demusic1-8, Exercise 2: Did Kraftwerk invent electronic music?

Model answer (check the dates and names):

No. Electronic music existed before Kraftwerk: studios in Cologne and elsewhere were making electronic compositions in the 1950s, and early synthesizers and tape experiments were being used by composers and by other bands, including German Krautrock groups such as Tangerine Dream in the early 1970s.

What Kraftwerk changed: they brought electronic sound into pop, making songs with clear tunes and themes, an unmistakable image and a wide audience. Autobahn (1974) was a hit abroad, and later albums were taken up by musicians in synth-pop, early hip-hop, house and techno.

Fair statement: Kraftwerk were hugely influential in popular electronic music, but they did not invent electronic music. Claims of invention ignore earlier work and the debts they themselves owed.