The Walrus - Music With Big Fuckin' Teeth!

04/02/2008

R.I.P. Klaus Dinger, Founding Member of Kraftwerk and Neu!

Klaus Dinger, who recently passed away, was the first official drummer for the insanely influential electronic outfit Kraftwerk, before they developed their famous robotic look and clean electro-pop sound. That's right, they weren't always freaky robots. At one point, they were actually...freaky humans.

Rooted in progressive jazz, rock and psychedelia, the early version of the band used traditional instruments to create an experimental sound that was very unique and ahead of its time. Check out these live videos of Dinger-era Kraftwerk:

1970:
Youtube Link

1971:
Youtube Link

Dinger left the band soon after and joined forces with fellow ex-Kraftwerk member Michael Rother to form the influential Krautrock band Neu!

Neu! released three albums of amazing quasi-electronic music that primarily consisted of guitars, bass, drums and some voice. It was then that Dinger was able to fully realize his trademark "Motorik Beat," with its steady and clean mechanical sound, which Brian Eno once declared "the most important rhythmic concepts of the 70s, next to the Fela Kuti Afrobeat and the James Brown Soulbeat."

Their sound has inspired and influenced countless artists over the years. They have been a major inspiration for bands such as Stereolab and Radiohead, and music from their 1973 album, Neu! 2, was used by Quentin Tarantino in his film Kill Bill. On a side note, the aforementioned album has been cited as the first to technically contain "remixes," due to the fact that the band ran out of money before they could finish it, and in turn, had to slow-down and speed-up some of the material just to flesh out the full album.

Below, I have included mp3s of Kraftwerk's seminal "Ruckzuck" (which, coincidentally, was the theme song for Newton's Apple!) and my two favorite Neu! tracks, the brooding "Negativland" and the chaotic, proto-punk masterpiece "Super," both of which exemplify Dinger's brilliant Motorik Beat.

Do yourself a favor and pick up all the Neu! albums, as well as Kraftwerk 1. Do it for the Dinger!

Godspeed, space-rocker!