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ORGANISATION album, "Tone Float" released 1970 The first album with Ralf Hütter und Florian Schneider as members of the group Organisation. On "Tone Float", the line up consisted of Ralf on organ, Florian on violin and flute, Basil Hammoudi on vocals, Fred Monics on drums and Butch Hauf on bass. The LP features repetitive percussion and bass drum patterns, embellished with guitar, flute, violin and organ. Sections of the music are clearly '60s influenced and have an almost eastern feeling with scratchy violin and bongos. "Tone Float" was the last time that Ralf and Florian would rely on unrestrained expression and improvisation. With Organisation beeing a democratic five piece band, it was difficult to develop a disciplined approach. Any comparison between "Tone Float" and the later Kraftwerk sound is hard to draw. "Tone Float" (RCA SF8111) UK Release Side One 1. TONE FLOAT Side Two 2. MILK ROCK, download MP3 (2.5 MB) 3. SILVER FORREST, download MP3 (1.5 MB) 4. RYTHM SALAD 5. NOITASINAGRO, download MP3 (3.6 MB) Also featured on Bootleg CD 6. VOR DEM BLAUEN BOCK (Beat Club TV-Theme Mai 1971) Produced and engineered by Conrad Plank and Organisation for Rainbow Productions. Kraftwerks first album, "KRAFTWERK" released 1970 After disbanding Organisation the duo Ralf Hütter und Florian Schneider adopted the name Kraftwerk (Power Plant). The album was recorded between July and August of 1970 in their new Düsseldorf studio. It was co-produced and engineered by Conrad Plank with the assistance of Klaus Löhmer. Plank did believe very strongly in the pioneering music of Kraftwerk and he helped with the recording process often for little or no remuneration. When released in late 1970 the LP sleeve was designed by Ralf and showcased their adopted trademark - the traffic cone. From the very opening notes of the LP, it is evident that the duo had put much of the mendering ucertainties of "Tone Float" behind them, arriving at a more disciplined form of music. Side one opens with "Ruckzuck", a piece which was to become alive fauvorite of the duo. They often started their early concerts with this track which is dominated by Florian's breathy flute riff. The 12 minute "Stratovarius" follows and gives the impression of a more ordered structure than on the "Tone Float" LP. The tempo speeds up and slows down to various climaxes, ending with a plaintive violin and flute played over a minimal percussive beat. The final climax ends suddenly like someone had turned the volume of. Side two opens with "Megahertz" which begins with a low oscillating note slowly developing into waves of industrial sound. This finally gives way to a quiet passage which has an almost classicaly minimal tune, showing an early understanding of the sort of basic melody lines they where later to use to such effect. On the last track noise swoops from speaker to speaker , tension building as stabs of industrial sound are joined by a tribal drum beat. The intensity and direction of the duo was now clear as the track steps out of the shadows of their contemporaries as a portrayal of industrial sound. Compared to "Tone Float", "KRAFTWERK" was a considerable artistic succes and they had managed to mix a blend of sounds giving an almost hallucenogenic effect. "KRAFTWERK" (Philips 6305 058) Side One 1. RUCKZUCK 7:47, download MP3 (3.6 MB) 2. STRATOVARIUS 12:10 Side Two 3. MEGAHERTZ 9:30, download MP3 (4.4 MB) 4. VOM HIMMEL HOCH 10:12 Produced and engineered by Conrad Plank and Kraftwerk July-September 1970. Back to homepage