NME have an article up announcing the release of a new single and album by Kraftwerk.
The single, 'Tour De France 03', will be released on July 7, two days after the start of the world famous bike race, and will be available on CD and 12" vinyl.
'Tour De France,' the album, will feature all-new recordings of 'Tour De France 03' alongside brand new compositions and a new version of 1983's 'Tour De France.'
The album is due for release on July 21 and Kraftwerk are currently working on the final mix at their Kling Klang studio in Düsseldorf."

I would really like to buy the cd, so I hope they'll release it as compact disc digital audio and not as fake plastic labeled as cd.

Ciao..

that sounds awesome.. i hope they still got there original
ebm sound.. these guys had/have the best dynamic picture
i ever heard from digital synth boxes..

when it regards the "tour de france" (i still got it..)
over the years.. it have been made ax. 6/7
different remixes since then.. and somehow
i doubt there will be a better version..

(& maybe.. just maybe.. the "hip-hop" scene
will get back to the roots to..))

btw, is the new Kraftwerk cd play(copy) protected in the UK?

Anyway it's CDS200 in France.
I'd like to find someone having another pressing to compare clicks with mine.

Their sound has evolved, it's in the Expo2000 continuity. Very original, and very good, though I wonder what it looks like on cheap speakers, seeing the amount of low frequencies they use.
But this album won't be a must. In fact only the sound is interesting.

And the mastering is clipped.

What version do you have Pio? I pre-ordered the German pressing which was said to be released on August 4th and am expecting it soon. I was a little miffed because I just recently saw that next month there will be a Japanese version released that contains all the regular tracks plus a video for one of the songs. I am certainly not going to spend the extra money of that copy now but I would be interested in hearing from anyone that saw it.

I've got the French version. I'll post the inner ring number and some samples with clicks when I'm back home.

You can see the video in Kraftwerk's website. I suppose it's Tour de France 2003.

Sample posted in the cds200 thread : http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index....=0&#entry123074

Too bad I don't have broadband. I wish you could download instead of just streaming.

Sorry, Off-topic (I will send you my sample once I get my hands on the CD, though), but I just want to know:

Is it any good?

I have been looking forward to this CD for the longest time. You seem to be a bonafide Kraftwerk fan, so knowing your opinion would be very interesting.

Personally, I like it. But I think that some people won't like it. The building of the tracks is always the same : some music in background, and some descriptive words spoken over it, exactly like Expo 2000, with the same kind of sounds. The concept works for a signle track, but to have it on the entire album is a bit too much.
However, the sounds used are very good. Nothing like we are used to listen to. They made a very good work with their synthesizers.
For the time being I can't tell if I'm going to be tired of it quickly or it I'll like it for years. It's the same feeling as Electric Cafe. When I got it, I found it weird. But now I still like it. I think it will be the same for this one. I must add that the recording quality is much better than for Electric Cafe, that sounded harsh.

I'm listening to it again, and I like it more and more.
Actually, I just realized that I already heard this kind of sounds : Yello - Pocket Universe !

I've got the UK import of Kraftwerk's Tour de France cd, was quite expensive. There seems to be no copy/play protection present on this cd. Well it has, but it's some interesting variation:
This label copy information is the subject of copyright protection.

One thing makes me wonder. Why do the newer cds have some hole on the label side. Is it to speed up aging of cds?? Is this their new plan to sell more cds?

I have never seen a cd like you mentioned. Do you have any pictures of an example? Is it entirely through the plastic or just like a layer is missing?

here is a picture
http://home.arcor.de/rhegemann/09260003.jpg

btw the massive attack cd "100th window" has the same defect

If a CD I bought looked like that I would return it. It must be a defect in manufacture...

that's very strange. i haven't seen anything like this before. does it go right through the disc? if so then it must be a defect of some kind. i have seen, though, CDs that have holes in the dye itself, but not the plastic surface

no, it does not go through the disc, neither on the "Tour de France" nor on the "100th Window" discs. I think it's (laser?) drilled by intention.