Kraftwerk - the most influential band?

[Syt]

Prompted bythis article in the Guardian:

[...]

This forward-thinking spirit had already started to infect pop. David Bowie adored Kraftwerk, writing the track V-2 Schneider for his 1977 album Heroes (the band would namecheck him back on Trans-Europe Express). African American DJs also found an odd kinship with the Germans. Keen to find a new musical language, they were familiar with the urban sounds Kraftwerk were using; 1978's The Robots became particularly influential on the dancefloor, and in the burgeoning B-Boy and breakdancing scenes. Afrika Bambaataa fused the melody of Trans-Europe Express and the rhythm of 1981's Numbers to create Planet Rock, one of hip-hop's pioneering tracks. Trailblazing electro group Cybotron used a loop from 1977's Hall of Mirrors; its founder, Juan Atkins, would create techno, and from there came modern dance culture.

Back in Britain, New Order would sample Uranium on Blue Monday, while synth-pop inspired by albums such as 1978's The Man-Machine would set the decade's pop mood. Kraftwerk would even get a No 1 single, The Model, in February 1982, four years after its first release. It was if the world was finally catching up with them.

Ever since, using a Kraftwerk sample has been shorthand for credibility. Jay-Z's 1997 Sunshine sampled The Man-Machine, while Coldplay's Talk made a melody from Computer World into a stadium-rock riff. Music producer DJ Food, a collector of Kraftwerk cover versions, says the band's influence can be heard today among the micro-genres that have evolved from dance and R&B. "Hear dubstep producer 6Blocc's cheeky reinterpretation of Numbers/Computer World 2 disguised under the title, Digits. Or across the pond, juke and footstep producers such as Traxman have shoe-horned Kraftwerk samples into songs such as The Robot. Kraftwerk have been part of the lineage of dance culture since the late 70s – approaching it without them is impossible."

Once the world started to catch up, Kraftwerk started to slow down. They have only released four studio records since 1983: 1986's disappointing Electric Cafe, 1991 remix album The Mix, Expo 2000, a single for a German world trade fair, and 2003's Tour De France Soundtracks. The line-up has also changed radically. Flür and Bartos both left in the late 1980s, Schneider in 2009. Hütter has said little about his co-founder's departure, except that Schneider hadn't really been involved for years. The mystery continues.

[...]

According to wiki:

Influence on other musicians

Kraftwerk's music has directly influenced many popular artists from many diverse genres of music.[43]

Kraftwerk's musical style and image can be heard and seen in later electronic music successes such as Gary Numan, Ultravox, John Foxx, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Human League, Depeche Mode, Visage, and Soft Cell, to name a few. Kraftwerk would also go on to influence other forms of music such as hip hop, house, and drum and bass, and they are also regarded as pioneers of the electro genre.[44] Most notably, "Trans Europe Express" and "Numbers" were interpolated into "Planet Rock" by Afrika Bambaataa & The Soul Sonic Force, one of the earliest hip-hop/electro hits. Techno was created by three musicians from Detroit, often referred to as the 'Belleville three' (Juan Atkins, Kevin Saunderson & Derrick May), who fused the repetitive melodies of Kraftwerk with funk rhythms.[45]

Richard D James (Aphex Twin), has noted Kraftwerk as one of his biggest influences and called Computer World as a very influential album towards his music and sound.[46]
Björk has named Kraftwerk as one of her main musical influences.[47]

Joy Division and New Order were heavily influenced by Kraftwerk. Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis was a fan of Kraftwerk, and showed his colleagues records that would influence both groups.

New Order's song "Your Silent Face" has some similarities with "Europe Endless", the first song on Trans-Europe Express, and had a working title of KW1, or Kraftwerk 1. New Order also recorded a song called "Krafty" that appeared as a single and on the album Waiting for the Sirens' Call. New Order also would sample "Uranium" in their 1983 songs "Blue Monday" and "The Beach".

David Bowie's "V-2 Schneider", which was released as the B-side to the "Heroes" single, and also features on the album "Heroes", is a tribute to Florian Schneider.

Electronic musician Kompressor has cited Kraftwerk as an influence. Kraftwerk is also mentioned in the song "Rappers We Crush" by Kompressor and MC Frontalot ("I hurry away, get in my Chrysler. Oh, the dismay!/Someone's replaced all of my Backstreet Boys with Kraftwerk tapes!").

Franz Ferdinand were inspired by Kraftwerk's song "The Model" when writing their song "Walk Away". The similarity is especially heard in the intro of the song.

The electronic band Ladytron were inspired by Kraftwerk's song "The Model" when they composed their debut single "He Took Her To a Movie".

Vince Clarke of Erasure, Yazoo, and Depeche Mode, is also a notable disco and Kraftwerk fan and is influenced by their music. Daniel Miller, former boss of Mute Records, purchased the vocoder used by Kraftwerk in their early albums, comparing it to owning Jimi Hendrix's guitar.[48]

Simple Minds recorded a cover of the Kraftwerk track "Neon Lights" and included it on an all-cover tunes album by the same name,[49] they also played it live during their Graffiti Soul tour of 2009.
Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys, founding members of OMD, have stated that Kraftwerk was a major influence on their early work,[50] and covered "Neon Lights" on their 1991 album, Sugar Tax.[51] Further, a song on the 2010 album History of Modern is entitled RFWK- Ralf (Hütter), Florian (Schneider), Wolfgang (Flür), Karl (Bartos).

Kraftwerk is currently listed as the second most deserving band who has yet to receive enshrinement to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame according to the website, www.notinhalloffame.com. This was based on their high level of influence towards multiple artists.[52]

Dr. Alex Paterson of The Orb listed The Man-Machine as one of his 13 most favourite albums of all time.[53]

U2 recorded a cover version of "Neon Lights" and included it as the B-side of their 2004 single "Vertigo". The band also performed some Kraftwerk songs as snippets during live shows. U2's frontman Bono also stated he is a huge fan of the German electronic band.
[edit]

According to Who Sampled . . . Kraftwerk were sampled 355 times by other artists. They sampled 1: a 1930s piece by composer Paul Hindemith).

[The Brain]

One Direction?

[Syt]

 

[Josquius]

They're up there yeah. The most famous of the Krautrock bands which pretty much made the 80s sound.

[mongers]

No, probably the Beatles.

[DontSayBanana]

I can see it; just look at the endless covers of Das Model.  Also, while their techniques are a little off-the-wall, stuff like Das Model and Numbers are insanely catchy.

[Eddie Teach]

Only from a clubber's perspective.

[Ed Anger]

Shitgoat

[Razgovory]

Only from a clubber's perspective.

I used to love clubbing.  I get this big stick and just whale on people.

[merithyn]

Yeah, no idea who this is.

[katmai]

Yeah, no idea who this is.

Philistine!

[mongers]

Yeah, no idea who this is.

They were a Dutch experimental art movement, who made gallery/museum installations primarily out of preformed crisp-bread snacks.   

[Gups]

Certainly the most influential electronic music band ever.

[The Minsky Moment]

Certainly the most influential electronic music band ever.

That's one of those things like most effective Italian military formation, highest quality White Zinfandel, sanest Scientologist, or most sagacious Polish lawyer.

[Admiral Yi]

Yeah, no idea who this is.

Did you watch MTV in the 80s?  The German guys in suits playing keyboards.