Kraftwerk: Ruck Zuck (LIVE in Soest, 1970)

Kraftwerk performing "Ruck Zuck" in November 1970 in Soest. Featuring Florian Schneider on flute, Klaus Dinger on drums, and Ralf Hutter (sporting some kick-ass hair) behind an electronically modified Hammond organ.
This video is already up on KZbin, but it's cut at both ends.

[@richardervins]

In the early nineteen seventees I helped organize a concert with a band no one knew. Kraftwerk. They didn‘t have a stage. They played in the middle of the venue. The audience sat in circles around the band. I sat two meters behind Florian, observing every move. At that time I really really wanted to make music. I always dreamed I could think what to play and I was able to play what I was thinking on any instrument. Today I can do that. I own more than 50 different instruments from all over the world, and I can actually play 26 of them good enough to kind of make that dream come true. After the concert I asked Florian about everything that was new to me - and there was a lot to talk about. He patiently explained what he had built himself and how he used everything. What you don‘t see in this clip is the desk Florian had constructed and the devices he used to create his sounds. The cabeling was chaotic, but he obviously knew how to work with it. He let me try his flute and I was able to get some weak sounds out of it - of course being totally hooked to that kind of music afterwards. Coming home that day, I remember my Mom chewing me out for putting up the poster advertising the Kraftwerk concert. It showed a nude girl from behind sitting on top of a pylon. The poster had to go, Florian‘s music stayed. May we meet in heaven.

[@hardhook100]

Beautiful Story of yours. Thanks for sharing. Wish I could have met Mr. Schneider and talk to him at least once ;)

[@namaste91]

What an awesome story!

[@ilcastoro6419]

E sti cazzi...

[@FaithKelly420]

this is such a cool story! thank you for sharing it

[@zhiracs]

Every so often I come back to this video just to read this comment. It's a beautiful and eloquent eulogy for such an important figure in western music. Very few have the privilege to say that they once interacted with somebody so influential. It's been a couple years now, but thank you for sharing your story with us.

[@tacoma5543]

Cue the Micheal J. Fox line..."Guess you guys aren't ready for this yet but your kids are gonna love it".

[@greenvelvet]

🤣♥️

[@kenlieck7756]

Ha! A friend's five year old is hooked on Kraftwerk and I was gonna suggest that playing this might cure him of it!

[@Alan-su5bg]

Nah these german audiences were ready for it at the first song before this

[@diogo_barros]

😂

[@treehouse722]

Just inventing EDM with a flute. RIP Florian.

[@billnetherlands]

I know I may be an outlier, but this may be my favorite Kraftwerk song.

[@plasticweapon]

it's a fine choice.

[@powerwise234]

It's hard for me to pick a favorite, but it's definitely another good one.

[@josefflorianAV]

RIP Florian Schneider :(

[@zhiracs]

God damn. We lost a legend.

[@Franky58135HA]

The drummer is Klaus Dinger who would later form with Michael Rother ( also a member of Kraftwerk ) the influential band NEU. Klaus also formed La Düsseldorf. R.I.P. Florian and Klaus.

[@pressureworks]

Michael Rother also released fine solo albums.

[@idreamofgenie2599]

This is so fascinating to listen to. It sounds like extremely avant-garde acid jazz fusion. But you can see where they wanted to go with it: hypnotic, repetitive beats, going on and on for minutes at a time--then suddenly shifting to a musical break, before unexpectedly going back to the same repetitive beat as before. It was a foreshadowing of what was to come. Most of the audience clearly didn't know what to make of it.

[@AE2-scc]

Its Ruckzuck which was popular* at the time.

[@maxthompson159]

Audience etiquette has changed a lot :)

[@ErwinBlonk]

It was how you were supposed to be. This is the avant-garde version of the crowd going wild, mosh pit level. If you watch closely, some blink their eyes. From 7:00 you see the mosh pit, bottom of the screen.

[@stephaniestrolls]

Klaus Dinger was great. Florian's flute sounds incredible and Ralf Hütter is cute beyond belief as a leather-clad bespectacled hippie jamming on the keys. Gawd, I love early Kraftwerk.

[@mickwolff315]

Klaus Dinger started another ground breaking band with Michael Rother : NEU

[@NEWCASTLE.UNITED.]

The crowd dont realise how important that gig really was

[@Ratelzwatel]

Not only the crowd. Ralf Hütter himself still doesn't realise its importance.

[@Scientificmethods]

We are probably guilty of the same, who knows who we've seen who will go on to be legends...

[@neofan99]

Yeah they do. They probably high as a kite. Think about it...

[@MerkinMuffly]

Seems to be pretty common, ACDC's first Back in Black live, Pearl Jam's performance of 10 live before album, all met with somewhat apathy

[@MerkinMuffly]

@@neofan99 Typical IGen comment when they're only knowledge about the 60s and 70s is based on drug use and nothing else.

