Hot Stamper Pressings of Art Rock Albums Available Now
Our good customer Aaron thought his Hot Stamper pressing of Autobahn was pretty special. He writes:
Good morning Tom,
I’m catching up on some work and sipping my coffee this Sunday morning, way too cold to go outside.
I’ve got my NWHS of Autobahn playing. The room is absolutely filling up with sweet sound. I had always thought of Kraftwerk’s music as cold and distant, intentionally, but this copy is bringing out a whole different character to the music. It is organic and warm and really humane.
Isn’t it funny to think that of all the bands, it is Kraftwerk who is done a particular disservice by digital formatting? On the surface, their music seems like it would be so amenable to digital, but it’s all the play and joy that’s less on the surface that really makes it music, and digital strips that right out.
I bought this one as part of pushing my envelope during the 12 days sale.
My other copy is the 1985 Parlophone repress. It’s not bad, but I’ve only played it a couple times before, which says everything you need to know.
Whereas the hot stamper is currently one of my go-to records to put on. The hot stamper fills my room with sound.
It’s more somatic than auditory, you can feel it. That’s always true for white hot stampers, but it makes all the difference for this album – the parallax on Autobahn that lets you feel like you are physically moving through space necessitates a full 3D soundstage.
That effect of actually moving just does not happen when you’re playing the 1985 pressing.
So, I would say Autobahn is another one of those albums where it’s essential to have a hot stamper pressing to actually appreciate the music.
Digital won’t do it, and even a different good pressing doesn’t convey the magic – the organic nature and the three dimensional experience – that the hot stamper gives you.
Uncanny.
Aaron
Aaron,
That’s a fantastic description of an experience that is very rare in audio, and, like you say, cannot be accomplished with second-rate pressings, the kind that make up the collections of the vast majority of audiophiles and collectors alike.
The exception would be if one has access to especially good drugs, but drugs are bad for you as a general rule and you actually don’t even need them if you have good records and a good stereo to play them on. At least that has been my experience.
Thanks for writing,
Best, TP
AMG 5 Star Review
Although Kraftwerk’s first three albums were groundbreaking in their own right, Autobahn is where the group’s hypnotic electronic pulse genuinely came into its own. The main difference between Autobahn and its predecessors is how it develops an insistent, propulsive pulse that makes the repeated rhythms and riffs of the shimmering electronic keyboards and trance-like guitars all the more hypnotizing.
The 22-minute title track, in a severely edited form, became an international hit single and remains the peak of the band’s achievements — it encapsulates the band and why they are important within one track — but the rest of the album provides soundscapes equally as intriguing. Within Autobahn, the roots of electro-funk, ambient, and synth pop are all evident — it’s a pioneering album, even if its electronic trances might not capture the attention of all listeners.
Further Reading