Den gåtfulla människan

Fans tend to loop certain questions. Within the Kraftwerk community, the loops are few but endless:

1. When will The Catalogue be released?
2. Electric Café was initially intended to be released as "Techno Pop". Are these demos that I found online real?
3. What band is the next Kraftwerk?

I dont know the answer to the first question, but the answer to the second one is probably Trans-Europe Express.

Peoples attempts to answer the third question will usually point to somebody from the Detroit area. Drexciya and related projects are often mentioned. But while I like Arpanet and Der Zyklus as much as the next guy, I still think that is taking the easy way out.

This is why I now present my own nominee to the title, Eric Malmberg, and specifically his album "Den gåtfulla människan" that was released by Häpna in 2005. It's all made by one man and a Hammond organ, but listen to that extra dry, barren beat in this sample track, that I have borrowed from the Häpna label website.

Eric Malmberg - Språk och tankestrukturer (mp3)

It's definitely not electro, but it feels more like Kraftwerk (Autobahn/Radio-Activity era, I guess) than Drexciya ever did (no matter which era).

Eric has just released a new record, called "Verklighet & Beat". The new one is recorded with a full band, which makes it a lot bigger in sound and a bit more folksy than "Den gåtfulla människan". But it's still nice and Bo Hansson is on it, so you should buy both.