Ralf und Florian

Ralf and Florian was the third studio album by the band Kraftwerk. It was released in October of 1973 in Germany and France under the Philips label. In the UK, it was released in January 1974 under the Vertigo label. In August 1975, there was published under the Vertigo label in the United States. It has also been published under the name of Ralf and Florian and Ralf & Florian.

It was recorded from May to July 1973 at the present newly named Kling Klang studio by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. For the equipment and Conny Plank was responsible. The cover design took Emil Schult. The record was also designed by Emil Schult a large poster. The photo on the cover made ​​Robert Franck.

It was the first album of Kraftwerk, were used in the synthesizer. Then the music was more electronic than the previous albums. The song Electric Roulette sounds already like a modern Electropopsong. Tongebirge and Heimatklänge are more quiet games together from the Minimoog and flute. In crystallography one hears an electronic piano by Farfisa. " Ananas Symphonie" is the first song were used in the vocoder voices. Otherwise, the songs on this album are instrumental.

This album has disappeared in the eighties from the market and was never re-released on CD. The musicians of power plant later distanced themselves from the music from the early phase of the band - so no album has been added to the catalog prior to 1974. Since 1994, there are several black copies and bootlegs of these albums by record companies as Germanofon and Crown Records.

Title list

A-side

B-side

Reception

Philipp Schmidt takes a comprehensive essay on the music of Kraftwerk to the conclusion, " Ralf and Florian " could serve as a " transition are considered " in which the band " both musically and conceptually the group fro [ ... ] arrived at a turning point " had. Compared to the previous albums conquer " a softer, gentler atmosphere " and the sound is much clearer. Also, the image of the band had changed in that power plant " no longer as a musician, but much more like eccentric scientist" had.

In his review on the "Baby Blue Pages " Thomas Schuessler argues that the band let " on their third album, the sound experiments largely behind and issued on the path to more song -oriented structures. " His colleague Jochen beef Frey was, was the work " not as experimental as the first two albums, [but] not also influential as the future power plant stuff ", but do still while listening fun.