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Jani Novak from LAIBACH told me that KRAFTWERK will definitely release new album in next four months!

He also told me that Florian Schneider was wery reluctant about all media activities because he recently got a daugh ter!

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Ralf spoke to EMI/Parlophone Business Affairs in the UK sometime during last week - initially regarding the Japanese 'Computerworld' CD reissue. He told them that KW have an album of "completely new material" which EMI UK now have on their schedule for "very early in 1997".

Scumek Sabottka of MCT - who is the nearest thing KW have to a Manager - told some colleagues of mine that there will be a new KW album and live dates early next year.

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The following statements are from Ralf Hütter . They come from an inteview in the swedish magazine New Life 12/13-91

Ralf Hütter ...

- haven't listen to the first Kraftwerk albums for several years.

- have seen Front 242 live and liked it, but he thought it was a bit to agressive.

- prefer except techno also ethnic music.

- always wear black clothes because he is of the opinion that black is a beautiful color that matches everything.

- have read Isaac Asimovs books about robots, but he don't remember that much.

- prefer to watch black/white movies instead of Hollywood productions.

- believe in the future of the human race.

- believe that the human beeing will mutate, but never disappear.

- don't belive that we have to colonize other planets.

- don't believe in God.

- has never made a song that doesn't appear on a record.

- thinks the world are turning to one big museum.

- favourite method of transportation: His racer bike (apart from the VW)

- favourite instrument: The human voice

- favourite architecture: Einstürzende Neubauten!

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Let's all hope that there will be "no" new album in close future. It would take us all hope for new material for the next five years or so!! A human being can live without new Kraftwerk material, but it can't live without "hope". ;-)

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Ralf and Florain were being interviewed on a local public radio station and the interviewer asked

"So guys, er... how do you go about recording?"

In an instant the answer from Ralph - "We just press ze red button"

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New Life 01/1997 reports that new releases from both Kraftwerk and Elektric Music are scheduled for spring 1997. However, the Kraftwerk release is listed with a "?!?"... :-)

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Earlier today I was shown the CD booklet artwork for "In Motion", subtitled "Kraftwerk - Past, Present & Future", an aborted Kraftwerk retrospective that EMI UK planned to release during 1994. They commissioned a company called The Attic Design Co Ltd to offer a basic idea, though there were no actual pictures of KW at this stage. Really nice computer -grahics though - very tasteful - and much, much better than any of the other compilation designs we've seen.

The guy from Attic told me that the track listing was never finally decided, but it was to have been a 'best-of' of the EMI albums ("Autobahn" to "The Mix"), plus some new mixes by contemporary DJs/remixers. Nothing was ever finished, al though Paul Oakenfold/Steve Osborne were apparently approached among others. The whole thing was cancelled because... (you guessed it!) lack of co-operation from R+F.

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I've heard that EMI in the UK will issue DJ-only promo 12" singles of 'Home Computer', 'Music Non Stop', 'Trans-Europe Express' and 'Numbers' at the end of April. There will also be re-issues (as two x CD sets) of some albums too, in June. There may also be a new single (but no LP) to co-incide with 'Tribal Gathering'

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The first time Afrika Bambaataa heard Kraftwerk he said something like this: "If i mind saying, but that's some weird shit!" He also said, "What's up with them funky whiteboys?"

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April issue of the German magazine New Life seems to contain a brief note which states that EMI has turned down the new Kraftwerk material due to lack of quality and/or commercial potency in favor of a "Best Of" compilation.

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For anyone still collating all the many and varied instances of Kraftwerk samples that abound currently... David Bowie 's latest single, 'Dead Man Walking', contains a remix of same which utilises a sample from 'Tour De France'; 'Dead Man Walk ing' (This One's Not Dead Yet Remix) (6:28) Track 4 on the regular UK CD single release; RCA, 74321475852

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Today's LA Times Calendar section says that the new Wim Wenders film "The End of Violence" will feature new music by KW.

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'KRAFTWERK have confirmed that they are working on new material for an album with a tentative release date set for September. In addition the band are to have all their albums reissued with additional tracks to mark their Tribal Gathering appearance on May 24.

Band members Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider will be joined at Tribal Gathering by musicians Fritz Hilpert and Henning Schmitz, who accompanied the band on their UK dates promoting 'The Mix' in 1991. They plan to play four new songs during their performance.

NME understands that tapes of three new Kraftwerk tracks have been received by the band's London record compy, EMI. Security is tight with only two employeesof the company said to have heard it.

The first Kraftwerk re-issue, 'The Man Machine', will be released on June 2. The album, originally issued in 1978, will come with an extra CD featuring three german vocal versions of old Kraftwerk songs...('Neon Licht', 'Das Model', 'Die Roboter')...

It will be followed in July by repackaged versions of 'Radio-Activity' and 'Trans-Europe Express', both featuring extra tracks.

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... hear Kraftwerk play live at Tribal Gathering on Radio 1 from 10.30pm next Saturday night.

Synchronise watches, gentlemen...

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End of kraftwerk Digest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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