Ralf and Florian
Studio album by Kraftwerk
Released	1973 (Germany) Released later in other countries
Recorded	May-July 1973 (Kraftwerk-Studio, Düsseldorf; Cornet Studio and Rhenus Studio, Cologne; Studio 70, Munich)
Genre	Krautrock Electronic music
Length	37:41
Label	Philips (Germany) Vertigo (world)
Producer	Conny Plank & Kraftwerk
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link
Kraftwerk chronology
Kraftwerk 2 (1972) Ralf and Florian (1973) Autobahn (1974)

Ralf und Florian is a 1973 album by Kraftwerk. English versions of this album are titled Ralf and Florian. Along with their first two albums it has, to date, never been officially re-issued on CD. However, it remains an influential and sought-after work, and bootleg CD discs were widely distributed in the 1990s on the 'Germanofon' label. The band have hinted that the album may finally see a re-mastered CD release after their "Der Katalog" box set. Image File history File links RF-D-front. ... A studio album is a collection of previously unreleased, studio-recorded tracks by a recording artist. ... Kraftwerk (pronounced [], German for power station) is a German musical group from Düsseldorf that has made key contributions to the development of improvisational rock and electronic music, most notably within the latter categorys sub-genres which later became known as synthpop, electro, techno, house and IDM. Early musical... Year 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar) of the 1973 Gregorian calendar. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Year 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar) of the 1973 Gregorian calendar. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Krautrock is a generic name for the experimental music that appeared in Germany in the late 1960s and gained popularity throughout the 1970s. ... It has been suggested that Electronica be merged into this article or section. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Philips HQ in Amsterdam Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Royal Philips Electronics N.V.), usually known as Philips, (Euronext: PHIA, NYSE: PHG) is one of the largest electronics companies in the world, founded and headquartered in the Netherlands. ... Vertigo Records was the name Philips Records chose in the sixties for its label to counter the progressive labels of its rivals EMI (with Harvest Records), Decca Records (with Deram Records) and RCA (with Neon Records). ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... Konrad Conny Plank (frequently spelled Planck) (born about 1943 in Austria, died December 18, 1987 in Cologne) was a record producer. ... Kraftwerk (pronounced [], German for power station) is a German musical group from Düsseldorf that has made key contributions to the development of improvisational rock and electronic music, most notably within the latter categorys sub-genres which later became known as synthpop, electro, techno, house and IDM. Early musical... The All Music Guide (AMG) is a metadata database about music owned by All Media Guide. ... Image File history File links 4_stars. ... Kraftwerk (pronounced [], German for power station) is a German musical group from Düsseldorf that has made key contributions to the development of improvisational rock and electronic music, most notably within the latter categorys sub-genres which later became known as synthpop, electro, techno, house and IDM. Early musical... Kraftwerk 2 is a 1972 album by Kraftwerk. ... Autobahn (German for motorway) is an album by Kraftwerk, released in 1974. ... Year 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar) of the 1973 Gregorian calendar. ... Kraftwerk (pronounced [], German for power station) is a German musical group from Düsseldorf that has made key contributions to the development of improvisational rock and electronic music, most notably within the latter categorys sub-genres which later became known as synthpop, electro, techno, house and IDM. Early musical... The Catalogue (German title: Der Katalog) is a proposed forthcoming boxset consisting of albums by Kraftwerk which were released from 1974 to 2003. ...

As indicated by the title (and like their previous album), all the tracks were written, performed and produced by Hütter and Schneider, with the sessions engineered by the influential Konrad "Conny" Plank. The album has a fuller and more polished sound quality than previous efforts and this is clearly due to the use of a number of commercial recording studios in addition to Kraftwerk's own yet-to-be-named Kling Klang. The colour photo on the back of the cover gives a vivid impression of the bohemian state of Kraftwerk's own facilities at the time – including egg-box trays stuck on the walls in an attempt at soundproofing. Konrad Conny Plank (frequently spelled Planck) (born about 1943 in Austria, died December 18, 1987 in Cologne) was a record producer. ... Kling Klang is Kraftwerks studio in Düsseldorf, Germany. ...

