The most influential group in electronic music to date, Kraftwerk, is set to perform in Helsinki’s Suvilahti on Thursday August 13. The event, co-produced by Flow Festival and Live Nation, takes place at the Flow Festival Main Stage on the night prior to the kick-off of the festival’s 2009 edition.

Since their formation in 1970, Kraftwerk has trailblazed the evolution of electronic music, especially at its early stages. The group, whose status as pioneering electro legends has since achieved  epic proportions, has recorded several albums nowadays regarded as invaluable signposts by artists and aficionados across genre boundaries. “Man Machine”, “Autobahn”, “Trans-Europe Express”, and “Computer World” represent just the tip of the iceberg in Kraftwerk’s output during the past four decades.

In 2003, after a 17-year recording hiatus, Kraftwerk released a new album by the title of “Tour de France Soundtracks” to mark the legendary cycling competition’s 100th anniversary. The record was a success, and the following sold out world tour cemented Kraftwerk’s presence and relevance in the new Millennium.

Kraftwerk’s live incarnation includes founding member Ralf Hütter alongside Henning Schmitz and Fritz Hilpert, both with already several decades of live experience with the group, and Kraftwerk’s video engineer Stefan Pfaffe. The iconic on-stage visuals play a key role in the band’s constant policy of minimalism also evident in their celebrated album artwork. Kraftwerk’s (German for “powerplant”) live milieu could hardly be more fitting than that of the Helsinki gig in August: the historic Suvilahti power plant area celebrates the first full century of its existence this year.

The event on August 13 also marks the debut of the new and improved Main Stage area at Flow Festival. The sixth edition of Flow, organised as part of the Helsinki Festival, is held in Suvilahti on August 14-16.