Kraftwerk at the Royal Albert Hall

German four-piece Kraftwerk have long been regarded as pioneers of electronic music, and tonight’s set cements them in this long-standing status.

First of a long track list, Numbers sees the quartet appearing on stage dressed in matching outfits that light up in sync with the screen. Computer World follows, a little more melodious, but still maintaining the robotic sound Kraftwerk are known for. The graphics for the multimedia tour are nothing short of incredible; beautifully imagined and executed, like the visuals for Spacelab in which we see the interior of a spaceship and airglow above Earth, gradually zooming into London, with the UFO eventually arriving right at the Royal Albert Hall, ingeniously looking like the four musicians just landed as extra terrestrials. Taking us back into the industrial mode, The Man – Machine is an early highlight, particularly its verses, which are very danceable, extra notes being slowly added to an ongoing rhythm, while Ralf Hütter’s vocals echo through the vocoder.

A lot of Kraftwerk’s songs have lyrics in German, which are then translated to English, Italian, and sometimes other languages too. Simplistic and repetitive in nature, this places more focus on the musical arrangements through highly customised and programmed sets. Leading their audience into a very proud German moment, they perform Autobahn, the visuals showcasing top Deutsch inventions like Volkswagen and BMW, highlighting Germany’s innovation in the auto industry. You wouldn’t be remiss in thinking the band are computer scientists or engineers, given the focus on machine technology both in their music and graphic creations, but they are formally trained musicians, sound artists, and fine art students who utilised their collective knowledge of technology to pioneer electronic music, and in doing so, inspire several bands along the way. Take, for instance, Computer Love, another highlight, which was sampled by Coldplay in Talk for their 2005 album X&Y. Moreover, Kraftwerk have vastly influenced all modern electronic, hip-hop, and dance music, and inspired new-wave, synth-pop, as well as techno artists.

Steering the ship a little away from tonight’s norm, the group play a brief but beautiful cover of Riyuichi Sakamoto’s Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence, a timeless piece, and an homage to their close friend. Changing gears again, Tour de France takes the lead, with vintage archival footage from the world-famous race; intriguingly, Hütter recorded himself on a bicycle, so the exertions you hear are real. Seguing into Étape 2, this next track is complemented by an inspired video that shows the tour in the white midsection of the flag, while sonically, the tune sounds like it’s been lifted straight out of a chic French club.

Closing the night with highlight Boing Boom Tchak, Techno Pop, and Musique Non Stop, the members all exit one by one, returning once again for encore, The Robots, establishing Kraftwerk as the godfathers of electronic music.