"Trans-Europe Express" is a song by German

electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

band

Kraftwerk Kraftwerk (, ) is a Germany, German Electronic music, electronic band formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk was among the first successful a ...

, released in April 1977 by Kling Klang and

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

as the lead single from their studio album of the same name (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 West Germany). The music was written by Ralf Hütter and the lyrics by Hütter and

Emil Schult Emil Schult (born 10 October 1946) is a German painter, poet and audio-visual artist. Biography After studying Sinology in Münster, Schult joined the Academy of Art in Düsseldorf in 1969 to study Fine Arts in the printmaking class of Diet ...

. 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, and has since found further influence, both in

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

by its

interpolation In the mathematics, 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 ...

by Afrika Bambaata (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, Ma ...

for ''

Swordfish The swordfish (''Xiphias gladius''), also known as the broadbill in some countries, are large, highly migratory predatory fish characterized by a long, flat, pointed bill. They are the sole member of the Family (biology), family Xiphiidae. They ...

''s soundtrack, and by modern experimental bands such as the

electroclash Electroclash (also known as synthcore, retro-electro, tech-pop, nouveau disco, and the new new wave) is a Music genre, genre of popular music that fuses 1980s Electro (music), electro, New wave music, new wave and synth-pop with 1990s techno, re ...

bands of the early 2000s. In 2021, it was ranked at No. 304 on ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

''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 Mus ...

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 , ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track'. Much of t ...

" was constructed". The song's lyrics reference the album ''

Station to Station ''Station to Station'' is the tenth studio album by the English musician David Bowie, released on 23 January 1976 through RCA Records. Regarded as one of his most significant works, the album was the vehicle for Bowie's performance perso ...

'' 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, actor and radio broadcaster. He was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band the Stooges, who were formed in 1 ...

and

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

. 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 or Iggy and the Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, were an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Dave Alexande ...

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

Release and critical reception

"Trans-Europe Express" was released as a single in April 1977,Strong, 1998. p.454 and charted on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, where it peaked at number 67, and also peaked at No. 96 on the Canadian charts and No. 10 on the German charts. It did not chart in the UK. In 2019, ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' ranked "Trans-Europe Express" among "The 20 Best Disco Songs of All Time". 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 advertis ...

'' and ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' both named it as Kraftwerk's greatest song. In 2021 and 2022, it was ranked at No. 304 and 12 on ''

''s "Top 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" and "200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time" lists.

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