The Wavelength
Monday May 11th, 2020 with Joe Reilly
Kraftwerk Tribute Tonight

I still recall the first time I heard Kraftwerk playing on a tinny AM radio back in 1974 or 1975 when the group's single Autobahn rose to #12 on the Canadian charts. Imagine a song like that making it in pop radio today... not a chance. I was struck by this odd pop song and it stuck with me, but it wasn't until years later when I came to CKCU in the mid-80s that I was truly exposed to the amazing music of Kraftwerk - thanks to many great music programmers here at CKCU like Elorious Cain, John Stamos and Gabriella Bregman. Tonight I'm paying tribute to the music of Kraftwerk and the amazing work of Florian Schneider, one of the founders of Kraftwerk. Sadly, Florian Schneider died on April 21 (or April 30 as there are mixed reports about this), having just turned 73 on April 7. He was a member of the group until 2009, making a massive contribution to the band's sound and thereby influencing all kinds of popular music in the late 20th century and into the 21st century as well. We play the music of Kraftwerk, some songs by other artists that they influenced and some engaging covers of Kraftwerk songs. We also spin a hard to find single by Florian Schneider called Stop Plastic Pollution - his plea with us to stop using so much plastic which is ending up in the landfills and oceans of the world. This will stand as Florian Schneider's last recorded piece. You can see Schneider unveiling the song at a gathering of environmentalists at this link: https://electronicsound.co.uk/blog/florian-schneider-video/ And you can find a very thoughtful review of the influence of Florian Schneider here: https://www.npr.org/2020/05/07/852081716/how-florian-schneider-and-kraftwerk-created-pops-future Enjoy the music. Thanks Florian!