To call Kraftwerk influential barely does justice to their legacy. Their futuristic vision transformed the possibilities of popular music, with echoes of their work resonating through everything from electro and techno to hip hop and modern pop.
The German pioneers astonishing run of albums between 1974 and 1991 (if you include The Mix) helped lay the groundwork for modern electronic music in all its genres. Their influence can be heard in everything from Daft Punk through to Miley Cyrus, Radiohead to LCD Soundsystem.
With an influence that has spanned over fifty years and countless artists, Kraftwerk had long been on my gig bucket list. Progressive, pioneering and hugely influential, they have consistently led where others have followed.
It is still utterly unfathomable that founding member Ralf Hütter is only a few months from turning 80, yet alongside the other members he remains an unstoppable force. Their precision-led, cyclical electronic sound, shaped by post-krautrock experimentation, continues to feel both forward-looking and remarkably fresh.
From their unassuming entrance onto the stage, Kraftwerk delivered a career-spanning set with no breaks, paired with mesmerising visuals that created a truly immersive experience impossible to look away from.
Kraftwerk – light years ahead of their time
Kaleidoscopic, hypnotic and constantly shifting, the visuals were elevated by corresponding lights embedded in the band’s boiler suits. Attention to detail was, as always, impeccable. Playing to a largely local crowd, they even interspersed footage of the venue and nearby beach with a view from space during ‘Spacelab’ from 1978’s ‘The Man-Machine’, a welcome return to the live set that drew a rapturous response from the audience.
A long platform stretched across the front of the screen, its four identical workstations forming a sleek, minimalist stage for the quartet. Clad in black boiler suits fitted with luminous panels, they cut striking figures against a backdrop of light and sound.
Kraftwerk opened with ‘Numbers’, a landmark track from ‘Computer World’ whose DNA can be traced through decades of electro, hip hop and dance music. It proved the perfect curtain raiser for a set celebrating the band’s far-reaching legacy.
From the sparkling, propulsive arpeggios of ‘It’s More Fun to Compute’ to ‘The Model’, a masterclass in minimalist pop and one of Kraftwerk’s biggest hits, the set unfolded with remarkable finesse and precision. Every track and every visual was executed with meticulous control and clarity.
Kraftwerk and Ryuichi Sakamoto
There was very little between-song talking, with the band allowing their back catalogue to take centre stage. One of the rare occasions founding member Ralf Hütter spoke came when he paid a wistful tribute to his ‘best friend’, Japanese musician, composer and actor Ryuichi Sakamoto, saying: ‘Since 1981 and our very first concert in Tokyo, we have been friends forever.’
Sakamoto contributed Japanese-language lyrics to Kraftwerk’s ‘Radioactivity’, from the 1975 album ‘Radio-Activity’. The powerful song has remained a mainstay of the band’s live sets ever since and, half a century on, it remains as resonant and influential as when it first emerged in the 1970s. The group also paid tribute to Sakamoto with a reworking of ‘Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence’.
A dazzling display of music and visual artistry, it was a case of ‘Musique Non-Stop’, and I did not want the music to stop for a second. This was an impeccable, thought-provoking night from the German pioneers of electronic music, one that felt both nostalgic and futuristic in equal measure.
A journey through Kraftwerk’s most recent material
It was also great to hear some of Kraftwerk’s more recent material. Their last release, 2003’s ‘Tour de France Soundtracks’, includes reworked versions of the title track alongside ‘Étape 2’ and ‘Étape 3’, both of which featured in the set. The performance incorporated historic footage of the famous bicycle race, with striking visuals emblazoned in the colours of the Tricolore.
Watching Kraftwerk live, it is clear how their ideas about music and technology now feel fully embedded in the world we inhabit. They imagined a computerised future of online banking, internet dating and an increasingly intertwined relationship between humans and machines. Seen through a 2026 lens, the dark, dystopian edge of that vision feels newly charged, as AI moves closer to removing the human element from the machine.
A true fan favourite, you couldn’t fail to be utterly absorbed by ‘Trans-Europe Express’, one of the night’s highlights. Its rigid repetition created a claustrophobic, almost menacing sense of metallic propulsion, mirrored by monochrome visuals that felt like a journey through an industrial blur.
Juxaposition between the dark and light – Kraftwerk live
Similarly, the effervescent visuals of a bright and breezy day on the German road system provided a striking contrast during ‘Autobahn’, which was curiously hypnotic. Subtle visual details such as number plates reading ‘DR 70’ and ‘DR 74’ alluded to Kraftwerk’s formation and the release of the landmark album ‘Autobahn’.
From the galactical adventure of ‘Spacelab’ and their phenomenal set closer ‘The Robots’ to the driving force of ‘Planet of Visions’, this was a set that journeyed through Kraftwerk’s evolving vision of technology, space and sound with remarkable coherence.
Part performance, part digital installation, and wholly immersive throughout, it blurred the line between concert and visual art, serving as a stark reminder of why Kraftwerk remain one of the most influential names in electronic music.
It reaffirmed Kraftwerk not just as pioneers of electronic music, but as architects of the world it now inhabits.
Photo Credit: Emma Harrison