[@davidconde1521]

02:28 my grandpa with the striped jacket and white turtle neck .... He was 18 years old :D!!!

[@zhiracs]

Your grandfather is an extremely lucky man!

[@iii668]

WOW!!! Sounds like Ur Grandpa love Kraftwerk

[@davidconde1521]

***** well he was on a trip in germany with some friends for around a month from december 1970 till new year january 1971

[@davidconde1521]

he's at 5:53 too

[@RiasatSalminSami]

He wasnt so wide back then xd

[@jhillst]

I LOVE the distorted organ sound Ralf uses on this version.

[@nige3801]

I do, more inventive than Mike Ratledge with Soft Machine

[@H4G4]

I am glad that I had the privilege to see them live almost 40 years later. RIP Florian.

[@dcaseng]

I love watching how clueless the crowd was, they had no idea they were listening to something so revolutionary. At 4:19, shit gets REAL.

[@Cain00666]

Fifty two years and still on stage - real legend ❤

[@rdubb77]

True story: Ralf Hutter has said during this era he attended a Stockhausen concert on acid. Bonus points to anyone who knows who Stockhausen is :)

[@zhiracs]

If you know Kraftwerk, there's a good chance you know Stockhausen as well.

[@johcafra]

I've heard enough Stockhausen to conclude that I prefer Kraftwerk.

[@heinzweixelbraun682]

Rob Watson it’s verry close to that what miles Davis tried at that time of course in a German way...

[@froydtrax2]

" Gesang der Jünglinge "

[@MecdiAn]

yes we know who he is :)

[@DiodeMcRoy]

That rocks. Don’t forget that the live audio recording is probably not so good. Imagine hearing it in the room. It was probably a great experience.

[@breese76]

I heard this song 30+ years ago when I was a kid(Newton's Apple) and had no idea who Kraftwerk were. Imagine my surprise hearing it a year or two ago and realizing it was a band I ended up loving.

[@tomauberwenig2116]

The soul of Neu! is already there! I love this live version!!

[@florianwolf9380]

Comparing this early, very creative period of Kraftwerk to their later, quite minimalistic euvre I am hard-pressed to say which I like more. As an electronics afficionado & tinkerer I grew up with these bands, build my first synthesizer at the age of 15, playyed in several more or less bizarre bands and enjoyed life in these creative, but also tumultuous times. Our daughter again probably has no clue at all what I'm talking of and rolls her eyes, but having experienced Kraftwerk several times life I can only say that these guys are great and super-creative musicians. I am more than happy to have seen them 'in the flesh'.

[@LaptopLarry330]

This is the first time that I've seen this performance in its entirety. The slow introduction, followed by the body of the performance, followed by the double encore finale flourishes, helped to provide a more complete context as to what the instrumental song was all about. It was a great, groundbreaking performance by Kraftwerk in one of their very early concerts. Thanks, Maxwell M., for sharing this historic TV kinescope here for future generations to watch, learn, and appreciate, here on KZbin. :-)

[@mibevan]

I like how some audience members are dogging it while others are trying to fathom the sounds they’re hearing

[@robertjamesgreen]

This was made before I was born. It still sends a shiver up my spine nearly 50 years later.

[@Chris-ji8jw]

Thanks for sharing this. This is awesome 👍🏻🔥

[@ResidentMich]

It's amazing how not only the sound but the line up changed in a matter of months. Far more sedate but still sporting their early days image of the "traffic cone".

[@Gemlya]

That escalated quickly ... into techno!! :D

[@ronaldwolf980]

Der Sprung in eine neue Dimension ! Großartig ! 🔥🔥🔥

[@LaptopLarry330]

Thanks, Max Devo, for sharing this historic live performance of "Ruck Zuck", by Kraftwerk, in its entirety. 🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂

[@leftovers8219]

Kraftwerk is the Holy Grail of music

[@nickthefox72]

Nah. Gershon Kingsley is

[@thelamb1964]

Masterpiece.

[@unadomandaperte]

You can tell who is high and who is not in the audience. ;-)

[@user-ut3kj2hw8m]

That's my favorite game every time I see this video

[@markusronfeldt5350]

Einfach nur genial!! Was damals "Experimentelle Musik" genannt wurde, sind die Wurzeln der heutigen Alternativ Electro- und Indipendent Music!! Danke schön "Kraftwerk"!! :D :) ;)...

