It feels like this album (Ralf & Florian) is often overlooked, but to me it is essentialy a bridge between their earlier wild krautrock stuff and later electronic sound.
When I found this album somewhere in the early 80s I loved this tune on first listen. So hauntingly catchy, hypnotic and even innocent in a certain way. Ongoing minor key changes constantly keep the tension. In 2013 Karl Bartos (from the original Kraftwerk lineup) released an album called „Off The Record“ - comprehending tracks from the Kraftwerk archives composed by him. One of the album tracks called „Hausmusik“ is more or less a sister of „Tanzmusik“.
I've had the Ralf Und Florian album in my collection, and is one of my favorites - it was made during their experimental days at Kling Klang Studio, and has lots of acoustic sounds. I especially like Florian's atmospheric flute intonations, as in the track "Heimatklänge".
I'd forgotten all about this track (and album, for that matter). Back in the early 2000s, someone from a mailing list (yes, a mailing list) sent me a few CDs, including "Ralf & Florian", because we'd beem sharing our musical interests on the list and she suggested I might want to check these guys out.
I like all Kraftwerk albums. And while the first three albums were indeed kind of raw compared to the more refined and fully electronic later albums, I like them for their krautrock (and sometimes proto industrial) feel and how experimental they are.
Toy shop is a great image to go with this (especially since in there there's that endless variation on things going round in circles). It's not just "flat", I agree, too. That's just listening to the thump and expecting all the sound to be there, where it's actually all in the tinkling bits, and other quieter sounds. (And the insistence on a very steady - OK, repetitive - thump driven part drives one's ears to seek some variety that might've gotten lost as if it were just "background chimes" in a song that put the details there, where they're more expected. It forces you to hear what's really going on in the song.) (And it's a toy shop. Absolutely yes. I'll buy that.) There's a model railway, and maybe even a cat that keeps on having to get out of its way? (If you have exactly 34 seconds to spare, this will explain the cat thing. Katze gegen Gartenbahn - Cat vs Garden Bahn. th-cam.com/video/S-VcsLJozxA/w-d-xo.html )
Bought this LP back in 74 after 'Autobahn' had come out and was a little disappointed, as it was not as structured or as catchy. I was thirteen at the time, so what did I know? Nowadays I'm much more appreciative of ambient stuff like this and wish I still had my old copy (no idea what happened to it).
"Tanzmusik" lets you hear a drum machine for the first time on a Kraftwerk record. It's mixed in the background but you can still hear it. That foreshadowed things to come... otherwise the composition itself is rather repetitive and quite ordinary but it's okay (there was much worse on their first two albums!). Ralf und Florian is a big step forward compared to Kraftwerk and Kraftwerk 2 but just like Autobahn, it's also a transitional album, between their experimental psychedelic krautrock period and their electro synth-pop to come.
Not a big fan of Techno. I make an exception for Kraftwerk. Heard them first in the 70s with Autobahn. I own The Man Machine album. Couple good cuts on that one.
The phrase ‘ Droning Dirge ‘ springs to mind 🤦♂️ If your a fan good luck to you , but I don’t consider this composed music , merely a selection of sounds they’ve created , there was more creativity in what I filled the toilet with this morning after a coffee and a croissant .. 😳 👍🏴
Too repetitive, too long, and woefully uneventful. I'd lost interest around the two minute mark. At least you get a laugh out of Craig Ferguson's Ralph & Florian 😀 th-cam.com/video/LNO9Efd_8OM/w-d-xo.html
That was a lot brighter and uplifting than many later Kraftwerk tracks! Still blows my mind that this was also the early beginnings of hip-hop!
It feels like this album (Ralf & Florian) is often overlooked, but to me it is essentialy a bridge between their earlier wild krautrock stuff and later electronic sound.
I only discovered this a few months ago and love it. It's like The Orb but 20 years earlier. The 'so far ahead of their time' cliché is true!
When I found this album somewhere in the early 80s I loved this tune on first listen. So hauntingly catchy, hypnotic and even innocent in a certain way. Ongoing minor key changes constantly keep the tension. In 2013 Karl Bartos (from the original Kraftwerk lineup) released an album called „Off The Record“ - comprehending tracks from the Kraftwerk archives composed by him. One of the album tracks called „Hausmusik“ is more or less a sister of „Tanzmusik“.
