"Trans-Europe Express" is a song by German

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electro ...

band

Kraftwerk Kraftwerk (, "power station") is a German band formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk were among the first successful acts to popularize t ...

. The song was released as the lead single from their sixth studio album of the same name in 1977. The long version of the song was on the original released album, is 13:44 long, and split into two (in the United States) or three parts (in Germany). The music was written by

Ralf Hütter Ralf Hütter (born 20 August 1946) is a German musician and composer best known as the lead singer and keyboardist of Kraftwerk, which he founded with Florian Schneider in 1969. On May 12, 2021, Kraftwerk was announced as one of the inductees of ...

, and the lyrics by Hütter and Emil Schult. The track is ostensibly about the

Trans Europ Express The Trans Europ Express, or Trans-Europe Express (TEE), was an international first-class railway service in western and central Europe that was founded in 1957 and ceased in 1995. At the height of its operations, in 1974, the TEE network compri ...

rail system, with technology and transport both being common themes in Kraftwerk's oeuvre. The track became popular in dance clubs in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, US and has since found further influence, both in hip-hop by its

interpolation In the mathematical field of numerical analysis, interpolation is a type of estimation, a method of constructing (finding) new data points based on the range of a discrete set of known data points. In engineering and science, one often has ...

Afrika Bambaata Lance Taylor (born on April 17, 1957), also known as Afrika Bambaataa (), is an American DJ, rapper, and producer from the South Bronx, New York. He is notable for releasing a series of genre-defining electro tracks in the 1980s that influence ...

(via Arthur Baker) on " Planet Rock", which has been sampled and remixed by many different artists such as

Paul Oakenfold Paul Mark Oakenfold (born 30 August 1963), formerly known mononymously as Oakenfold, is an English record producer, remixer and trance DJ. He has provided over 100 remixes for over 100 artists including U2, Moby, Madonna, Britney Spears, Mas ...

for ''

Swordfish Swordfish (''Xiphias gladius''), also known as broadbills in some countries, are large, highly migratory predatory fish characterized by a long, flat, pointed bill. They are a popular sport fish of the billfish category, though elusive. Swordf ...

''s soundtrack, and by modern experimental bands such as the electroclash bands of the early 2000s. In 2021, it was ranked at No. 304 on Rolling Stone's "Top 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".

Composition and lyrics

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

described the musical elements of the suite as having a haunting theme with "deadpan chanting of the title phrase" which is "slowly layered over that rhythmic base in much the same way that the earlier "

Autobahn The (; German plural ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official German term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track' ...

" was constructed". The song's lyrics reference the album '' Station to Station'' and meeting with musicians

Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. Called the " Godfather of Punk", he was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band The Stooges, who w ...

and

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

. Hütter and Schneider had previously met up with Bowie in Germany and were flattered with the attention they received from him.Bussy, 2004. p.84 Ralf Hütter was interested in Bowie's work as he had been working with Iggy Pop, who was the former lead singer of

the Stooges The Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, also known as Iggy and the Stooges, was an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Da ...

; one of Hütter's favorite groups.Bussy, 2004. p.85

Release and critical reception

"Trans-Europe Express" was released as a single in 1977,Strong, 1998. p.454 and charted in the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, where it peaked at number 67, also peaked at No. 96 in the Canada charts. ''Trans-Europe Express'' as a single did not chart in the UK, but it reached number one in France. In 2020, ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

'' and ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

'' both named it as Kraftwerk's greatest song.

Track listing

7" vinyl

12" vinyl

CD single

Charts

References

Bibliography

* * {{Authority control Kraftwerk songs 1977 singles Songs written by Ralf Hütter Electronic songs Songs written by Emil Schult Songs about Europe 1977 songs EMI Records singles Songs about trains