[@sportbilli735]

Ja war noch eine geile Krautrock Szene

[@boardcc]

I’ve recognised for years that the experience of unadulterated electronic music (or #techno) sends wild shivers down my spine and fits my timbre. It was also the favourite of my big father, and as a kid we would blitz through the English countryside with Yellow at full volume in his little sports car. I eventually moved to Berlin to immerse myself in the exotic beats of the time, improvised, twiddled and performed in repurposed bunkers and factories etc, but never stopped to consider the origins of this form. This footage arguably captures a turning point in those origins. · I think my subsequent love for Germany also has its roots here. A generation embracing pragmatic instincts, new modes of creation, technology, and new forms of expression, in a country learning to rebuild and understand its new self and its identity against the backdrop of a traumatic past. However, creativity is a great healer, a universal tool in bringing the commonalities of diverse mindsets and cultures together, making things happen, and overcoming trauma. This for me is an exquisite example of ‘pure creation’, thankfully saved from the ‘dust of the museum of music’, and a key piece of the puzzle I didn’t know I would find. xR

[@flywithseaguls]

When Electronic Rock was born.....

[@androidneonlicht2005]

R.I.P. Florian Schneider 😢😢😢😢😢

[@QonayTV]

Отцы основатели всей современной электронной музыки 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@mrstanskaggs1]

I remember this song as a commercial exit sound-byte for the educational program ZOOM on PBS and Sesame Street back in the 70s or 80s.. I never thought about the song and only thought it was something to fill in that gap.. interesting!

[@57PinkMoon]

+Stan Skaggs : I think the song was actually used for the PBS Series "Newton's Apple." Check it out on KZbin.

[@mrstanskaggs1]

57 pink moon You are right! It is on Newtons apple!

[@pressureworks]

WGBH Boston used other cool electronic sounds on their lead in logo before the program Zoom. That's what you're actually remembering.

[@TheyMadeMonsters]

Grew up listening to this and I've been inspired ever since to try and be as original. Absolutely awesome music that needs to be continuously heard !!!!

[@martincarlos3759]

Human Art until the 20th Century. And then over & out.

[@maurmmiranda]

This is the break point in music

[@DavidJones-tk2op]

Intense early version, smoothed out nicely a few years later to the point that PBS TV used it for their Newton's Apple theme music.

[@pressureworks]

Early PBS years were pretty groovy.

[@mcess]

RIP FLORIAN, thank you for shining bright

[@geo6577]

For me Unexpected good music, like it so much that i Listen it over and over

[@opyfdfd782]

Such good quality and a bigscreen for the 1970s!

[@phil1002010]

This is historic.

[@marcfedak]

Thanks Marxism Noidism for posting this great early Kraftwerk video of one of my favourite pieces of theirs. This is more psychedelic/space rock/Krautrock than their mid 70s minimalism, but there is a common thread linking both periods -- experimentalism. That's great that the audience is getting into it -- nowadays, the younger folks might not have the patience to listen.

[@CrowTRobot-ni7zu]

This is so much more polished than when they performed this as Organisation. Amazing what half a year will do!

[@croiners4166]

I was a little too young/ born in 59/but if I was there/my head would have exploded ❤

[@Jazzmanden]

The Audience thinking: "What Im I supposed to think about this music?!"

[@T4TipsGuides]

0:31 Prodigy, Voodoo People

[@remembertomorrow8730]

4:20 best part

[@RiasatSalminSami]

agreed

[@ramonafischer4220]

at best timing happy 420

[@brendynschneider]

Brilliant. Not one wasted note, huh? What a surreal audience too.

[@richardervins]

Well, that is the way we enjoyed concerts at that time. Sitting on the floor, listening. I know, because I was part of the crowd. But, as a wannabe musician, I stood as close to the band as possible. And I sucked in every detail. I even asked Florian about his mic and effects and he let me play on his flute, before signing my little black autograph book. Today I have the honor of playing and producing tracks with some of his colleagues from that era that are still making music to this day.

[@brendynschneider]

@@richardervins Brilliant man. That's fantastic!

[@Nastybeanlady]

I bet half of the audience were having a bad trip by the end of the song haha

[@aprendizdebrujo100]

Klas Dinger. later in NEU! Great álbum NEU!'75

[@davewallis]

First heard this on Radio Caroline about '74

[@Ma.Mama.is.a.StreetDogg]

Respect to the founding fathers........ Loving it.........😵😵😵😵😵😵

[@phuturemusic]

A decade has passed. The rock'n'roll was born

[@SaintCharlos]

_Florian

[@Patricia2Paris1]

Excellent !

[@jorgedelgadotoxotrofogo]

i am 30 i listen to kraftwerk since i was born !!!!!!!

[@deedeeweit9862]

Das War Aachen und ich gebe zu es war s.f. super gut . danke fürs hochladen und art !

[@johnfraraccio99]

A highly respectful audience. Just imagine their starting to jump up and down to the beat. Florian flutes and Ralf hisses!

