Analyzing KRAFTWERK's BEATS - minimal DRUMS for maximum EFFECT | Drum Patterns Explained
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- Опубліковано 23 бер 2023
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The evolution of electronic music like Hip-Hop and Techno can be directly traced back to one common ancestor: Kraftwerk. Join us on a journey through their best albums as we analyze the beats behind the minimalistic masterpieces.
Featured drum patterns (transcriptions available on Patreon):
Kraftwerk - Autobahn
Kraftwerk - Radioactivity (Radioaktivität)
Kraftwerk - Trans-Europe Express (Trans-Europa Express)
Kraftwerk - The Model (Das Model)
Kraftwerk - Spacelab
Kraftwerk - The Robots (Die Roboter)
Kraftwerk - Computer Love (Computerliebe)
Afrika Bambaata & The Soulsonic Force - Planet Rock
The Egyptian Lover - Egypt, Egypt
Gear used:
Synthstrom Audible Deluge
Vector Synth
Elektron Syntakt
Hologram Microcosm
Vermona DRM-1 MKIV
Cyclone Analogic TT-78
Korg Monologue
Behringer RD-8
Behringer RD-9
Dübreq Stylophone Beatbox
Dübreq Stylophone
Arturia Keystep
Native Instruments Komplete Kontrol M32
► Instagram / captainpikant
#kraftwerk #analogsynth #synthesizer #analog #drummachine #beats #electronicmusic
Produced by Jean-Claude Dirckx and Sophie Hoppstädter
I was a kid in the 70's and will never forget hearing Kraftwerk's Autobahn for the first time. My dad rented our upstairs apartment to a real nice hippy couple and their mom. The guy owned HUNDREDS of albums all neatly arranged in the living room. On evening he summoned me and my older brother for a listening session. He just said: "Here man. Check this out." We sat in near darkness and total silence. What a way to first experience that album. To this day, I still can't get over how simple and yet profoundly cool it is. Great video!
Try getting young person (any person for that matter) these days to sit in silence and just listen to music. The best you would get today is for them to sit and mess around on their phone the whole time so they aren't even listening. The future for which the soundtrack was composed by Kraftwerk is so much darker and sparse.
@@trippmoore my close friend is the exact same as you described but i try i really do
Replace your dad with my mom and my experience was very similar. Toss in some Yes Roundabout, Frank Zappa, ELO and of course lots of Carpenters (haha my choice). When I first heard Otto Bonn (I was 12) I thought it felt like driving!
I remember my local Top 40 station didn't play Autobahn. I heard it for the for the time on Casey Kasem's show. I went out and bout the album the next day. I worked as a regional truck driver for 30 years and in the late 80/early 90s, an Autobahn cassette (yeah- remember those) was always in my driver's bag to listen to in my travels.
@@brandonl.kingston635 there's always that boomer in the comments... Young people bad and phone bad.
Its absolutely criminal CPK only has 40k subscribers. This is the definitive YT channel for Synth Education.
Thank you for leaving this comment! I thought I was subscribed, but wasn't until right now 🙏💯💯
Yea that kinda blows my mind
It will grow to that point imho. Just wait a little. These videos are pure gold.
*It's not the Subscribers that count, it's the Viewers, what's the use of 1 Million Subscribers, if only 2 are watching ;)*
Just subscribed. 👍
You can't hide your German nature - only German's can pronounce all those names (at least effortless ;-))! I grew up with Kraftwerk when their albums were released, and I had them all (well, up to a certain point). Only now can I appreciate the genius behind their music! Well done.
You recognize Germans by their usage of "unapologetically".
I don't think Captain Pikant is trying to hide that. Why should he or anyone. Great things have been coming from Germany; Kraftwerk, cars, computers 🙂
@@wackerburg He surely isn't, no need for that. Just nice to hear all German names pronounced the way it should be. Same with Sabine Hossenfelder. There are some non-Germans that try, but not many (even though it is easy nowadays with Google Translate - it will read them aloud, if one wishes).
His "r" is pronounced rather sloppy, or to be percise, not properly.
