Kraftwerk | Trans Europa Express (1977)

The quintessential example of why Kraftwerk are the most influential pop group since the Beatles. Keen to establish a post-war German musical identity, they assimilated classical music, Weimar folk, the Beach Boys and the Velvet Underground but gradually became a unique, electronic pop group.

Afrika Bambaataa & Soul Sonic Force repurposed Trans-Europe Express’s hypnotic melody for the pioneering hip-hop single Planet Rock; the danceable machine rhythms laid the foundations for electro, techno, house, dubstep and beyond, and influenced artists from Joy Division to Daft Punk.

The song eulogises intercontinental train travel, encounters “Iggy Pop and David Bowie”, and heralds a dazzling future where pop is made electronically – one that Kraftwerk, and the late Schneider, very much created for themselves.

The long version of the song was on the original released album, is 13:44 long, and split into two (in the United States) or three parts (in Germany). The music was written by Ralf Hütter, and the lyrics by Hütter and Emil Schult.

The track is ostensibly about the Trans Europ Express rail system, with technology and transport both being common themes in Kraftwerk's oeuvre.

The track has since found further influence, both in hip-hop by its interpolation by Afrika Bambaata (via Arthur Baker) on "Planet Rock", which has been sampled and remixed by many different artists such as Paul Oakenfold for Swordfish's soundtrack, and by modern experimental bands such as the electroclash bands of the early 2000s.