Kraftwerk To Play Complete Studio Albums At Tate Modern

Electro Pioneers Kraftwerk to Play Tate Modern

Electronic music pioneers Kraftwerk are to play eight nights at London's Tate Modern, their first UK dates since 2004.

The German band whose career spans 40 years will perform for eight nights between 6 and 14 February 2013. Each gig will feature one of their eight studio albums in its entirety.

Kraftwerk's Tate Modern dates will be the first major set of concerts in the UK for nine years

Appropriately for the German band, whose name translates as Power Station, Kraftwerk will perform in the Turbine Hall, the location of a number of high profile art installations as well as concerts by other musicians, including most recently, industrial band Laibach, themselves no strangers to covering tracks of the German band.

Kraftwerk were at the forefront of synthesiser pop and had a huge influence on dance music in the late 1970s and early 1980s, as well as scoring chart hits with tracks such as Autobahn and UK number one single The Model. Coldplay later took the main riff from their 1981 track Computer Love for their single Talk.

The group, who at one stage toyed with the idea of sending robots on tour, last played a rare UK gig in 2009 when the cycling-obsessed band members performed at the Velodrome in Manchester.

Their new shows - which go under the name Kraftwerk The Catalogue 12345678 Live - will also include high-tech 3D visuals.

They will perform their albums in chronological order from Autobahn onwards through releases such as Trans Europe Express, The Man Machine and finishing with most recent collection Tour De France Soundracks.

Tate Modern director Chris Dercon said: "As a former power station, Tate Modern's Turbine Hall is an ideal venue for Kraftwerk's explorations of technology, energy and rhythm.

"Bringing together music, video and performance, these events will be true gesamtkunstwerk - a total work of art."

Earlier this year, Kraftwerk played a retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Dates of the concerts are:

  • 6 February 2013: Autobahn (1974)
  • 7 February 2013: Radio-Activity (1975)
  • 8 February 2013: Trans Europe Express (1977)
  • 9 February 2013: The Man-Machine (1978)
  • 11 February 2013: Computer World (1981)
  • 12 February 2013: Techno Pop (1986)
  • 13 February 2013: The Mix (1991)
  • 14 February 2012: Tour de France (2003)
Close

What's Hot