Düsseldorf Hbf.

Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft – Nur Noch Einer

2021-09-14T11:37:00.008+01:00

Gabi Delgado passed away in 2020. At the time, DAF had been making plans for a new album. It was to consist of tracks written by the duo when they shared a flat at Holland Road in London's Kensington district in the very early 1980's, as well as some new compositions.

About a month and a half after Gabi passed away, in May 2020, Robert Görl and Grönland Records presented 'Ich denk an dich", a new track credited to DAF and Robert Görl, with the following statement.

"Gabi and I had some grand plans. We wanted to make a new DAF album. We were thinking of it being a mix of new tracks created on the fly and a selection of our best hidden gems left over from the 80s. We were really raring to do it. We were certain the album was a done deal. We wanted to finish producing it this summer. I listened to all our old bare-bones from back then again – absolute treasures!
Gabi departed this life suddenly, a life he loved so much, and I've resolved to produce all of these unheard jewels for DAF and Gabi in spite of it all. They were written while we were sharing an apartment on Holland Road in London (1981/1982). I dedicate the song Ich denke an dich ('I Think of You') to Gabi."
(Robert Görl, May 2020)

At the time, we all thought that "Ich denk auf dich" was one of those old tracks, something from the archives that Robert had produced for the new album. Now that the album has been announced, "Ich denk auf dich" is not actually on the track list. Does that mean that it was a brand new track?

Anyway, the new DAF album is called "Nur Noch Einer" (just one more) and it will be released on the 26th of November 2021. The album cover features a photo that must have been taken during the sessions for Pure Joy in 1986 (the fruit, the clothes), but with a typographic treatment reminiscent of the classic albums from 1980-1982.

The CD version will contain 15 tracks, as per the list below.

Erste DAF Probe
Im Schatten
Kunststoff
Wir sind wild
Das pur pur rot
Gedanken lesen
Du bist so zart
Ein Kind aus dem Ratinger Hof
Loslassen
Neue Welt
Kein Ausweg
Es muss ans Licht
Holland Road
Das Geschenk
Nur noch einer

The limited vinyl edition is limited to 10 tracks.

Im Schatten
Kunststoff
Wir sind wild
Das pur pur rot
Loslassen
Neue Welt
Kein Ausweg
Es muss ans Licht
Das Geschenk
Nur noch einer

There has been mentions of a first audio sample or single, Erste DAF Probe, being released this week. In the meantime, head over to the Grönland shop to get your pre-orders in.

Ralf Hütter and the first Suicide album

2020-09-16T10:39:00.007+01:00

Have you ever noticed the record in the little stand on the floor there next to Kraftwerk's Ralf Hütter in this iconic photo? Ever wondered what it is?

The photo was taken in fellow Kraftwerk co-founder Florian Schneider's apartment in Düsseldorf, probably in 1979, and (now this will come in handy for those of you who didn't read the title of this post) what we're seeing there in the wire record rack is the back sleeve of the the self-titled debut album by Suicide, the pioneering electronic New York duo of Martin Rev and Alan Vega.

Now, have you ever paid attention to the turntable next to Ralf? The record player that's also visible in this photo, taken from a different angle? Wish you knew what it was? Florian Schneider's deliciously chunky phonograph?

You're in luck today, my friend. I'm here to tell you that it I've pinned it down. And what it is, is a Micro Seiki DDX-1000.

Micro Seiki was a Japanese manufacturer of high-precision metal parts. In the mid 70s, they decided to enter the turntable market. And so they did, with one of the most elaborate and considered record players seen. It was the DDX-1000 – according to Micro Seiki a 'highly sophisticated turntable for discerning music lovers in pursuit of the ultimate in disc reproduction'. The DDX-1000 allowed you to mount up to 3 separate tone arms at different, dedicated mounting points, all isolated from the turntable itself.

The company ran into financial difficulties in the 1990s and stopped making turntables (thanks, Compact Disc) but the company is still in existence as a precision engineering workshop.

If you were in the market to to purchase a used Micro Seiki DDX-1000 today, you'd end up paying somewhere around €3000.

