PARIS - Electronic pioneers Kraftwerk will from Thursday play their complete works to sell-out crowds at the ultra-modern Louis Vuitton Foundation building in Paris. The German group which spearheaded synthesizer music in the 1970s will play eight nights - each featuring one album - against a background of 3D effects to around 1,000 people. Shows sold out in hours. The concerts follow similar events at the MoMA in New York, the Tate Modern in London and the Sydney Opera House. Founded by Ralf Huetter and Florian Schneider in the western German city of Duesseldorf in 1970, Kraftwerk went on to have a profound influence on the likes of David Bowie, Joy Division and Depeche Mode with their instantly recognisable electronic beat.
Schneider left the band in 2008 leaving only Huetter as an original band member, who has since been joined by Henning Schmitz and Fritz Hilpert. The band has not produced a new album since the 2003 effort ‘Tour de France soundtracks’ inspired by a joint love of cycling but plans to bring out a ninth album next year entitled ‘Music non-stop.’