Wednesday October 15, 2008
Kraftwerk show in Singapore
German electronic music legend Kraftwerk wires up for a historic show in Singapore.
Man or machine? Live or digital? Will the questions ever end? Well, you can find out yourself as electronic music pioneers Kraftwerk make its only Asian concert stop at the Esplanade Theatre in Singapore at 8pm on Dec 3.
It’s a historic first for electronic fans in this region considering Kraftwerk’s influence as the Godfathers of Glitch and the Kings of Kling-Klang. Strikingly antiseptic and yet strangely compelling, Kraftwerk’s groundbreaking music has stood the test of time.
Beginning as a duo in Germany’s late 1960s experimental music scene and evolving into a notoriously reclusive synth-pop quartet in the mid- 1970s, Kraftwerk is today both an institution and an enigma.
German group Kraftwerk was among the first pop acts to abandon traditional rock instrument ation for what was then still-new synthesiser/electronic technology in the 1970s. The group that once expressed an intention to “make music that sounded like Germany” has had its distinctive sound - drum machine beats, synths, vocodered vocals - copied and sampled by musicians such as David Bowie, Depeche Mode, Joy Division, New Order, Art of Noise and Afrika Bambaataa across genres from techno and new wave to rock and hip-hop.
If that isn’t enough, Kraftwerk is the band that put the programming in pop music.
In Singapore, the group is slotted for a two-hour show wired up with sonic circuitry, glistening electro-soundscapes that pulse (and groove) and songs sung in that flat, German-accented English with speak and spell electro-voices.
Rather than sound dated, this has a timeless charm, especially since Kraftwerk are among the few Krautrock groups with a sense of humour.
All the hits are expected, from Autobahn to Tour de France, and you get a live show nicely buffed to a high chrome finish (with light & sounds).
General ticket sales start Oct 22. Tickets range S$88 (RM211.20), S$118 (RM283.20) and S$148 (RM355.20). Priority booking for Mosaic Friend members start today. Browse www.esplanade.com.
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