German electronic music pioneers Kraftwerk will be bringing their man machine to Los Angeles’ Walt Disney Concert Hall for a nine-day residency starting on May 21. The group will perform different albums in their entirety on each night, with the first show dedicated to Kraftwerk’s landmark Autobahn, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.
Also to be performed during the residency: Trans-Europe Express, Radio-Activity, The Man-Machine, Computer World, Techno Pop, The Mix, and Tour de France. The final night will feature music from across the group’s discography. Tickets go on sale to the general public on Thursday, Jan. 11 at 10 AM PT.
The German pioneers will perform eight different full albums on different nights.
This is not the first time Kraftwerk has taken over the Disney Hall: the group performed a similar series of shows in 2014. Since then, the group has mounted a 3D world tour, released a deluxe edition album from that tour, and been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Ralf Hütter is the only founding Kraftwerk member still performing with the group — co-founder Florian Schneider died in 2020, while longtime members Karl Bartos and Wolfgang Flür left in 1990 and 1987, respectively. Currently, the group consists of Hütter, Henning Schmitz, Falk Grieffenhagen and Georg Bongartz.
'Trans-Europe Express,' released in 1977, was hugely influential on techno and early hip-hop.
Released in November of 1974, Autobahn was Kraftwerk’s international breakthrough, and one of the most influential electronic music albums ever made. Despite the group’s purposefully dour stage presence and general aversion to traditional publicity, they remained popular throughout the decades, and several their subsequent albums were just as influential: 1977’s Trans-Europe Express left an indelible mark on techno, post-punk and early hip-hop, while 1981’s Computer World was still being mined for melodies by the likes of Coldplay and La Roux a quarter century after it was released.
See a full schedule of Kraftwerk Disney Hall performances below:
Tuesday, May 21, 2024, at 8PM - Autobahn
Wednesday, May 22, 2024, at 8PM - Radio-Activity
Thursday, May 23, 2024, at 8PM - Trans Europe Express
Friday, May 24, 2024, at 8PM - The Man-Machine
Saturday, May 25, 2024, at 8PM - Computer World
Sunday, May 26, 2024, at 8PM - Techno Pop
Tuesday, May 28, 2024, at 8PM - The Mix
Wednesday, May 29, 2024, at 8PM - Tour de France
Thursday, May 30, 2024, at 8PM - Finale with compositions from the entire catalog
