Ralf Hütter
Encyclopedia
Ralf Hütter is the lead singer, keyboardist
, and reportedly leader of the electronic-music band Kraftwerk
. Since the departure of Florian Schneider
in 2008, he is also the group's sole remaining founding member.
. In 1968 Hütter and Florian Schneider
founded an ‘organization for musical concepts’, whose recordings were later released in Britain under the band name Organisation
. They founded Kraftwerk in 1970, he initially played organ and percussion, and later keyboards and all types of electronic instruments. For the album Radio-Activity
he created an electronic mellotron
, and worked the sounds of signals from stars and radio waves into the music. Hütter was less reserved and media-shy than Schneider, and his interviews with the press contributed to the group’s ‘robot’ image. He was also responsible for Kraftwerk’s international image as a band drawing on German culture, which began in the 1970s with ‘an acoustic representation of the Ruhr district’. Hütter said “After the war the German entertainment industry was destroyed. People in Germany had been robbed of their culture and everything was influenced by America. I think we are the first generation after the war to shake off this influence and to know, here is American music and there is our own. We cannot deny that we come from Germany.”
fan. This is shown in some of the band's work and an urban myth claimed that when the band would tour, the bus would drop Hütter off 100 miles before the venue, and he would cycle the rest of the way. The band members took up cycling when recording the album The Man-Machine
in the late 1970s. Ralf Hütter had been looking for a new form of exercise. The single Tour de France
included sounds that followed this theme including bicycle chains, gear mechanisms and the breathing of the cyclist. At the time of the single's release Ralf Hütter tried to persuade the rest of the band that they should record a whole album based around cycling. At the time this did not happen, but the project eventually was released as Tour de France Soundtracks
in 2003.
Hütter was involved in a serious cycling accident in 1983, during the initial period of recording
of the since-abandoned album Techno Pop. Only the single
"Tour de France
" and demos
of "Techno Pop" and "Sex Object", would find their way into bootleg releases after this accident. He was put in a coma as a result of the accident. Karl Bartos
stated the first thing he said when he awoke from his coma
was "Where is my bicycle
?" a story Hütter later disputed in a June 2009 interview in The Guardian
.
NME
- September 1975
Keyboardist
A keyboardist is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instruments with keyboards have come into common usage, requiring a more...
, and reportedly leader of the electronic-music band Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk is an influential electronic music band from Düsseldorf, Germany. The group was formed by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider in 1970, and was fronted by them until Schneider's departure in 2008...
. Since the departure of Florian Schneider
Florian Schneider
Florian Schneider-Esleben is one of the founding members of electronic music band Kraftwerk. He left the band in November 2008.-Career:...
in 2008, he is also the group's sole remaining founding member.
Musical work
Hütter studied at the Academy of Music and Media Studies in RemscheidRemscheid
Remscheid is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is, after Wuppertal and Solingen, the third largest municipality in Bergisches Land, being located on the northern edge of the region, on south side of the Ruhr area....
. In 1968 Hütter and Florian Schneider
Florian Schneider
Florian Schneider-Esleben is one of the founding members of electronic music band Kraftwerk. He left the band in November 2008.-Career:...
founded an ‘organization for musical concepts’, whose recordings were later released in Britain under the band name Organisation
Organisation (band)
Organisation was an experimental Krautrock band, that was the immediate predecessor of the band Kraftwerk. In addition to the founding members of Kraftwerk, Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider-Esleben, Organisation consisted of Basil Hammoudi, Butch Hauf and Alfred "Fred" Mönicks.Charly Weiss, Peter...
. They founded Kraftwerk in 1970, he initially played organ and percussion, and later keyboards and all types of electronic instruments. For the album Radio-Activity
Radio-Activity
Radio-Activity is the fifth studio album by German electronic band Kraftwerk, released in October 1975. Unlike Kraftwerk's later albums, which featured language-specific lyrics, only the titles differ between the English and German editions...
he created an electronic mellotron
Mellotron
The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical, polyphonic tape replay keyboard originally developed and built in Birmingham, England in the early 1960s. It superseded the Chamberlin Music Master, which was the world's first sample-playback keyboard intended for music...
, and worked the sounds of signals from stars and radio waves into the music. Hütter was less reserved and media-shy than Schneider, and his interviews with the press contributed to the group’s ‘robot’ image. He was also responsible for Kraftwerk’s international image as a band drawing on German culture, which began in the 1970s with ‘an acoustic representation of the Ruhr district’. Hütter said “After the war the German entertainment industry was destroyed. People in Germany had been robbed of their culture and everything was influenced by America. I think we are the first generation after the war to shake off this influence and to know, here is American music and there is our own. We cannot deny that we come from Germany.”
Cycling Interests
Ralf Hütter is an enthusiastic cyclingCycling
Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...
fan. This is shown in some of the band's work and an urban myth claimed that when the band would tour, the bus would drop Hütter off 100 miles before the venue, and he would cycle the rest of the way. The band members took up cycling when recording the album The Man-Machine
The Man-Machine
The Man-Machine is the seventh studio album by German electronic band Kraftwerk, released in May 1978. It contains the song "The Model" which was a chart-topping single in the UK in 1982....
in the late 1970s. Ralf Hütter had been looking for a new form of exercise. The single Tour de France
Tour de France
The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...
included sounds that followed this theme including bicycle chains, gear mechanisms and the breathing of the cyclist. At the time of the single's release Ralf Hütter tried to persuade the rest of the band that they should record a whole album based around cycling. At the time this did not happen, but the project eventually was released as Tour de France Soundtracks
Tour de France Soundtracks
Note: The 2003 Japanese CD release of this album also contains the video of the single "Tour de France 2003" as enhanced content.-Promotional version:...
in 2003.
Hütter was involved in a serious cycling accident in 1983, during the initial period of recording
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
of the since-abandoned album Techno Pop. Only the single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
"Tour de France
Tour de France (song)
"Tour de France" is a song by Kraftwerk. It was first issued in June 1983, peaking at #22 in the UK singles chart. It is notable for the use of sampled voices and mechanical sounds associated with cycling that were used to supplement a simple electro-percussion pattern – an approach Kraftwerk have...
" and demos
Demo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
of "Techno Pop" and "Sex Object", would find their way into bootleg releases after this accident. He was put in a coma as a result of the accident. Karl Bartos
Karl Bartos
Karl Bartos was, between 1975 and 1990, along with Wolfgang Flür, an electronic percussionist in the electronic-music group Kraftwerk. He was originally recruited to play on its US "Autobahn" tour...
stated the first thing he said when he awoke from his coma
Coma
In medicine, a coma is a state of unconsciousness, lasting more than 6 hours in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light or sound, lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. A person in a state of coma is described as...
was "Where is my bicycle
Bicycle
A bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....
?" a story Hütter later disputed in a June 2009 interview in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
.
NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
- September 1975