I used to make it a quiz question:
which internationally successful band
came from the closest possible distance as the crow flies?
Answer: Kraftwerk from Düsseldorf,
just across the border in Limburg.

Sons of architects.
They made music like graphic designers make design:
clean, rational, grid-based.
No guitar solos. No drama.
Just synthesizers, vocoders,
four men in perfect symmetry.

Cycling enthusiasts too.
I’ve heard they would get dropped off
50 kilometres before a show,
just to cycle the final stretch.

No problem.
They performed like robots anyway.
Sharp suits. Minimal movement.
Most energy went into lifting an eyebrow.

They sounded like the future.
While prog rock bands added everything they could,
Kraftwerk removed what wasn’t needed.

Minimalism as courage.
And because of that: monumental.