These have been tumultuous times for Kraftwerk. Founding member Florian Schneider left the band in November 2008, apparently intent on pursuing a solo career. Schneider’s influence on electronic music and beyond is immeasurable, and David Bowie paid tribute to him with the “V-2 Schneider” piece from his “Heroes” album.
The remaining members of the band opened up for Radiohead earlier this year, and have promised new material “soon.” Fans shouldn’t hold their breath—there was a 17-year gap between the Electric Café album and its follow up, the well received Tour de France Soundtracks.
A series of reissued albums are set to plug the gap, and will emerge in October this year. The series of re-releases have been called 12345678 The Catalogue, and will be available as individual CDs, heavyweight vinyl, and as an eight-CD box set. The following records will be included:
Autobahn (1974), Radio-Activity (1975), Trans Europe Express (1977), The Man Machine (1978), Computer World (1981), Techno Pop (formerly titled Electric Café) (1986), The Mix (1991) and Tour De France Soundtracks (2003).
