Keeping it current with a former Man-Machine: An interview with Wolfgang Flür

I interviewed Wolfgang Flür for the latest edition of Electronic Sound magazine.

Flür’s new album Times features Boris Blank out of Yellow, Thomas Vangarde out of Daft Punk, Peter Hook out of New Order, Juan Atkins out of, er, Juan Atkins, and more besides.

We talked about German mythology, the passing of time, songwriting inspiration during his Kraftwerk days, and his partnership with the brilliant Peter Duggal, who joined us for the interview. I was chuffed that Peter was with us: it gave an interesting spin to the piece.

Wolfgang is, of course, most famous for being a member of Kraftwerk, a group I think are better than sliced bread AND bees knees. This is the first time I've interviewed someone inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. A lot of pressure, I guess, although I'm not the type of person to be starstruck.

While researching for the interview, I saw a video of Wolfgang gently complaining about a previous Electronic Sound interview in which they led with him being a member of Kraftwerk. This is the most famous thing about him, but it got me wondering. Could you really get away with not mentioning the K word?

So I took a risk. He may not have noticed, but I deliberately didn't mention Kraftwerk for the entire interview. The name did not pass my lips. It felt like a dereliction of journalistic duty, disrespectful even, but my reasoning was calculated:

(a) The theme of the album is "times" and I wanted our conversation to be rooted in the here-and-now and his latest work.

(b) There is probably nothing more to say about his involvement with a band he departed nearly four decades ago.

(c) He was going to mention the K word anyway, which he did to beautiful effect as you can see in the article.

I salute you, Wolfgang and Peter. Times well spent. The article can be read in issue 124 of Electronic Sound available at all good retailers, or, via subscription, on the Electronic Sound website.

Further Fats: Chosen Words: J is for Juan Atkins (2010)

Further Fats: Breaking – Kraftwerk legend has important message about Electronic Sound (2010)