As a fan of popular music spanning from the British Invasion of the 1960s to contemporary K-pop, I ardently believe that pop music from seemingly unrelated genres and groups can, in fact, be linked. The association between Kraftwerk and aespa is one such example.
Two weeks ago, I attended Kraftwerk’s concert in Boston. This year marks the 50th anniversary of their first US tour, so they are even older than me. Kraftwerk was formed in 1970 in Dusseldorf, Germany, and one of its original founders, Ralf Hutter, 78, led the performance.
Their shows involve the four current members (Hutter, Henning Schmitz, Falk Grieffenhagen, and Georg Bongartzeach) each standing at their own podiums lined with neon lights. Their identical jumpsuits are similarly outfitted with lights that change colors along with the podiums, matching the intricate videos displayed behind them.
They appear robotic and move very little during the concert. They also do not speak to the audience until the very end. Most songs include Hutter singing a few lines unemotionally and electronically enhanced — autotune before it ever existed — that invariably include the title of the song.
While Kraftwerk concerts are heavily choreographed, the musicians move as little as possible, in stark contrast to the energetic dancing by K-pop performers. Still, both are precisely planned, with little room for improvisation. It is impossible to tell how much is prerecorded and how much is being “played” live. The audience was mostly middle-aged and white, with a sprinkling of younger men and other minorities (like me). This is very different from the K-pop concerts I attend, including the J-Hope concert that same week.
So, what do they have to do with K-pop more generally and aespa in particular?
Before I talk about aespa, I have to mention the other associations between Kraftwerk and K-pop. Surprisingly, Kraftwerk and first generation K-pop group H.O.T are linked in my mind. The first time I heard “We are the Future” (H.O.T., 1997), I recognized “Tour de France” (Kraftwerk, 1983) during the dance break. I was ecstatic to hear a sample of a classic synth song from my era. Actually, I shouldn’t have been too surprised, because I later learned that Lee Soo Man, founder of H.O.T.'s label, SM records, is knowledgeable about synth music. If you don’t believe me, check out his New Wave song “Endless Moment” from 1986. You’ll have to search for it by its Korean title.
In 2012, Neil McCormick of the Telegraph noted that Kraftwerk was “the most influential group in pop history.” They built some of their own electronic instruments. They are widely considered as one of the forefathers of electronic and synthesizer-based music which led to 1980s New Wave, synthpop, Euro Disco and House music. They also developed sampling methods used throughout pop music. Songs such as “Autobahn” (1974), “Robots” (1978), “The Model” (1978), “Numbers” (1981), “Tour de France” (1983), and “Trans-Europe Express” (1977) were the most familiar to me, a casual fan. A 2020 article from the Guardian listed “Trans-Europe Express” as Kraftwerk’s best song.
This song has been sampled in more than 50 other songs. However, its most famous home is in “Planet Rock” by Afrika Bambaataa and Soulsonic Force (1982). “Planet Rock” is credited as “giv(ing) birth to hip-hop and electro,” according to Spin Magazine in 2012.
Strangely, it did not technically sample “Trans-Europe Express” nor another Kraftwerk song (“Numbers”). The artists simply copied (identically) the rhythm and melody. They widely credited Kraftwerk and later paid them for the rights to use the songs. Afrika Bambaataa also acknowledges Kraftwerk as pioneers in electronic funk, which influenced him and other Afro-Futurism artists. Kraftwerk were fans of American music, and in particular named American black soul/funk musician James Brown as a musical influence.
Using the metric of the number of times a song has been sampled by other songs, “Planet Rock” is more successful than “Trans-Europe Express.” The former has been sampled by more than 400 songs, according to Whosampled.com. It also makes heavy use of the “orchestra hit” that appears in many 1980s pop songs, New Jack Swing, and even a few K-pop songs — see “Wow” by BTOB (2012), “Switch to Me” (JYP and Rain, 2020), “Supernatural” by NewJeans (2024), or “Leggo” by 8TURN (2025).
Certainly, no one would deny that K-pop has been heavily influenced by American hip hop since Seo Taiji and Hyun Jin-young. Similarly, the influence of “Planet Rock” on hip hop is unquestionable.
Most recently, however, “Planet Rock” was sampled by aespa in its very popular “Supernova.” Specifically, the sample was a recognizable hook from “Planet Rock” which is also the melody line of “Trans-Europe Express.” Does this mean that aespa technically owes a debt to Kraftwerk? To me, the answer is a definite yes. So, all you aespa fans — give a listen to Afrika Bambaataa and Soulsonic Force’s “Planet Rock” and Kraftwerk’s “Trans-Europe Express!”
Grace Kao
Grace Kao is an IBM professor of sociology and professor of ethnicity, race and migration at Yale University. The views expressed here are the writer’s own. — Ed.