Comon speech error amongst Germans though.
@Diggie "common" is sometimes spelt wrong in English 😉😂
Absolutely nailed it. You distilled the essence of Kraftwerk's beautiful simplicity and massive musical impact in less than 22 minutes. Steller video my friend!
Hi Dennis, we're so glad you like it :)
To be honest, it needed to be 2 hours longer! I'm just greedy 😂
DAS IST GUTE KRAUTERKLÄRUNG!
THIS IS A GOOD KRAUT EXPLANATION.
V
10:53 I'd also like to add the reason for this: Trans-Europa Express isn't just a song on an album, it's a whole electronic suite composed of three songs meant to be listened together as one long piece:
>> Trans-Europa Express
>> Metall auf Metall
>> Abzug
therefore, these three songs share the same beat.
When I first found out about this I was utterly stunned. Listening to the full thing properly, it almost felt like Kraftwerk was trying to tell a story through the music. What a group of geniuses.
I remember when an album was something you usually listened to in sequence. It's a shame that shuffled playlists came along and took that away from us for a while, but perhaps it's now returned because of the number of "full album" videos on UA-cam? I hope so.
well, it's not a new idea, if they made a whole album this way it would also have a familiar name: a concept album
It was quite clear when listening a tape copied from somewhere without any song names ;)
@@macronencer
This is why I have Spotify. I get to listen to just about any full album.
Gorgio Moroder also did this extremely well, on the albums From Here To Eternity and E=MC2. On a side note Cerrone also did this on his 3rd album Supernature. Girgio’s albums are definitely worth a listen!
1976. 12 years old. A gentleman at the model glider club had out a film camera on a glider and flown it. Amazing at the time. He set the film to Autobahn and it changed my interest in music forever. Thanks to this channel for highlighting one of the greatest bands of 20th century.
It was numbers for me.
What do we search for to find this clip?
One of the best videos on UA-cam!
I discovered Kraftwerk as a 7 year old boy in '99. 'Planet Rock' was on the soundtrack of a game called Skate and Destroy, which got the T.E.E. melody stuck in my head. My mum heard me humming it endlessly and said, "Where did you hear Kraftwerk?", not realising I was mimicking a sampled version of the melody. I tilted my head at her like a puzzled puppy. "Craft Vrk? What's that?""
Then she put 'The Robots' - '91 version - on our CD player. I was dancing around like an adorable little android. I devoured their discography on cassette up to Computer World and became a mega fan before I had double digits on my birthday cakes. That road quickly guided me head-first into Aphex Twin, Amon Tobin, AIR, Tangerine Dream, Vangelis, Gary Numan, Bjork, Daft Punk, etc., and before long I was making my own music as a pre-teen in early versions of Reason trying to emulate Kraftwerk and Streets of Rage chiptune. I have a DAW open as I write this comment, ha.
I'm glad this music is still so fun and addictive to others 50 years hence, and that today's electronic music artists and educators on UA-cam like Hainbach, Look Mum No Computer, Doctor Mix, and now Captain Pikant are flying the flag for the genre's innovators from Stockhausen or earlier and onwards. Love you all!
Never seen this channel before, but these people are genuinely passionate about this. And whoever was doing the video editing, really suits the narrative. The pearlers deco is top notch. I'll be looking forward to goings through your catalog.
Your name on here made me feel funny
Kraftwerk was my first exposure to German electronic and krautrock. From there I became a fan of Tangerine Dream. It defined my teen years and puzzled everyone else who couldn't understand the attraction.
as a huge Kraftwerk fan this immediately got my attention. Awesome video. Great breakdown of these Kraftwerk songs beats.
Love your TEE remix!
I cannot understate how much I NEED a full version of that cover of the Robots, sounds so good man!
Fantastic video!
I was thinking the same thing. It sounds like a retouched 2023 version.
