TOUR DE FRANCE SOUNDTRACKS

Old kraftwerk meets new electronic music, with excellent results.

From listening to Kraftwerk one gets the clear impression that they are a very focussed, dedicated and single minded group of men. And I think this insular nature is part of what led to this fine album. On one hand the core concepts of classic Kraftwerk are on fine display 0 relatively sparse upbeat compositions, minimal and driving drum parts as well as that vocoder. However strange as it may seem these undisputed pioneers of popular electronic music have become influenced by the music they influenced and helped shape and create. Those old Kraftwerk staples mentioned earlier are now mixed with digital wavetable synthesizers, fat club bass tones, automated cutoff sweeps and rich interlocking tapestries of synthesizers.

It's so unexpected and almost unprecedented for a group after 35 odd years to not only still be together, to not only reinvent themselves but to also be creating fantastic music after all this time. The opening epic 3-parter 'Tour de France Etape' is up there with the best material they have ever created it embodies everything good about their old and new sounds and thus is the perfect testament to this band's timelessness. From there the album is solid but not quite as strong. Songs like 'Vitamin' with it's steady 8 minute march and 'Aero Dynamik' with it's dark minimal aesthetic are highlights from the rest.

I will never make the mistake of under-estimating Kraftwerk. Tour de France Soundtracks is such a great, fresh sounding achievement by such long running and ageing band that they are deserving of high praise. Recommended to all serious electronic music fans.