There are a few other images available that show Florian's flat at the time. And it's clear that Florian has many interesting and beautiful things. But what are they? Who designed the living room suite, the sofa and the chair? What's that triangular, probably mid century side table next to where Ralf is sitting?

And what exactly is in that impressive looking rack next to the record player?

Is that a clock on the left hand side in his sleeping alcove? And what's that standing on top of the TV – looks a bit too small but could it be an early VCR?

Speaking of things, it is said that these black and white panoramic photos of Florian's apartment were taken using a Horizont camera. Horizont (or Горизонт) was a Russian swing-lens panoramic camera manufactured from 1967-1973.

Foto-Quelle, a subsidary of German mail order and department store giant Quelle and once proudly 'the biggest photo house in the world' sold a version of the Horizont camera intended specifically for the German market. It was called Horizont Revue, and given the prevalence of Foto-Quelle catalogues in Germany at the time, it seems likely that this is the model that was used.

Robert Görl & DAF – Ich denk an dich

2020-05-08T11:05:00.001+01:00

DAF's Gabi Delgado sadly passed away on the 22nd of March. Between that and the passing of Kraftwerk founder Florian Schneider 30 days later, the world lost two of its most progressive minds. Two pioneering artists, both with a revolutionary impact on music as we know it. Without them, the world, and Düsseldorf, is an emptier place.

At the time of Gabi's passing, DAF was still playing live. A few gigs were postponed recently due to the ongoing pandemic. But as it turns out, DAF had bigger plans than that. They were planning a new album, to be completed this summer. It was to be a mix of new compositions, recorded on the fly, and rediscovered hidden gems from their past – unreleased tracks composed in the 1980s but never released.

Today, 47 days after the untimely death of Gabi Delgado, the first of these "left-overs" was made public. Dedicated to the memory of Gabi, it's called "Ich denk an dich" and it's beautiful.

Written in 1981/1982, when the DAF members shared a flat on Holland Road in London, "Ich denk an dich" could just be a remarkable preview of what is to come.Robert Görl has committed to produce the rest of the previously unheard compositions from the 80s. We're looking forward to hearing more of this.

"Ich denk an dich" was produced by Robert Görl with Frankfurt DJ/producer Sylvie Marks. Marks produced some rather epic trance techno with Pete Namlook as Synsyl in the early 1992. Notably, Robert Görl and Namlook were to collaborate just a few years later, releasing two alums under the name Elektro on Namlook's Fax +49-69/450464 label. Marks remixed Marusha in 1995, and started collaborating with HAL 9000 in 1998. Sylvie Marks and HAL 9000's most recent collaborative release, a tape entitled "The Analogue Circles Vol.1", was released in 2018.

Whether Marks is involved in producing further unreleased DAF tracks with Robert Görl, remains to be seen.

Robert Görl - Glücksritter

2016-06-02T14:28:00.000+01:00

With Gabi Delgado churning out music, some might have wondered what his DAF colleague Robert Görl has been up. We saw him release the digital single "Schwarze Engel" on iTunes and Napster in 2009, and he posted the track "Rachel" on Soundcloud in 2011. But apart from that, not much has been made public.

Schwarze Engel:

Rachel:

Well, it turns out that he's got a new album out now. The album is called "Glücksritter" and it looks like this:

Weirdly though, in this particular case, having a new album out doesn't mean that it's been released. At least not in any traditional, physical (or digital) format. Instead, "Glücksritter", will only be performed live. A few live recordings have surfaced on YouTube, and it sounds rather promising. Hoping to see this released in some format, that doesn't necessarily involve travelling to Germany and attending a gig, at some point.

This is apparently the tracklist:

1. Kleines schwarzes Ding aus Tokyo
2. Die Nacht ist so kurz
3. Schwarzer Boogie Boogie
4. Zeig mir deine Rose
5. Mareen
6. Schieb das Kind
7. U.S.Acidboys
8. Nachts gehörst du mir
9. Der Tod will schwarze Stiefel sehen
10. Glücksritter
11. Mein bester Freund ist schwul
12. Schwarzer Engel, du bist so schön
13. Ich bin verliebt in eine unbekannte Frau

And here's a chance to listen some of that new stuff:

For more information, look up Glücksritter on Facebook.