Afrika Bambaataa’s “Planet Rock,” the pioneering 1982 single that helped give birth to hip-hop and electro, was based on two Kraftwerk songs, but it didn’t technically sample either of them. Instead, Bambaataa and producer Arthur Baker recreated the synthesizer melody and drum-machine patterns themselves. “I tried to create what a DJ would do with records,” Baker told Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton for their great book The Record Players: The Story of Dance Music Told by History’s Greatest DJs.
Ripped off. They were sued by Kraftwerk and now kraftwerk are officially co authors of planet rock.
Das ist das erste Video welches ich von euch gesehen habe und ich muss direkt ein Lob aussprechen. Die Leidenschaft und Detailverliebtheit welche in diesem Video steckt ist herausragend. Aber auch die generelle Qualität was Video, Ton und vorallem Inhalt angeht ist auf höchstem Level. Ein wirklich gelungenes Video. Ich freue mich auf weitere Videos. Bis dahin werde ich mal die bisherigen durchstöbern.
100% Zustimmung! 👍✌️
I'm reading Wolfgang Flur's book, as well. They were even more innovative than they realized at the time- building their own instruments to suit their needs and writing melodies that reverberate through time. Great video, thank you.
And the low tech robots for the live show.
Conny Plank had a big influence on Autobahn, some of the synth ideas for the song came from him.
Apparently also the unusual amount of swing in the drums.
He was a jazz musician through and through. ;)
Greetings from Germany
i saw them live once. the concert hall sound(system) they provided was extraordinary: e.g. while playing "autobahn" they created the impression that cars were driving in circles around you.
I saw their performance at Coachella back in like '08 I think. It was amazing.
WOW 😳😱 This was one of the most AMAZING dissections of electronic compositions EVER!! Kraftwerk is definitely one of my greatest influences and you guys represented their legacy to the fullest, and the outro "The Robots" was so sublime you gained a new subscriber, well done 👏👏👏
I love this! You sum up the heart and sprit of Kraftwerk,and with a sense of humor they'd appreciate.
I applaud you on my feet sir. This brings tears to my ears, tears of joy, of course. Thank you so much for this episode. Loved every second of it.
From your ears?
@@reecedeyoung6595 like when you cry from joy.
After decades of listening to Kraftwerk, it’s nice to have a visual explanation and a bit of history about their music creation. Nice video!
not being profound or anything...but Kraftwerk's influence can NOT be understated...I appreciate their music so much more now, then at that time, and I loved it then. Almost 40 years later and still groove to it...the power of minimalism!!! Ok, I will go listen to them now and watch my wife look at me like Im crazy while I do the robot...I mean, I am a robot...bleep bloop bleep
Absolutely true. It single handedly got me, and many many others, into electronic music. I heard Autobahn as a kid and it changed my life.
@@sub-jec-tiv the crazy part is the amount of different genres they influenced along with drum patterns we all still use today and are ingrained into our music that we unconsciously tap out still..., so great!
Surely you mean "overstated", but yeah!
Kraftwerk is one of my all-time favourite bands, but I might never have discovered them if I hadn't watched Carl Sagan's TV show 'Cosmos' with theme music by Vangelis. I was so enamored by it that I went to purchase the soundtrack CD. By chance a copy of Autobahn was in the adjoining rack, and on special offer, so I purchased both albums. 35 years later the music still sounds as fresh as the day I discovered it.
I don't have enough thumbs for how much I like this. Perfekt!
Trans Europe Express and Tour de France were two of my favorite dance tunes in the 80s. I play their albums over and over as mood and thinking music.
Großartig. Born in 1964 in Cologne i grow up with Kraftwerk and open for any genre of the time. Old School Funk like Was not Was. The whole Funkadelic Scene, DAF, The Human League ...
Thank you for that unexpected Time Warp. Awesome.
Two of the members of Kraftwerk have sons who play in an instrumental post-rock band called Milhaven. They’re pretty incredible.
I am attending a Kraftwerk show next month. This comes just in time to appreciate more their music. Thank you!
wow they are still putting on shows?!
Congrats on having the ability to see them. Will be beyond epic, believe me
@@udance4ever I saw them a month ago. They played "Tango", a song they haven't done in almost 20 years. It was fantastic.
