Autobahn (song)

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"Autobahn" is a song composed in 1974 by Florian Schneider and Ralf Hütter of the German electronic band Kraftwerk, with Emil Schult collaborating on the lyrics. It was their first track to use sung lyrics. It is designed to capture the feel of driving on a motorway.

A version of the song lasting over 22½ minutes was recorded as the title track of the album Autobahn. This was edited to a more modest 4 minutes and released as a single, giving the band an unexpected Top 40 hit in the USA, and other countries, the first of their career. A differently edited version, at 3 minutes duration, was released in the UK, reaching #11, and was later included on the UK compilation LP Exceller 8.

The instrumentation used on the song's 1974 recording was highly innovative at the time and is notable for the significant influence it had on many subsequent genres of electronic popular and dance music.

This recording was co-produced by the influential 'Krautrock' producer Conny Plank.

Notable aspects of the arrangement included:

• Electronic percussion pads played by Wolfgang Flür.
• Use of a classic 'Moog bass' sound to play the bass line, playing an octave riff with added analogue echo.
• Liberal use of phasing on synths to play the chords.
• Use of a vocoder to process some of the vocals.
• Use of the so-called 'motorik' 4/4 drum beat in the song's final section.

The arrangement also included acoustic elements such as guitar and flute.

The band have continued to perform the song live regularly throughout their career. Live arrangements have evolved continuously as the band have adapted the instrumentation and equipment they use on stage.

[edit] Trivia

• Dutch death metallers Gorfest have covered the song.
• Faux latino band Señor Coconut made a merengue arrangement of the song for their album of exotic-style Kraftwerk cover versions, El Baile Alemán.
• There is also an unofficial music video for this song, a surreal animation by Roger Mainwood.
• The song is referred to in the movie The Big Lebowski where 'Autobahn' is the name of a fictitious mid-1970s Kraftwerkian techno-pop band.