, ran with it and claimed them as our own,” Alce said.
Credit: via House in the Park
Credit: via House in the Park
Kraftwerk’s compositions became a blueprint for Southern hip-hop. Miami bass artists like 2 Live Crew and Afro Rican were sampling and updating the industrial music group’s tracks, turning them into “booty-shake music,” a style of polyrhythmic, club-friendly songs.
In 1993, pioneering Atlanta rapper and producer Peter “MC Shy D” Jones released the upbeat “Fellas What Y’all Want,” which samples Kraftwerk’s “Tour De France.” Jones chose the sample because the song and its production techniques, such as the vocoder effect made popular by Roger Troutman, were familiar to his listeners.
Credit: Kymani Culmer
Credit: Kymani Culmer
“Kraftwerk created a soundtrack that encouraged a lot of us to get into the music business. Southern bass music is all about tempo and making big booming sounds, and we looked up to their method for putting arrangements together, because it fit right in with what we were doing,” Jones said.
In 2001, the Dungeon Family recorded “Trans DF Express” and “Follow the Light,” which were both inspired by “Trans-Europe Express.” Organized Noize, the collective’s producers, used an ARP Solina String Ensemble, a synthesizer keyboard that reproduces orchestral sounds, to replay the effects heard in Kraftwerk’s original song.
Credit: Tyson A. Horne
Credit: Tyson A. Horne
Atlanta artists continued to reimagine Kraftwerk’s music and turned them into hits.
Jermaine Dupri slowed down the melody from “Trans-Europe Express” for the opening of his 2001 classic, “Welcome to Atlanta.” Singer Ciara’s 2004 hit “1,2 Step” contains sounds from “Numbers,” and her 2006 ballad, “Promise,” incorporates “Tour De France” at a reduced tempo.
Organized Noize member Ray Murray said Kraftwerk helped define and mold Atlanta’s musical identity.
“They shaped the sounds of pre-Atlanta before Atlanta, but we brought life into it. Our music is a reflection of how much we respected them and made their creations a major part of our history,” Murray said.
“We are going to holler out ‘Yeek’ when we see them on Sunday. I can’t wait.”
6 p.m.-12 a.m. Saturday, March 22. The Echo Room, 725 Echo Street NW, Atlanta. 678-388-9536. shotgun.live
8 p.m. Sunday, March 23. The Eastern, 777 Memorial Drive SE, Atlanta. 470-656-7490. easternatl.com
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