The album is still almost entirely instrumental (some wordless yodelling appears in "Tanzmusik", and "Ananas Symphonie" features the band's first use of the vocoder, which would later become a Kraftwerk trademark). Instrumentation begins to show more obvious use of synthesizers (Minimoog and EMS AKS), however most melodic and harmonic keyboard parts are performed on Farfisa electronic piano/organ. Flute and guitar are still much in evidence. The band were still without a drummer, and several tracks, particularly "Tanzmusik", make use of a preset organ rhythm machine. "Kristallo" features a striking rhythmic electronic bassline (actually a combination of flute played with various treatments by the vocoder^{[citation needed]}), however in general the album is much gentler and less rhythmically precise than Kraftwerk's classic electronic work. The Minimoog is a monophonic analog synthesizer, invented by David van Koevering and Robert Moog. ... A Boss DR-202 Drum Machine A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums and/or other percussion instruments. ...

The LP included a "musicomic" poster insert of cartoons by Emil Schult, who had been playing electric violin live with the band (although he does not feature on the album recordings). Schult remains a collaborator of Kraftwerk's to the present day. The cartoons illustrated each track on the album, as well as the city of Düsseldorf, with the caption "In Düsseldorf am Rhein, klingt es bald!", which translates literally in English as "In Düsseldorf on the Rhine, it will sound soon" (perhaps the phrase "the sound gets around" captures the snappy feel of the maxim better). Also note that this is kind of a reference to Kraftwerk's Düsseldorf based Kling Klang studio. Emil Schult is a Düsseldorf artist, and was once a member of the electronic music band, Kraftwerk. ... The title of this article contains the character ü. Where it is unavailable or not desired, the name may be represented as Duesseldorf. ...

The album was a modest success in Germany. Drummer Wolfgang Flür was recruited to play with Ralf and Florian for a subsequent promotional TV appearance in Berlin, for the German WDR TV arts show Aspekte. He became a member of the group thereafter. Wolfgang Flür (born 17 July 1947) was a member of the Kraftwerk electro-pop group from 1973 to 1987, playing electronic drums. ...

Track listing

1. "Elektrisches Roulette" ("Electric Roulette") – 4:20
2. "Tongebirge" ("Mountain of Sound") – 2:50
3. "Kristallo" ("Crystals") – 6:20
4. "Heimatklänge" ("The Bells of Home") – 3:45
5. "Tanzmusik" ("Dance Music") – 6:35
6. "Ananas Symphonie" ("Pineapple Symphony") – 13:55

Note: The above English translations are taken from the US version of the album issued by Vertigo in 1975.

Credits

• Ralf Hütter – vocals, keyboards, string-instruments, percussion, electronics; cover design.
  
• Florian Schneider-Esleben – vocals, keyboards, string- and wind-instruments, percussion, electronics; cover design.
  
• Emil Schult – "musicomix" poster design.
  
• Konrad "Conny" Plank – sound engineer.
  
• Barbara Niemöller – rear cover photo.
  
• Robert Franck – front cover photo.

Ralf Hütter (born 20 August 1946 in Krefeld, Germany) is the lead singer, keyboardist, and reportedly band leader of Kraftwerk and is usually the one interviewed. ... Florian Schneider-Esleben (born April 7th, 1947, Germany) is one of the founding members of influential and pioneering electronic music band Kraftwerk. ... Emil Schult is a Düsseldorf artist, and was once a member of the electronic music band, Kraftwerk. ... Konrad Conny Plank (frequently spelled Planck) (born about 1943 in Austria, died December 18, 1987 in Cologne) was a record producer. ...

Release details

The version released in Britain on the Vertigo label, with metallic inks and a heavily embossed sleeve resembling a circuit board.

Back cover photo by Barbara Niemöller, showing Ralf & Florian relaxing in their sonic playroom, with their names in neon lights.