I still remember the first time I heard Hall Of Mirrors. A track that absolutely mesmerised me. In a good way.
Christ. That was over 40 years ago...
Same here for the song Space Lab!
...it means we're a bunch of young guys (from other times) 😁
As a child a neighbour got me into Kraftwerk, found them fascinating, still do today. From all the videos on youtube about Kraftwerk this has to be one of the best I've seen, funny and easy to understand. Hats off to you for making it. I've been teaching myself to play keyboards for the last couple of years, have always wanted to find a midi track of Spacelab.
Look forward to your next video
Production value far exceeding any other music channel... honestly i adore your vids you guys!
That was the most fun I've had in ages! So much fun to hear those beats deconstructed. Thank you!
This is just brilliant, I'm not a musician but it's great to see how songs are created and krafwerks music id just genius :)
The first ever sample pack I ever bought was a batch of 5 floppies for octaMED. I think I paid £3 from a local outdoor Saturday market. Two of the disks were Kraftwerk percussion & FX, and the other three were Amen Breaks, Rave Stabs & Hoovers. Man, I loved those disks!
Programming music on a tracker, those were the days :) Do you still have the samples from those floppies?
@@CaptainPikant Unfortunately I gave away all my old floppies when I sold my Amiga 600. I do think the samples still exist on an E-mu Esi32 CD-Rom that I burned many moons ago using EsiWin. Maybe I should have a rummage around in the garage and try to find them.
Kraftwerk. The Beatles of Electronica. Just like this channel , they never get enough credit.
nah. the monkees of electronica. TD are the Beatles
@@fuckcensorship69 TD? Who is that?
Looks like we've got a music critic over here...
Literally the best mix of documentation, modern hardware synths, awesome music and some really nice guys behind the scenes!
I remember listening obsessively to The Man Machine as a teenager, and in particular Bartos’ drum fills defined for me how drum fills should be played and structured. So sparse and minimal, yes, but also weirdly joyful as little bursts of restrained energy to punctuate the structure of the songs. Seeing and hearing you recreate those is an immense joy!
I cheered when you did The Robot. Best recreation i’ve heard. I am hoping you did the whole song and will post it.
The production quality of your videos is insane! The effort and preparation you both go to is amazing and truly sets a new standard. Outstanding.
The 15 step vid is awesome too! 😍
Thank you so much, glad you enjoy the videos! :)
saw the 2022 band live recent tour. the snappy short synth bleeps sound so powerful, cutting the air with so much precision (i.e. Man Maschine). Overall dynamic on big PA is huge. they are still number 1.
Duuuude I went see it last July in Seattle and I will never forget it
I've never been interested in Kraftwerk's music before this video. So interesting and inspiring! Now I will deep dive into their production
Amazing. I'm a huge Kraftwerk fan - thanks for this insightful analysis and history lesson!
I just discovered your channel. The production value of this video is OUSTANDING. Loved it!
Kraftwerk are my favourite band. Your videos are so stylish with a wonderful presentation. It surprises me that The Man Machine drums are programmed. They still sound handmade to me with minor imperfections. Critic David Stubbs thinks so too. Also as far as I remember there are no samples on Planet Rock. Each sound was recreated. Or at least the TEE part anyway. Great video.
I like how you meticulously recorded your takes, taking your hand out of frame when not playing notes. Perfekt!
This made me fall in love with their music once again if that's even possible. This feels like a beautiful tribute and a reminder for new generations of how impactful they were and still are to this day. Thank You!
You nailed all of my personal Kraftwerk favourites. Well done! Earned yourself a sub!
Thank you for making this video, from the bottom of my heart. I love Kraftwerk since I was a little kid.
The production value of these videos is insane. Brilliantly entertaining, deeply informative. Channels like this make me want to actually start making music.
I am so obsessed with your videos! Your style is truly immaculate and silly! Love it!
Loved the “Subscribe” in Morse code…nice touch.
Well spotted! :)
Just spotted that as well (“wait, that didn’t start with an R…”) - does UA-cam have rules about embedding subliminal messages in videos?