[@user-tx9fx7nc8y]

GENIUS!

[@frankweis1772]

no.1 of electronic

[@rrozoff1]

The Golden Age of contemporary music: in Britain and on the Continent from perhaps 1969-1973.

[@quorthon1578]

The crowd is like why are they doing this why dont they stop hahahahhha

[@michaelpuleston3496]

unrestrained creative genius

[@florian5810]

they could still rock rock every club in the world....

[@christophgrutter11]

Flo, R.I.P.!

[@Junon01]

Wow 2x longer than that other video. This is some amazing footage.

[@ohneEisen]

Zu Beginn kann man nicht gerade sagen, die jungen Zuhörer wären da begeistert mitgegangen. Das ändert sich dann aber, teilweise.

[@Apus100]

thank u for sharing this for us!!!! xxxMaxwell!!!

[@vinny9708]

Love this thanks for posting

[@my-rasuperstar8892]

R.I.P Florian.

[@cr5104]

AUTOBAHN - played on the local radio station - was my first real experience with music, apart from classic music while playing the piano and songs to be sung in church. So this was in 1974, I think. As times goes by, I'm 60 years now and I see, I missed a great concert. However I couldn't have gotten in the venue because, you know, underage.- Thank you for uploading this and I only listened because my current local radio station says now, that one of the founding members of KRAFTWERK, a national music treasure for sure, has died. So a sad cause, but good to remember the life and work of KRAFTWERK.

[@ericrhodes5174]

Love it! This isn't the same as that other one.

[@zhiracs]

Because the other one is cut at both ends. It's missing the first, slower movement, and then the finale.

[@robertkallfelz3578]

Ich hab sie in Essen JZE erlebt, meine Initialzündung

[@namaste91]

Wann?

[@thehalchannel9036]

RIP Florian

[@user-zq7xy2pu4r]

fantastic!

[@flywithseaguls]

wish I had been there,,,,,,,,,, my time, my music

[@user-ir7fr6mi8q]

Они классные!

[@LisselMatthias]

do really do

[@AlphaOmega888]

4:31 HEY IT'S VLADIMIR PUTIN!

[@maximilianogabriel9982]

Maybe

[@timjoshua4807]

Love kraftwerk this group crossed over into the urban black area in the U.S.

[@ScotchArsh]

When Bam took Numbers/Computerworld/Trans-Europe Express and made Planet Rock, THAT beat prevailed in Hip-Hop/Elektro-funk for the next 10-15 years, at least! Straight Outta Dusseldorf! ;)

[@pressureworks]

Yes. Interesting memories.

[@rikunevalainen8154]

Kraftwerk´s backstage rider around 1970: "two bottles of beer, bag full of germanium transistors and capacitators. "

[@whatevertherapper]

A room full of repression and none of them even know they are. It’s hard to imagine hearing these grooves and not letting go and being wild. Barely a head nod from any of them. We are so free in comparison.

[@pressureworks]

Watch again and actually look this time, plenty of folks are obviously grooving.

[@ambientvirtual]

I get that this was ahead of its time, but how people could listen to that motorik beat and NOT find it catchy is beyond me

[@TheWhite1961]

Ruhe in Frieden Florian

[@pippiarmstrong4996]

the faces of minds being fuckin BLOWN

[@christophkowollik1640]

pippi armstrong the faces of minds being fucking STONED. ;D

[@pippiarmstrong4996]

they are tripping their faces for sure

[@froydtrax2]

Florian Schneider , unvergessen , Klassiker ( Eingangsmusik der Fernsehsendung Kennzeichen D )

[@liamoconnor9314]

Early Techno!

[@lydellflood8818]

That's one kickass music by Kraftwerk.

[@pressureworks]

The gravel amp on the organ turned up to 11 !!!!!!

[@suspensionsuspension4132]

This is lesson how we made a circle from prehistoric man, who played similar sounds using stick and knocking, Mozart, Bach, Bethoven,Chopin till now.....

[@StormadoMan]

Is that Hacker Man on the Keyboard!!? His time hacks work!

[@zhiracs]

*plugs keyboard into temporal wormhole* *opens batch file to execute SpaceTimeFabricTear.exe* (Ralf Hutter voice) I'm in

[@cleaningmyroom1000]

so fucking cool

[@BF6ct]

Good stuff 5-26-24

[@FrenchToasted1995]

I wish they played some of their older stuff for 3d

[@pankaburek59]

How you want to play them this song when there is no flute and florian?

[@FrenchToasted1995]

@@pankaburek59 i'm sure they could've found a way

[@carl_valentin]

Techno with real musicians !

[@MerkinMuffly]

Next on Newton's Apple ...

[@Kiiiptcroool]

Rip :(