My Life in Music: Kraftwerk – Autobahn

The 1970s were a very rich period for German bands, Can, Faust, Neu!, and of course Kraftwerk. All of which were highly experimental and individual in their approach to music.  Arguably Kraftwerk’s body of work reflects an obsession with many transport and technology issues; High speed rail (Trans Europe Express), the rise of the PC (Computer World), and this track, Autobahn, about motorways.  No ordinary motorways, but a utopian, utilitarian future where we’d use the motorway to flit safely, quickly, democratically, and efficiently between all the major European cities.  Of course we know that future never came, and even Kraftwerk turned to more sustainable transport in the end – bicycles (See Tour de France, Tour De France Soundtracks).