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Kraftwerk review – after more than half a century of techno supremacy, they still sound like the future
Waterfront Hall, Belfast Ralf Hutter and his bandmates show how profound their influence has been on huge swathes of popular music – and they give a tender tribute to the late Ryuichi Sakamoto Forty-five years ago this month, Kraftwerk released Computer World, an album addressed to a world that hadn’t been built yet. Tonight in Belfast, Ralf Hütter and his bandmates open with three songs from it: Numbers, the title track, Computer World 2 – body-popping electro that the next few decades of music tried to live up to. The opening seconds of Numbers catch oddly: a familiar pause stretching too long, then steadied, then not another slip all night. Fifty-five years since the band formed, the machines still need their man. Hütter, 79 and the last original member since Florian Schneider’s departure in 2008, is more animated than legend has it – a bobbing left leg betraying what the face won’t –

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According to The Guardian’s source item, Kraftwerk review – after more than half a century of techno supremacy, they still sound like the future, Waterfront Hall, Belfast Ralf Hutter and his bandmates show how profound their influence has been on huge swathes of popular music – and they give a tender tribute to the late Ryuichi Sakamoto Forty-five years ago this month, Kraftwerk released Computer World, an album addressed to a world that hadn’t been built yet. Tonight in Belfast, Ralf Hütter and his bandmates open with three songs from it: Numbers, the title track, Computer World 2 – body-popping electro that the next few decades of music tried to live up to. The opening seconds of Numbers catch oddly: a familiar pause stretching too long, then steadied, then not another slip all night. Fifty-five years since the band formed, the machines still need their man. Hütter, 79 and the last original member since Florian Schneider’s departure in 2008, is more animated than legend has it – a bobbing left leg betraying what the face won’t –
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The development sits in VINI’s Technology file for readers following technology, science, product policy, markets, infrastructure, and the public consequences of innovation. The original report is linked so readers can check the source account, follow later updates, and compare new coverage against the first published record. The source item is dated 2026-05-19T10:59:17+00:00.
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Primary source: Kraftwerk review – after more than half a century of techno supremacy, they still sound like the future via The Guardian. VINI cites and links the source; it does not reproduce the publisher’s full article text without rights clearance.
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- Kraftwerk review – after more than half a century of techno supremacy, they still sound like the futureThe Guardian - 2026-05-19T10:59:17+00:00
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