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50 years after Kraftwerk's seminal album Autobahn was released, Jennifer Lucy Allen revisits the record and explores how it changed the dial on how we think about sound.

We dig into the Â鶹ԼÅÄ archive for a live session from 1975 and hear an interview with drummer Wolfgang Flür, explaining how the band’s fascination with speed and cars shaped their perception of sound.

Drilling down on the connection between Autobahn and Detroit, Drexciya’s DJ Stingray 313, talks about how the album influenced the city’s techno scene. Kraftwerk’s music chimed with those in Motor City, making it onto the club dance floors and across local radio. Kraftwerk’s vision of a mechanised, motorik future offered a sense of optimism in the rubble of postwar Germany. Similarly, the clean futurism of techno provided a window onto a brighter future in Detroit, a city hit hard by the decline of the car industry.

Elsewhere, we play music for motorways with a track by Yeah You recorded in their car, cut up sounds from Le Cars and country music for roadside motels.

Produced by Silvia Malnati
A Reduced Listening production for Â鶹ԼÅÄ Radio 3