And if you're keen on the album design, get your Glücksritter merch here.

This is the first post on Düsseldorf Hbf in almost 3 years, by the way. Blog lives!

Gabi Delgado in the news

2013-12-08T13:03:00.002+00:00

The recent news that DAF singer Gabi Delgado is about to release his first solo album since 'Mistress' came out, which was about 30 years ago, makes us hope for more of the latin lover/street dance funk he did in in 1983. We celebrate the news of the impending release with a few videos.

The first one captures Delgado's performance of his solo single 'Amor', on ARD's Formel Eins show in 1983.

And this second one is the official video for that other solo single he did back then, 'History of a Kiss'.

Kraftwerk 45 RPM

2012-08-22T10:21:00.002+01:00

The Vinyl Factory will exhibit 45 iconic 7" Kraftwerk single covers from The Mott Collection, at their gallery in Chelsea, London, from September 12th to October 5th.

They will also publish a book with pictures of the 45 sleeves. With the book comes a 7" single with a 2009 interview with Kraftwerk.

Printed in the book, it seems, will only be a photo of the front of the sleeves. No labels, no backside, no detailed information - making it just a little bit pointless in the Discogs era, and it's horribly expensive at £80.

Still, I'd probably buy one if I could afford it.

Event page on facebook here.

Vinyl Factory page here

D.A.F. by Jean-Louis Le Tacon

2012-05-03T14:21:00.000+01:00

In 1982, Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft performed a set at L'ENTPE, an engineering school in the outskirts of Lyon, France, with a drum kit and an awe-inspiring wall of cassette decks.

The performance was filmed and edited (babies) by Jean-Louis Le Tacon for French national TV channel Antenne 2, now known as France 2.

And here it is:

The year before, in 1981, Le Tacon did a short film called California Cauchemard (roughly "California Nightmare") that, if I understand it correctly, was shown before a Tuxedomoon concert in Poitiers. Haven't found that one online though.

Le Tacon CV in French here.

Giorgio Li Calzi feat. Wolfgang Flür

2012-02-16T10:17:00.007+00:00

Follow-up to a post from a few months ago, about Wolfgang Flür and Nitzer Ebb's Bon Harris joining forces:

I learned from a comment to the Harris/Flür post, that the lyrics to their song was actually lifted from Flür's "Greed", a song intended for his so far unreleased second Yamo album, "Eloquence" - an album that has been mentioned in interviews since at least 2004.

The same story applies to this song, "Freaking Out", by italian trumpeter Giorgio Li Calzi. The song is taken from his album "Tech Set", that was released in 2004. The lyrics were lifted from a song from "Eloquence" and are credited to Flür. Not the best song ever, but that's not the point now is it?

Freaking out feat Wolfgang Flur

Click above to listen.

Kraftwerk retrospective at MoMA

2012-02-15T20:22:00.004+00:00

Time to book a trip to New York? MoMA presents eight consecutive nights of Kraftwerk performances in April. One full album will be performed live every night, with 3D visuals, in this order:

Tuesday, April 10, 8:30 p.m.
1 – Autobahn (1974)

Wednesday, April 11, 8:30 p.m.
2 – Radio-Activity (1975)

Thursday, April 12, 8:30 p.m.
3 – Trans Europe Express (1977)

Friday, April 13, 10:00 p.m.
4 – The Man-Machine (1978)

Saturday April 14, 8:30 p.m.
5 – Computer World (1981)

Sunday, April 15, 8:30 p.m.
6 – Techno Pop (1986)

Monday, April 16, 8:30 p.m.
7 – The Mix (1991)

Tuesday, April 17, 10:00 p.m.
8 – Tour de France (2003)

More information here.

Tickets, at $25 per night, are released February 22nd. Maximum two shows per person, so choose wisely. And act quickly too, because the venue isn't that big. 700 people to be exact, at least if you are throwing a cocktail party.

Kraftwerk on Aktuellt, 1991

2012-01-31T16:34:00.001+00:00

I remember this! Kraftwerk on the news, in Sweden, in 1991.

