Wolfgang Flür
– AATMA, MANCHESTER –
Wolfgang Flür hails from Frankfurt, Germany and was a member of the illustrious and incredibly influential Kraftwerk from 1973 to 1987 where he played electronic percussion. Post-Kraftwerk, Flür founded Yamo in 1997 and released the album Time Pie, which was a collaboration with Mouse On Mars. In October this year, Flür released his first solo offering, Eloquence and the live performance tonight comes on the back of this release.
Opening proceedings we have DJs Anni Hogan & Moonraider who set the tone perfectly for Wolfgang and what is to follow. He takes to the stage to a flourish of cheers and chooses, very wisely we might add, to open with ‘Home Computer’ taken from the eighth studio album of Kraftwerk, Computer World, released in 1981. The live version has a bit more bite than its recorded sibling and its clear Wolfgang has put some thought into how he wants this to come across. Flowing on the white screen behind him are images of the Kraftwerk glory days and he dances around behind his mixing desk enthusiastically.
His performance is in essence a clever story told through sound and visuals; a walk through the musical history of Wolfgang Flür. Synthpop is the order of the day in the stand out track from his latest album Eloquence and it comes in the form of ‘Cover Girl’ – a self-proclaimed follow up to the most famous Kraftwerk track, ‘The Model’. The video behind him tells the rise and fall of a model, portrayed by Cindy Gunawan. The track is catchy and has the room dancing along nicely.
The inclusion of ‘Pocket Calculator’ is also gratefully received and coming to the end of a set just over an hour and fifteen minutes in duration, he dons his Pickelhaube (that’s a Prussian military hat for those not up on their history) and unashamedly marches around the stage. Afterwards, we’re treated to Peter Mangalore presenting techno into the early hours.
It’s been a different evening tonight and the mixed crowd have lapped up what Wolfgang has offered, it’s not often that one gets to be in the presence of a living legend, but tonight certainly fits that description.
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Lover of all things psych and shoegaze and the mind behind Astral Elevator; constantly seeking new musical experiences in a world full of noise.