This is the first video I've seen from you and I'm amazed. It is incredibly well made!
High quality content as usual. Inspiring and educational. I didn't find something similar on UA-cam yet, the most of the other channels are based on increasing the gear acquisition syndrome instead of intelligence
Great production love the style and way the examples are done. I like how your both involved too ❤
I love these high quality videos. Well done again
Incredible video. Thank you so much for this. My love for Kraftwerk is reignited!
Amazing style of presentation! Thank you and keep going!
Que lindo análisis sobre los robots. Muchas gracias 🤖🤖
The content, the production quality and the great sense of humor got me hooked.
Wow, amazing. That was so well produced, explained and analyzed. Keep up the good work!
I have very much enjoyed this video and watched it a number of times. You have made the drum rhythms so accessible, thank you.
Just stumbled across this channel, was instantly hooked with this clip. Love them. Friendly, funny, and very helpful for learning lovely electronic music stuff. Bin gespannt auf alles hier!
Sehr gute Erklärung, danke für dieses Video!
This was just a wonderful collection! Thank you.
What a genius explanation of it all! Came across you randomly, but damn, this is so well done!
I'm so glad that the beats of Kraftwerk have been noticed! Amazing video!
Impressively well done, this must have been so much fun to make!
Yes it was :)
My absolute favorite channel when it comes to this kind of content. 🎹
Well impressed. Thank you for putting the video together.
Great video as always! Talking about Kraftwerk samples, I always immediately think of New Order using a sample from Uranium in Blue Monday. Classic sound that everyone now recognises.
True, that's an absolute classic! We also used that sample in our Blue Monday cover :)
Captain + Kraftwerk.. wunderbar! ❤
Very enjoyable to see a drum-pattern breakdown of my favorite band. Nice work!
I love your channel. and your cover of the Robots at the end was amazing.
I bought Computer World when it first came out when I was 10 yo and was just fascinated with it, there wasnt really anything else like it. I was also listening to alot of Pink Floyd but they were far from Kraftwerk musically but they used some of that synth sound that was still fairly new in modern music. Ironically I was aspiring to be a drummer and got my first snare for Christmas and taking lessons but this music just kind of broadened my influences of what type of music i liked instead of just the normal rock that was coming out back then.
WOW! Captain and the Intern put so much effort into this... very impressive. Not to mention moving - GÄNSEHAUT several times watching this! These albums had such an impact on me as a teenager. btw I think Computer Liebe has some syncopated echo on the bass drum too, although it could be on the bass synth line... I will have to go and have a listen.
This was very captivating! Beautiful music!
what a beautiful little love note to kraftwerk, and made with so much polish and character too. all of these covers felt fresh and lively! made me want to revisit my favorite kraftwerk songs.
I love how you "keep the best for last" - your re-interpretation of "Die Roboter", with that long-held bass note at 20:12, and then the drums kicking in really energetically 12s later is a bloody ingenious "must-listen-to-it-again-and-again" (and at high volume!) moment 😀. All available thumbs up!
It took me about an hour of my lifetime to figure out, that that melody of computerliebe is also the main melody in talk by coldplay.
Me too! Both are fantastic songs. I was glad to see they got permission 🙂
This video rekindled my love for Kraftwerk! Thank you!
This video (and audio) is the most beautifull thing I've seen in ages! Compliments!!
Ich konnte bis zu diesem Video noch nie ernsthaft sagen, dass mich ein Bild aus (googelt nach Namen)... Bügelperlen zum Schmunzeln gebracht hat. Beweist einmal wieder euer Talent für die Auswahl von exquisiten Requisiten.
I love "It's More Fun To Compute". The latter half sounds very Orbital despite being so many years before. (I know the K were one of the O's big influences).
Paul and Phil have some incredible, pristine classic synths and effects generators.
I'm learning so much watching this video. Helps me hone into things I've been interested in taking a crack at, but didn't really understand the internal mechanics of the sound. This is very helpful
What a cool video and about a topic I really love. I've never been that big on electronic music, but there has always been something about Kraftwek that has had me loving their sound for decades. Awesome job on the production values on the video too, very well put together.
