| "Trans-Europe Express" | ||||
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| Single by Kraftwerk | ||||
| from the album Trans-Europe Express | ||||
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| Released | 22 April 1977[1] | |||
| Recorded | 1976 | |||
| Studio | Kling Klang (Düsseldorf, Germany) | |||
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"Trans-Europe Express" is a song by German electronic music band Kraftwerk. It was released as the lead single from their studio album of the same name in 1977. The long version of the song was on the original released album, is 13:44 long, and split into two (in the United States) or three parts (in Germany). The music was written by Ralf Hütter and the lyrics by Hütter and Emil Schult.[3] The track is ostensibly about the Trans Europ Express rail system, with technology and transport both being common themes in Kraftwerk's oeuvre.
The track became popular in dance clubs in New York, and has since found further influence, both in hip-hop by its interpolation by Afrika Bambaata (via Arthur Baker) on "Planet Rock", which has been sampled and remixed by many different artists such as Paul Oakenfold for Swordfish's soundtrack, and by modern experimental bands such as the electroclash bands of the early 2000s.[4] In 2021, it was ranked at No. 304 on Rolling Stone's "Top 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".[5]
- ^ "Music Week" (PDF). p. 68.
- ^ Pitchfork Staff (22 August 2016). "The 200 Best Songs of the 1970s". Pitchfork. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
The song extols the virtues of the Continent's rail system, mixing the band's minimalist experimentalism with the mechanized tones of what would become known as synth-pop.
- ^ Trans-Europe Express (Digital Remaster) (liner notes). Kraftwerk. Mute Records. 2009. CDSTUMM305.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Cite error: The named reference
teewas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. 15 September 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2022.