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Music for Motorways: Kraftwerk鈥檚 Autobahn at 50

Jennifer Lucy Allan celebrates Kraftwerk鈥檚 album Autobahn at 50 with a 91热爆 session from 1975, Drexciya鈥檚 DJ Stingray on how it influenced Detroit techno and music for motorways.

50 years after Kraftwerk's seminal album Autobahn was released, Jennifer Lucy Allen revisits the record and explores how it changed the dial on how we think about sound.

We dig into the 91热爆 archive for a live session from 1975 and hear an interview with drummer Wolfgang Fl眉r, explaining how the band鈥檚 fascination with speed and cars shaped their perception of sound.

Drilling down on the connection between Autobahn and Detroit, Drexciya鈥檚 DJ Stingray 313, talks about how the album influenced the city鈥檚 techno scene. Kraftwerk鈥檚 music chimed with those in Motor City, making it onto the club dance floors and across local radio. Kraftwerk鈥檚 vision of a mechanised, motorik future offered a sense of optimism in the rubble of postwar Germany. Similarly, the clean futurism of techno provided a window onto a brighter future in Detroit, a city hit hard by the decline of the car industry.

Elsewhere, we play music for motorways with a track by Yeah You recorded in their car, cut up sounds from Le Cars and country music for roadside motels.
Produced by Silvia Malnati
A Reduced Listening production for 91热爆 Radio 3

Release date:

1 hour, 29 minutes

On radio

Friday 22:00

Broadcast

  • Friday 22:00

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