Also known with their English titles "Trans-Europe Express" and "Metal on Metal", these two linked songs (a suite, in fact) are among the most known tracks from Kraftwerk, the German band who so strongly contributed to define electronic music domain. Retro and romantic, full of rail and train effects, this music explores the smoky journeys of European travellers of the roaring twenties and builds up a fading grey picture that perfectly matches with the most updated electronics of the '70s.
The German single including the first part of the suite.
Old and new merge in a soft and hypnotic sound and you just have to close your eyes to see stylish men and elegant women crowding the platforms of an Art Nouveau station and passing through the gates leading to a Parisian boulevard. Really, it's hardly believable how distorted vocals and futuristic effects get old fashioned and melodic... and even the reference in the lyrics to David Bowie and Iggy Pop sounds like a genuine Weimar Germany era announcement. These were just a few reasons to include this suite in my blog.
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