Motorik is the 4/4 beat often used by, and heavily associated with, krautrock bands. Coined by music journalists, the term is German for "motor skill". The motorik beat was pioneered by Jaki Liebezeit, drummer with German experimental rock band Can.[1][2][3][4] Klaus Dinger of Neu!, another early pioneer of motorik, later called it the "Apache beat".[5] The motorik beat is heard in one section of Kraftwerk's "Autobahn", a song designed to celebrate exactly this experience.[6] It is heard throughout Neu!'s "Hallogallo", from their self-titled album Neu!.[7]
Some music critics observed that the motorik style conveys a similar sense of forward momentum as the music of Beethoven and Rossini and bears a resemblance to the rhythmic drumming in jazz.[8] They opined that it initially evoked the "glorification of the industrial modern era".[8]
The motorik beat is in 4/4 time, at a moderate tempo. The pattern is repeated in each bar throughout the song. A splash or crash cymbal is often hit at the beginning bar of a verse or chorus. Klaus Dinger emphasized that it was "very much a human beat," adding, "It's essentially about life, how you have to keep moving, get on and stay in motion."[9] The basic pattern is as follows:
Motorik rhythm
A sample of a motorik rhythm
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^Adelt, Ulrich (2016). Krautrock: German Music in the Seventies. University of Michigan Press. p. 18. ISBN 978-0-472-05319-3.
^Savage, Mark (23 January 2017). "Jaki Liebezeit: Can drummer dies aged 78". BBC News. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
^Millions, Kid (23 January 2017). "Love Time: Remembering Can Drummer Jaki Liebezeit's Otherworldly Groove". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
^Spice, Anton (22 January 2017). "Can drummer Jaki Liebezeit has died aged 78". The Vinyl Factory. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
^Kopf, Biba (2002). "Klaus Dinger interview transcript (2001)". The Wire. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
^Albiez, Sean; Pattie, David (2011). Kraftwerk: Music Non-Stop. UK: Continuum. p. 102. ISBN 978-1-4411-9136-6.
^Taylor, Steve (2006). The A to X of Alternative Music. UK: A&C Black. p. 160. ISBN 978-0-8264-8217-4.
^ abBottà, Giacomo (2020). Deindustrialisation and Popular Music: Punk and Post-Punk in Manchester, Düsseldorf, Torino and Tampere. Finland: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 48. ISBN 978-1-7866-0738-6.
^"Klaus Dinger: Pioneer of the 'motorik' beat". Independent.co.uk. 9 April 2008.
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