Todays Thursday Trivia explains a little more about electronic band "Roboterwerke" roboterwerke were *allegedly* the first to 'release music with a drum computer'
I got these bits from google: "ROBOTERWERKE were be a bunch of German freaks based around Supersempfft’s Dieter Kolb who, during the mid 60s, were the first to experiment with electronic music. At a time when electronic synthesisers and drum machines didn't even exist the band had to literally invent their own instruments and if you want to know who built all these magical machines which were later excessively used by artists such as Kraftwerk, Herbie Hancock and Tangerine Dream, then look no further. ROBOTERWERKE were the first to release music with a drum computer, a self-made model which caused Herbie Hancock to pay the band a visit to find out more about their marvellous inventions and to this day they remain very close friends. ROBOTERWERKE (under the name of ‘Supersempfft) went on to release 3 LP's (‘Roboterwerke’ 1979 on CBS, ‘Futurist’ on RCA and ‘Metaluna’ 1978 - all adorned with spaced out cartoon Furry Freak Brothers style cartoon imagery). Whilst Kraftwerk's music gained international recognition as one of the first electronic acts and founders of modern dance music, ROBOTERWERKE were much more influenced by P-FUNK and acts such as PARLIAMENT and their sound takes a much more krautrock / leftfield aesthetic. Furthermore, every year the band spent a lot of time in the Caribbean and heavily influenced by the local ‘erb supply, the band developed a deep love for the local sound of steel drum music and Soca and from then onwards, they developed their own style of funky disco, electro and Soca." "Frankfurt-based kraut-rock little-knowns Roboterwerke, a band formed around Supersempfft member Dieter Kolb, are credited for being among the first to harness electronics as primary instrumentation. Upon inventing one of the first self-made electronic drum kits, they were paid a visit by Herbie Hancock, who in turn went for a peep at their homespun gadgetry and commenced to bestow his approval and dangle from their jocks. Afrika Bambaataa followed this by reworking some of their music into his own. As for more recent devotees, German techno guru Sven Väth has offered his own fair amount of praise to the Roboterwerke. But otherwise, who has heard of these guys? I wouldn’t suspect many have. But now, you have. And believe me, that’s a good thing. The unit’s self-titled 1979 finale finds them occupying a specific niche in the Kraut rock paradigm. What we have is quirktacular synth-pop/electro-disco with an uncommonly high production value for that time period. They pick up where Kraftwerk left off and apply those blueprints to sprouting forms of pop and dance music (e.g., synth-pop/electro-disco). Expect to hear a wealth of crisp percussion, eccentric pads, spacey washes, and other shrewd studio noodlings. In some tracks, Roboterwerke’s calypso and soca music inspirations shine through. Both “Rockbots” and “Shine on Me” carry a heavy tropical steel-drum influence. “Out of Time” sounds like The Bee Gees being smooched by a mid-eighties anime soundtrack, while the 4/4 throb of “High on Tech” would fit peachily in a Tommie Sunshine DJ set. The Pearls Before Swine-resembling fantasy folk ballad “Fantasia” is the closest Roboterwerke comes to a digression from the squishy disco bounce of the rest of the record. Roboterwerke’s vocal content is nothing too special, but it’s certainly appropriate and in no real way takes away from the enjoyableness of the songs. The production is just odd and loopy enough to make Roboterwerke a highly imaginative, stirring album, conjuring up plenty of exercises in late seventies acid-soaked imagery (with loony comic art in the liners to boot). The songs are good enough to not be negatively consequenced by the trademark electro blips, hums, and tweets of that era. On an album of less tuneful prowess, they would no doubt become excessive. The songwriting is certainly pop savvier than most anything Kraftwerk ever peddled. What's more, Roboterwerke is just as successfully punctuated in the technology department as the work of any of the Kraut rock champions during that same stretch of time. " and here's some links: http://www.wunderwerke.de/Roboterwerke1.htm http://punk-disco.com/Kassetten%20N-R.htm http://www.eem.hotbox.ru/so.html anyone know anymore? please add it!! _________________________________________________________________ --------------------- End of message text -------------------- This e-mail is sent by the above named in their individual, non-business capacity and is not on behalf of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP may monitor outgoing and incoming e-mails and other telecommunications on its e-mail and telecommunications systems. By replying to this e-mail you give your consent to such monitoring.
