RALF & FLORIAN

Ralf and Florian is the third studio album from electronic group Kraftwerk. While the strange Kraftwerk 2 didn't feature any electronic elements as well as having little to do with the self-titled debut, Ralf and Florian (named after the duo themselves, Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider) shows the first signs of the groups pioneering electronic sound. It would take Autobahn for these ideas to fully take form, as there are still remnants of the band's Krautrock beginnings, but that has no effect on the quality of this release.

The thing that sets Ralf and Florian apart from it's predecessors is that they took the best elements of their Krautrock style and melded it with classical music and the very beginning of electronic music. "Kristallo (Crystals)" shows these beginnings of an entirely new kind of music, and is one of my favorite Kraftwerk songs in general. In front of a toe-tapping beat and catchy galloping electronics, are serene keyboards with a slight bittersweet tone. "Ananas Symphonie (Pineapple Symphony)" features more electronic innovation, but on the ambient end. This is a very relaxing track, as well as the longest clocking in at just under 14 minutes, with subtle musical changes that mix together very naturally. It's a song that makes one feel like laying down on a hammock outside and just letting the stress float away. "Heimatklänge (The Bells of Home)" showcase the influences from classical music, in the form of soulful piano.

Often transitional albums will suffer from inconsistency, but Kraftwerk were able to take the styles they knew and blend them perfectly with new ideas. This is an album that sounds both focused and free at the same time, with a goal to create music but with the only boundary being the band's own creativity. Unfortunately overshadowed by Autobahn, Ralf and Florian deserves to be heard as it's both a very enjoyable and historically important album.