After you break down the production techniques, I can better appreciate those old Kraftwerk songs. Them seemed too simplistic when I first heard them; but, after making my own beats, I know I have much to learn from the minimalist approach to building a wall of sound
36 seconds in and I already gave your new video a thumbs up. Hello everyone, this is a new fan
Edit: what a great one. Epic ending as well 🤖
Fantastic insight into Kraftwerk. The wiring under the board! Great video. Thanks for sharing your skill and knowledge 🙏
What an incredibly well made video!
This was superb and I loved the explanations too.
Thanks for making this video! :)
It's wild how much inspiration Kraftwerk has given to others!
As a 28 year old living in the middle of the US, I am more familiar with Kraftwerk than I should EVER be on a reasonable level. I remember them becoming such an obsession for me when I was in Junior High for example that when I happened to look at a family tree for Jazz music (believe it or not,) Kraftwerk would be almost the first name I saw. I would marvel at how they could possibly be connected to Jazz whatsoever. But music often is capable of crossing borders that other aspects of culture simply do not or cannot.
*The whole Universe is made of Waves and good Music (Kaftwerk) just proves why we love Waves that we can hear and see, in that sense, all the Life is a Wave that we dance on all the time ;)*
*Wavy Greetings from Hamburg !!*
I had no idea Coldplay’s ‘Talk’ was an homage to Kraftwerk’s ‘Computer Love’
Could just as easily have been a cover. I was also a bit surprised.
More like stole it than a homage.
Hey Mike, so great to see you here :) Been a fan of your work for a very long time ❤
I once read online that Chris Martin wrote a long letter to Ralf Hütter saying that he is a big fan of Kraftwerk and asking if he can use the melody for Talk. He got a letter back just saying "yes".
@@CaptainPikant Wooow! Thank you, I feel honored! 🙌 Dig your work, CP! 👏
This of one of the best vids I’ve seen on UA-cam! Thank you!
This video is a pure joy ride. Great sound and visuals. Congratulations! ❤
Everytime I hear Radioactivity I get chills.
That was my first Kraftwerk album, got it at the age of 12. I was obsessed with it, actually learned the morse code just to decode that sequence.
A very important part was missing: discussing how extremely good they sound in live concert. There are three different ways to listen to Kraftwerk (all are fine), headphones, a good surround system, and live. Their sound quality is very high and well produced, you can always find new details.
I've only seen them once but the sound was fantastic and so was the 3d show that they put on. Loved every minute of it.
Thanks alot for such beautiful and creative form of your own! Awesome pixelart also!
delightfull. all these tracks have been engrained in my membrane, from listening to vinyl in the 70's seeing them live in the 90's
Beautiful job on this! Minor correction -- Planet Rock did not "sample" Trans Europe Express. In 1982, no device could play a sample that long. Instead John Robie replayed the melody.
It’s still a sample regardless of whether the sample is stored on tape or in RAM.
@@kristofaxelson5088 It's not a sample if you recreate the sound from scatch.
@@kristofaxelson5088 It's an interpolation if it's replayed though.
@@kur1su74 ya it is
Very good video! There's nothing in it which I didn't like. It's a pleasure to watch your videos, find inspiration and smile every now and then.
Speaking of which: Every once in a while I listen to some Kraftwerk songs simply because they sound nice but also because they manage to get me into a special mood.
Feels a bit like slamming on the brakes during a busy day and then getting up to speed again, but in a controlled, mechanical, slightly repetitive, but also pleasing and catchy way because the pace is consistent and pushing me forward. So if I had to sum it up I'd say listening to Kraftwerk feels like using a Tempomat.
That's really interesting - I believe Karl Bartos also talked about that phenomenon in an interview (the trance inducing/hypnotic component of repetitive music).
This is truly excellent. The quality is superb, your delivery, humour, design and, obviously, sound is amazing.
Very well put together!!! Great content