Talk:Kling Klang Studio

Untitled
What is meant by "outsiders are not welcome"? Is anyone else confused by that? If the author of Kling Klang was a German speaker translating directly I could see that they may have meant "foreigners", but even that doesn't make sense to me. This definately needs something more in order to remain, IMO. tslack2000 23:20, May 21, 2004 (UTC)

it means "outsiders are not welcome" ie, people kraftwerk dont know/havent invited. they are notoriously reclusive. Jdcooper

I think it's time someone tackled these rumours about it being impossible to contact Kraftwerk. Do you really think that major music festivals sit on their backsides waiting for these guys to call and say they want to play?

From what I can see of news reports not so long ago, it appears to me that Chris Martin of Coldplay repeated, word for word, a statement about the difficulties of contacting Kraftwerk which had been made earlier by Johnny Marr. And by "repeated", I mean down to every last word in the same order. Surely, even if they had the same experience, I do not think they would have spoken exactly the same sentences when interviewed, unless maybe Kraftwerk had hypnotised them into supplying the exact same interview as if they were "the robots".

I am a musician. So far as I am aware it would be impossible (or at least impossibly impractical) for me to legally use portions of someone else's work without appropriate and bi-directional dialogue regarding royalties, copyright issues, advertising, rights to reference the original composer, etc etc. Whether this was through a third party or directly, I think Coldplay or their representatives must have had a significant amount of dialogue with Kraftwerk to make the single "Talk" happen.

To conclude, I believe the whole "no contact" thing may be a "piece of flannel" which the record company occasionally reissues when sales are flagging.

However, in an attempt to settle the point, I am writing to Kling Klang asking Kraftwerk to perform at an event I am organising, and if allowed, I will post whatever reply I receive on Wikipedia. I have worded my communication in a way I think they will appreciate, with no unnecessary frills or unnecessary words. If I get no reply, this will in my eyes prove my point that their record company have vetted the mail, or they have read this and other articles on the web and wish to perpetuate the myth as laid out above. I believe that if the band members truly believe in what they do, I will receive a reply, even if it is a simple "no" to my request.

It is my opinion that Kraftwerk fans, in their hearts, must believe that Kraftwerk, whilst upholding the most clinical of personae are in fact human beings who will respond to their fans when it is necessary. If one of their fans was in a coma from which they might never recover, would Kraftwerk really leave them to die, or would they turn up and play at their death bed in the hope they might save a human life? If it is not the latter, and the band is not busy elsewhere, and there is no financial or other penalty to the band in performing this act, then I would associate such behaviour with (in my eyes bizarre and ill-thought) religious beliefs with which I cannot agree, and I will no longer be a fan. So please don't tell me they can't be contacted.

91.135.13.135 (talk) 00:07, 20 February 2010 (UTC)f2x

An Issue
The following passage contains a rather charming description of the recording studio, but unfortunately it has no references whatsoever. I would argue we reference it or remove it.

"...It is nearly impossible for anyone to come into contact with the studios, as all fan-mail is returned unopened and any outsiders are not welcome. The group is extremely reclusive, and it was rumoured that even though there is a phone installed, the number was not known even by the record company; or that the telephone did not have a ring tone, as the group did not want any unwanted noise to interfere with their recording sessions. Nowadays it is possible to obtain contact details through online searches, yet their reputation for maintaining a carefully controlled distance from others has endured. There is an anecdote about Johnny Marr, of The Smiths fame; Marr wanted to hold a recording session in the studios, and after several fruitless attempts to call the studio directly and mailing to them, he was told by the record company to call at a precise time on a precise date. The phone was answered immediately by a member of Kraftwerk, without showing any sign of ringing."--Pac 03:36, 13 August 2006 (UTC)


 * I have a video from Swedish television on this topic that corroborates the above information.  I can't remember what it was called, but I will look it up and reference it when I get a chance. --Mattlach 17:32, 18 September 2007 (UTC)


 * It's almost a year later now and I have removed the anecdote. Apart from being unsourced, it also doesn't make sense: it's impossible to tell what ringtone (if any) a phone has when you're the one who is calling it. Only the receiver, in this case Kraftwerk, would know if the phone has a ringtone or not.   SIS   15:05, 16 September 2008 (UTC)

Google Earth
The upstairs portion of the building that contains the original studio (pre 2009) is pixellated on Google earth Streetview. I wonder if Ralf himself requested this.... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 77.86.52.181 (talk) 20:32, 27 March 2011 (UTC)