Kraftwerk

The music of Kraftwerk is widely regarded as some of the most influential electronic music recorded. Their music is created without the use of acoustic instruments and is exclusively electronic. Kraftwerk's music was, for lack of better words, the soundtrack to post-war urban redevelopment in Europe and specifically Germany. Between 1974 and 1981 it seems the members of Kraftwerk were obsessed with two things: driving and transistors. The albums "Autobahn" and "Trans-Europe Express" both have similar concepts of capturing the mood of travel in Europe. Then following that, they set out to explore the impact of computers permeating society in "The Man-Machine" and "Computer World". This would represent the peak of their career with their only chart topping single "The Model" being released during this time.
The lyrics of Kraftwerk songs were often modulated to have a robotic quality from a device called a vocoder. Its original purpose, ironically, was to prevent the interception of strategic transmissions by the Germans during WWII. Later it was recognized by Wendy Carlos for the musical instrument that it is, which Kraftwerk took and made part of their signature sound. Also key to their sound and stage presence were their synthesizers, the Minimoog and ARP Odyssey the principal among them. The influence of Kraftwerk on the roots of the synthpop genre is extensive. Giorgio Moroder's hits for Donna Summer are directly inspired by "Trans-Europe Express". Devo, Depeche Mode, New Order, and The Human League are just a few of the big names that have been directly influenced by Kraftwerk.
For me the music of Kraftwerk is simply entrancing. As someone who has always been fascinated with computers the album "Computerwelt" speaks to me in particular. As a professional the music of Kraftwerk is a great example of how much people enjoy repetition repetition repetition. It is also a good example of how melody is king when it comes to having a catchy tune. All I have to do is go "da de da, da da, do da de do" and now "Computerliebe" is playing in your head.