Loved the lyrics...
This is a good December choice. Those tinkling chimes make me want to add it to a Christmas playlist. :)
I've had the Ralf Und Florian album in my collection, and is one of my favorites - it was made during their experimental days at Kling Klang Studio, and has lots of acoustic sounds. I especially like Florian's atmospheric flute intonations, as in the track "Heimatklänge".
I never made the connection between Kraftwerk and minimalism before, but I hear a lot of Philip Glass and Steve Reich.
I'd forgotten all about this track (and album, for that matter). Back in the early 2000s, someone from a mailing list (yes, a mailing list) sent me a few CDs, including "Ralf & Florian", because we'd beem sharing our musical interests on the list and she suggested I might want to check these guys out.
Fresh!
I like all Kraftwerk albums. And while the first three albums were indeed kind of raw compared to the more refined and fully electronic later albums, I like them for their krautrock (and sometimes proto industrial) feel and how experimental they are.
My favourite track is KRISTELLO
This reminds me of Raymond Scott's (much earlier) work, "Soothing Sounds For Baby".
Toy shop is a great image to go with this (especially since in there there's that endless variation on things going round in circles). It's not just "flat", I agree, too. That's just listening to the thump and expecting all the sound to be there, where it's actually all in the tinkling bits, and other quieter sounds. (And the insistence on a very steady - OK, repetitive - thump driven part drives one's ears to seek some variety that might've gotten lost as if it were just "background chimes" in a song that put the details there, where they're more expected. It forces you to hear what's really going on in the song.)
(And it's a toy shop. Absolutely yes. I'll buy that.) There's a model railway, and maybe even a cat that keeps on having to get out of its way?
(If you have exactly 34 seconds to spare, this will explain the cat thing. Katze gegen Gartenbahn - Cat vs Garden Bahn. th-cam.com/video/S-VcsLJozxA/w-d-xo.html )
More rock'n'roll than Bon Jovi ever was.
I love the earlier Kraftwek - especially Autobahn. TEE was the last I bought, it got too dancy after that!
Unexpected choice, but..... glad you're doing some more Kraftwerk.
Wind up Peanuts !
Kraftwerk were massively influential, but I'm not really a fan of their early material. I think they got a lot better on The Man-Machine. 🙃
Bought this LP back in 74 after 'Autobahn' had come out and was a little disappointed, as it was not as structured or as catchy. I was thirteen at the time, so what did I know? Nowadays I'm much more appreciative of ambient stuff like this and wish I still had my old copy (no idea what happened to it).
"Tanzmusik" lets you hear a drum machine for the first time on a Kraftwerk record. It's mixed in the background but you can still hear it. That foreshadowed things to come... otherwise the composition itself is rather repetitive and quite ordinary but it's okay (there was much worse on their first two albums!). Ralf und Florian is a big step forward compared to Kraftwerk and Kraftwerk 2 but just like Autobahn, it's also a transitional album, between their experimental psychedelic krautrock period and their electro synth-pop to come.
Please Justin, it's pronounced Kraft-Vayrk!
Not a big fan of Techno. I make an exception for Kraftwerk. Heard them first in the 70s with Autobahn. I own The Man Machine album. Couple good cuts on that one.
The phrase ‘ Droning Dirge ‘ springs to mind 🤦♂️
If your a fan good luck to you , but I don’t consider this composed music , merely a selection of sounds they’ve created , there was more creativity in what I filled the toilet with this morning after a coffee and a croissant .. 😳
👍🏴
Too repetitive, too long, and woefully uneventful. I'd lost interest around the two minute mark.
At least you get a laugh out of Craig Ferguson's Ralph & Florian 😀
th-cam.com/video/LNO9Efd_8OM/w-d-xo.html
Not nearly as long or repetitive as Tangeine Dream or Klaus Schulze though :)
Ambient/minimalist stuff ain't you thang, I suspect.
Very average. There's better synth artists.
Not back when this came out there weren't.
Name a few from 1973 pls.
@@robgrano6814 Klaus schulze, T.Dream, Delia Derbyshire.