Kraftwerk were true innovators, blurring the line between human and machine and always on the forefront of musical technology. But how did these self-described musical outsiders from Düsseldorf, who were classically trained, neatly groomed, and softly spoken, go on to have such an immense impact on the development of electronic music, as well both hip hop and techno?

There’s a lot to unpack in Kraftwerk’s sound, story and success—spanning from their early acoustic albums of the 1970s like Kraftwerk and Ralf and Florian, to the highly produced concept albums Trans-Europe Express, Autobahn, Computer World and The Man Machine.

In this episode we’ll be exploring Kraftwerk’s sonic development with founding member Ralf Hütter, as well as a roll call of fans from all corners of music…people like Beck, Brian Eno, Dan Whitford (Cut Copy), Kate Crawford (B(if)tek), Elton John, Max Richter, John Foxx (Ultravoxx) and more.