Tony Clayton-Lea reviews Eine Kleine Nacht Musik

EINE KLEINE NACHT MUSIK Eine Kleine Nacht Musik Modular Recordings***

You have heard, we presume, that Kraftwerk are "performing" in Ireland on September 13th? Well, here is something they prepared earlier under an assumed name. Actually, scrub that. Eine Kleine Nacht Musik (the functioning unit) doesn't include any member of Kraftwerk, past or present, but the titular album) does pay homage to the Krautrock forefathers in such a motorik-beat manner that you'd swear blind it was Ralf, Florian and the lads hunkering down over their keyboards rather than London-based Henry Smithson kneeling at the altar. It's an incredibly smart record in the way it references not just Kraftwerk but also the likes of (among others) Neu, DAF and Faust. Yet it isn't as clever as it thinks it is. Pristine, shimmering melodies are notable by their absence (and, if there are any lurking, by their lack of lustre). All in all, though, homburgs off to Henry. www.einekleinenachtmusic.tv Download tracks: Finster, Das Regenecho