Music for carports

What's going on here, then? More money for Ralf and Florian? Compare this Audi commercial with the 2003 video for Kraftwerk's "Tour de France" and judge for yourselves.

Audi R8 (Le Mans) (From the Paris car fair, that ended yesterday)



Kraftwerk "Tour de France" video, 2003

Christa Fast RIP

Christa Fast, widow of Conny Plank and proprietor of Conny's studio after Conny's death in 1987, is also gone now.

Many, including ex Kraftwerk member Wolfgang Flür, has posted their condolences here.

Congratulations, Florian!

The most solid Kraftwerk member, Florian Schneider, turns 59 today. Congratulations, etc.

This is what he used to look like:



These days he wears a hat, but the twinkle in his eye is exactly the same.

The Conny Plank

Konrad “Conny” Plank , producer to the stars, died of cancer in 1987 as one of the worlds most important music producers. His technological savvy and his sensitive ear helped creating krautrock, and cast the foundation for the modern electronic scene.

When Plank is mentioned these days, it is most often in connection to the early Kraftwerk albums. But plenty of other german prog/kraut/psych celebrities has visited his studio to record: Neu!, Cluster, Guru Guru. And we definitely can't forget his work with Dieter Moebius or Brian Eno (or Devo, Ultravox, Eurythmics, …), and we absolutely must not forget DAF and their Plank produced albums “Gold und liebe” and “Alles ist gut”.

During the seventies, Conny built his own studio in Cologne. The studio has up until recently been run by Conny's widow, Krista. Recent rumors tell us that the studio is now beind closed down, and that the entire thing might be for sale. If this is true: buy it!

And by the way, if you for some reason would stumble upon the 1981 album "Biomutanten" by Les Vampyrettes, a collaboration between Plank and Holger Czukay of Can, but that as well.