(Electronic) [LP][24/96] Kraftwerk - Kraftwerk 2 - 1972, FLAC (tracks), lossless

=Hardware=
Vacuum cleaned LP>
Shure M97xE>
Dual CS 505-3>
Handcrafted low capacitance custom cables, teflon® insulated & silver-plated coaxial conductors>
Kenwood C1 Custom Revision I>
- Phono Stage input and RIAA equalisation capacitors replaced by Styroflex and Polypropylen types resp.
- Electrolytic capacitors not mounted by manufacturer onto the RIAA stage power Supply refitted (Philips NOS types)
- All electrolytic capacitors in signal chain replaced by foil capacitors
- All old JRC OpAmps replaced by Burr Brown (Phono Stage) and Analog Devices OpAmps resp.>
Handcrafted low capacitance custom cables, polyethylene insulated twinaxial conductors>
Audiotrak Prodigy 7.1 HiFi w/ AD712 OpAmps @ 24/96>
HDD
=Software=
Wavelab 6.11 (Algorithmix Pro)
Adobe Audition 3
ClickRepair 3/0
Trader´s Little Helper (FLAC)
+16Bit Version:
Izotope Rx Advanced 1.21
Resampled:
-Ultra Steep, linear phase
Dithered:
-MBIT+ Medium
-Noise shaping light
-Dither amount normal

Date of rip: 2010-11-30

discogs

Original German 1st Press Gatefold Release.
Like its predecessor (similarly designed right down to the traffic cone cover, though green instead of red), Kraftwerk 2 has never been properly re-released, giving it the same lost-classic aura as the first album, or at least lost, period. Thankfully, bootleg reissues in 1993 restored it to wider public listening; even more so than Kraftwerk 1, its lack of official reappearance is a mystery, in that the band is clearly well on its way to the later Kraftwerk sound of fame. Stripped down to the Hütter/Schneider duo for this release, and again working with Conrad Plank as coproducer and engineer (this album alone demonstrates his ability to create performances combining technological precision and warmth), Kraftwerk here start exploring the possibilities of keyboards and electronic percussion in detail. Given that the band's drummers were gone, such a shift was already in the wind, but it's the enthusiastic grappling with drum machines and their possibilities that makes Kraftwerk 2 noteworthy. The nearly side-long effort "KlingKlang," which would later give the name to the band's studio and which predicts later lengthy efforts like "Autobahn," shows how the duo is still working toward its future styles. Steady beats are sometimes sped up and slowed down; more freeform performances on flute, violin, and keyboard remain present (rather than honing in on a core melody); and again, no vocals yet grace the recordings. On the second side, the more rock-oriented origins of the group still cling on, mostly without any percussion whatsoever: the distorted solo guitar start of "Strom," the guitar/bass duets of "Spule 4" (queasy) and "Wellenlänge" (quite beautiful and very indicative of many '90s space rock efforts). Ultimately as with Kraftwerk 1, Kraftwerk 2 isn't the "classic" sound of the band, but it's astonishingly worthy on its own, well worth seeking out.~ Review by Ned Raggett, allmusicguide