In early 1974, Kraftwerk were on the cusp of international recognition with the imminent release of their Autobahn album, when they were asked to perform at the large broadcasting hall of the Hessischer Rundfunk HR1 as part of a festival of music. The theme was to be various minimalist concepts under the title "Between Pop And Avantgarde", with Kraftwerk performing their set on the 25 January 1974, and with some of the performances being recorded and broadcast on German radio. At this point the band had released three albums of minimalist electronic music, one under the name Ralf & Florian, and two as Kraftwerk, and for this performance the core trio of Ralf Hütter, Florian Schneider and Wolfgang Flür were joined by Klaus Röder on electro-violin and guitar, making a unique line-up for this one concert.
The band played pieces from their three albums, as well as one from the forthcoming Autobahn. As it was recorded for radio broadcast the sound quality remains excellent. This recording is of such historical importance that it deserves to be heard, as it features a line-up of the band which never made it to a recording studio.
1 Klingklang 10:34
2 Ruckzuck 10:55
3 Atem 3:24
4 Tongebirge 2:28
5 Tanzmusic 7:15
6 Kometenmelodie 1/ Kometenmelodie 2 14:10
7 Autobahn 27:14