Among fans of electronic and alternative music, the German band Kraftwerk is legendary. The pioneering band is famous for building their own synthesizers and using only electronic percussion. Their highly minimal, rigidly rhythmic songs envision a futuristic world of robots and glowing cities, all described in short, cold phrases over shimmering synth pulses. Some of the band's music even found a pop audience, and singles like "Autobahn" and "The Model" walk a thin line between being stiff and being funky. Kraftwerk's music was also accompanied by lead vocalist and founder Ralf Hutter's futurist philosophy, which dominated the band's studio recording sessions. From all accounts Hutter was a cross between a drill sergeant and a mad scientist while the band was recording. Hutter was interested in creating a positive cultural image for Germany, and he saw the band as emissaries of everything modern that his home country had to offer the music world. Kraftwerk were so reclusive that, legend has it, even their record label EMI didn't have contact info for them. The band also brought graphic artist Emil Schult in on their project and, in an attempt to create a comprehensive, multi-media image for Kraftwerk, Schult designed all of the band's album art and their touring show. Kraftwerk's home-made recording studio, Kling Klang, is now a mecca for any musician interested in electronic music. Kraftwerk, which means "power plant" in German, formed in 1970, when Ralf Hutter and Florian Schneider-Esleben met while studying at the Dusseldorf music conservatory. Both musicians where very interested in Germany's growing experimental electronic music scene. The band released several albums that met with underground enthusiasm before their surprise smash 1975 hit "Autobahn" off of the album of the same name. Follow-ups included "Trans-Europe Express" (which caught the interest of taste-maker David Bowie), "The Model" and "The Robots." Kraftwerk's influence on the current music scene has been immense, and you can find elements of their work in everything from hip hop (Afrika Bambaataa's classic "Planet Rock") to Chicago House (Keith Farley's "Funkin' With the Drums Again") and modern rock (Coldplay's legitimately sampled "Talk.")