DAF on tour

2012-01-31T13:21:00.004+00:00

Interesting, part 1:

"Gabi Delgado and Robert Görl will decide in February 2012, about a new DAF album."

Interesting , part 2:

Intro + Sonic Seducer present
DAF - "Verschwende deine Jugend" Dates 2012

03.02.2012 D-Osnabrück, Rosenhof (+ Tyske Ludder)
05.02.2012 A-Wien, Szene (+ Tyske Ludder)
17.02.2012 S-Malmö, Kulturbolaget (+ Spark)
18.02.2012 S-Stockholm, The Strand (+ The Exploding Boy)
02.03.2012 D-Berlin, Bi Nuu (Ex-Kato - Eröffnungskonzert)
09.03.2012 D-Frankfurt, Batschkapp (early show 19:30)
10.03.2012 D-Augsburg, Kantine (+ No More)
24.03.2012 D-Dessau, Beatclub (@ 36. Electric Tremor-Festival)
07.04.2012 B-Gent, Vooruit (Rewind-Easter-Festival 2012)
21.07.2012 D-Köln, Staatenhaus (@ Amphi-Festival 2012)

weitere Termine in Vorbereitung / more dates under construction

Vodkang Flür

2011-08-07T21:58:00.001+01:00

The Shadow Bureau - Bon Harris & Wolfgang Flür

2011-07-11T08:49:00.004+01:00

The Shadow Buerau. I completely missed it when it was made public two months ago. It's the new project from Bon Harris (Nitzer Ebb), and features vocals of former Kraftwerker Wolfgang Flür.

Backing vocals come courtesy of Isabelle Erkendahl of child duo Peaches, later Pet Shop Boys cover band West End Girls, the daughter of Hans Erkendahl of The Mobile Homes.

Axis Of Envy - The Shadow Bureau - 2011 found on Electronic

The song is taken from an upcoming various artists album, with original songs inspired by Indomina Media’s theatrical film releases and this video is taken from the film True Legend. Can't say I'm overly impressed with it, but never mind.

Wolfgang Flür, by the way, is said to have translated the above Peaches song from Swedish to German in 2002. But I can't find the German version, don't know if it was ever released.

Kraftwerk – Elektronische Klangbilder in 3D

2011-06-03T12:58:00.005+01:00

Starting October 15th, the Kunstbau at the Lenbachhaus gallery in Munich will display an exhibition of Kraftwerk music videos and promotion clips, all now in glorious 3D. The exhibition will - according to this - later travel to Tate Modern in London and to MoMa in New York.

Art book publishers Shirmer/Mosel will publish the catalogue for the exhibition, also in glorious 3D. This is what they have to say:

Over the last 4 decades electro pioneers Kraftwerk have written music history followed by their worldwide success. They are considered innovators and inventors of many different musical styles such as techno, electro, hip-hop and synthie pop. Since their concert at the 2005 Venice Biennale the contemporary artworld has perceived Kraftwerk’s multimedia shows as a unique form of performance art. From their beginnings in the early seventies Kraftwerk have always been connected with the developments of modern technologies.

For the exhibition “Kraftwerk –3 D Sound Pictures”, to be shown at the Kunstbau der Städtischen Galerie im Lenbachhaus München in October/November 2011, the catalogue will also be published in 3 D by Schirmer/Mosel, with an essay by project curator Matthias Mühling.

Schirmer/Mosel. With 3-D glasses. With a text by Matthias Mühling. 96 pages, 60 colour plates. Size: 28 x 28 cm, hardcover. English/German edition.

The title of the book and exhibition differs, depending on where on the Internet you read it. It could be "Kraftwerk – Elektronische Klangbilder", "Kraftwerk 3D" or "Kraftwerk - 3 D Sound Pictures". Or something completely different.

Ralf & Florian - together again?

2011-05-10T20:26:00.005+01:00

Swedish tabloid Expressen reported just a little while ago that Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider had been spotted earlier in the day, walking together in Düsseldorf.

But it turns out they are mistaken. The well groomed man is in fact not Ralf Hütter but Uwe Schmidt (aka Atom™, Atom Heart, Lassigue Bendthaus, Senor Coconut). And this is possibly even more exciting. What are these two up to?

