13. Kraftwerk
When I first heard of Kraftwerk, in the 70s, I thought: this changes everything. And they did. To see those guys standing there, not playing any instruments, but making this electronic sound…I think they were one of the most important influences in music of any period. Once electronic music had been invented, you couldn’t uninvent it. Like the atomic bomb or something – you couldn’t go backwards. With synthesisers, with mellotrons and moogs, all these electronic devices, and then 808 and 303 – you could do things that meant that you were making a unique sound that nobody’s ever heard before. That to me was so exciting. I didn’t want to hear endless cover versions of the same songs, like in classical music, where they play the same thing over and over again – I wanted to hear something new, and this is a way of doing it without a traditional lineup of, you know, rhythm guitar, lead guitar, bass guitar, drums.
Then they heard them in America, and that created dance music. And that was the biggest revolution – I think their importance cannot be overstated. They were not the only ones – there were people like Can as well – making really long, long, long, long tracks that weren’t normal at the time, were very experimental. People got it and were inspired by it, and that’s led on to what we have now.
It was such a breakthrough, and I found it very exciting at the time. If you recognise it when it’s happening – I couldn’t say I’ve always spotted everything that’s ever come along, of course not, nobody could – but that one I did, and I felt very excited by. You think my god, I’ve never heard this before, I’ve never heard anything like it. How did they do it?
Then, you think, well maybe it’s just me. Maybe I’m just mad, and only I like it. And that’s what having a radio show’s about. You think: I’m going to play this on the radio, and see what other people think. And then you feel validated if other people like it, and that you’re not a complete freak who only likes things that nobody else likes. That is quite evangelical, but that’s what I enjoy doing. Spreading the word, you know?
