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September 24, 2009 06:21 AM PDT
KRAFTWERK.-.TRANS.EUROPE.EXPRESS
Trans-Europe Express (released in German as Trans-Europa Express) is the sixth studio album by German electronic band Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk's sound developed further on this release. Their music is distilled into a song format more than ever, with strong classical melodies. Much use was made of custom-built sequencing equipment, which helped Kraftwerk achieve the precise, minimalist pop sound distinctive of the album. The equipment in question, the Synthanorma-Sequenzer, had previously been used in its standard form by other synthesizer musicians, such as Klaus Schulze (on his 1975 album Timewind) and Edgar Froese of Tangerine Dream. Kraftwerk's, however, was a special version created specifically for them by Matten & Wiechers in conjunction with Ralf Hütter.
This enhanced "Kraftwerk-sequenzer" allowed precise control of voltages over a range of 10 octaves, eliminating the need for the time-consuming tuning of pitches; it also enabled the exact reproduction of complex or lengthy pre-determined patterns – such as the keyboard arpeggios in "Europe Endless" and "Franz Schubert" or the driving train-like rhythm of "Trans-Europe Express" – at precisely measured clock speeds, combined with the ability to easily and quickly modify them. The instrument greatly improved Kraftwerk's recreation of their music in performance, whereas previously everything would have had to be played by hand.
Track listing
English release
Side one
# Title Writer(s) Length
1. "Europe Endless" Ralf Hütter, Florian Schneider
9:35
2. "The Hall of Mirrors" Ralf Hütter, Florian Schneider, Emil Schult
7:50
3. "Showroom Dummies" Ralf Hütter 6:10
Side two
# Title Writer(s) Length
4. "Trans-Europe Express" (1)
Ralf Hütter, Emil Schult 6:40
5. "Metal on Metal" Ralf Hütter 6:52
6. "Franz Schubert"
Ralf Hütter 4:25
7. "Endless Endless" Ralf Hütter, Florian Schneider 0:55
Personnel
• Ralf Hütter – electronics, voice
• Florian Schneider – electronics, voice
• Karl Bartos – electronic percussion
• Wolfgang Flür – electronic percussion
Equipment
• Eventide FL-201 Instant Flanger
• Matten & Wiechers Synthanorma Sequenzer
• Moog Minimoog
• ARP Odyssey
• Vako Orchestron
• Moog Polymoog
• Custom-built electronic drum pads
Album cover
The colour English and monochrome German/French versions of the cover are deliberately evocative of the pre-war era, with the use of heavily retouched studio portraits in the style of film-star publicity photos; the inner sleeve of the original LP featured a photo of the group posed in a mocked-up terrace cafe scene, with a background of a mid-European landscape of mountains and lake painted by Emil Schult
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