Craftwife

2011-05-10T20:12:00.004+01:00

Do yourself a favor and check out Craftwife, a project fronted by Takeko Akamatsu, the wife of Masayuki Akamatsu who developed Karl Bartos' iPhone app that we've previously mentioned here.

Craftwife - apparently a group of housewifes - perform using iPhone apps of their own making (developed by housewifes, for housewifes), all dressed up in the most typical of Kraftwerk attire - red shirt, black tie.

More info: craftwife.com, an interview at side-line.com and another one at gaite-lyrique.net.

Mini-Composer - another Kraftwerk related app

2011-03-28T18:56:00.007+01:00

Hot on the heels of Kling Klang Maschine No1 comes MINI-COMPOSER, another Kraftwerk related app for the iPhone and iPad. This one was developed by former Kraftwerk member Karl Bartos and software developer Masayuki Akamatsu.

The app, desctibed as a "simple music app for fun [that] implements the basic waves of a synthesizer with a 16 step sequencer", is available for free - with an urge to donate money to the earthquake and tsunami victims in Japan - from the app store.

Kling Klang Machine No1

2011-03-21T10:34:00.003+00:00

I'm sure everyone has read about the new Kraftwerk app for iPhone and iPad - Kling Klang Machine No1. If not, check out this video to see what it's about. Maybe this should be regarded as the new Kraftwerk album?

Get the app from iTunes here.

The Wire Salon - Performing Kraftwerk: Synthesizing The Man-Machine

2011-03-21T10:25:00.002+00:00

Held at London's Cafe Oto March 15th, the latest installment of The Wire Salon was entitled "Performing Kraftwerk: Synthesizing The Man-Machine".

A recording of the event is now available online. Listen to the discussion with Sean Albiez and David Pattie, co-editors of Kraftwerk: Music Non-Stop, by clicking here.

Fernando Abrantes live video

2011-02-17T13:23:00.003+00:00

Former Kraftwerk member Fernando Abrantes goes native-american-Art-of-Noise-new-age-midi-guitar berzerk, with a female half-metal dancer and an applause added in post production.

Look at it. It's confusing.

Robot Emotions

2011-01-24T15:17:00.003+00:00

Looks like Fernando Abrantes' album, Robot Emotions, has been released. Haven't seen it anywhere but on Amazon as of yet. It's a cd-r, manufactured on demand, and the record label is Parisiana Entertainment.

After hearing the samples on YouTube earlier, 'm convinsed that I don't like it. But what the hell... I'm ordering a copy anyway.

There's also a new URL, robot-fernando.com, that does nothing but redirect you to the Fernando Abrantes group on Facebook.

More from Fernando Abrantes

2010-09-23T23:19:00.003+01:00

OK. Three tracks from ex-Kraftwerker Fernando Abrantes' debut solo album, Robot Emotions, have been uploaded to YouTube. And what the hell is going on here, really? Is that Kraftwerk theft in "Solo" really ok? And when was it all made -15 years ago? God, I feel so confused.

6'11''

2010-09-12T23:03:00.001+01:00

Sold out, unfortunately.

Fernando Abrantes - Robot Emotions

2010-08-28T12:26:00.002+01:00

This is, by appearance at least, a short teaser for "Robot Emotions", a solo project of former Kraftwerk member and portugese citizen Fernando Abrantes. Due out in 2011 on CD and DVD. Could be absolutely anything, but it might be worth checking out.

A Very Kraftwerk Summer

2010-05-27T17:56:00.008+01:00

Published late last year, Christopher Hutsul's "A Very Kraftwerk Summer" (Koyama Press) is a tiny little fictional story of a summer spent with Kraftwerk. We follow Geoffrey, a kid hanging out with Kraftwerk - getting haircuts, setting off firecrackers, and going to the movies throwing popcorn at Devo, sitting in front of them.

It's a beautiful little comic book, smaller in size than a typical cd case, with a front cover handprinted on japanese wood veneer paper. And it's "in full color", which in Kraftwerk terms - of course - means red and black only.

Kraftwerk comics

Waaalking!