Swedish CK 37 pays homage to Kraftwerk with ‘Autobahn (Fan Fan Fan)’ – Out now
Centralkalkylator 37 (CK 37)
Centralkalkylator 37 (CK 37), a Swedish electropop act pays tribute to Kraftwerk with their most recent 2-track single “Autobahn (Fan Fan Fan)“.
The R. Hütter and F. Schneider penned track was originally released in 1974. “Autobahn” was released as the lead single from their studio album of the same name.
While you would expect a sound reminiscent of Kraftwerk, but this is hardcore EBM sung in Swedish.
It’s our guess that CK 37 is well aware of the track’s history, which explains why they incorporated “fan fan fan” in the their version of the song. This references a perhaps lesser-known fact: the main refrain of Kraftwerk’s “Autobahn”, “Fahren, fahren, fahren,” was often misheard as “Fun, Fun, Fun” and mistakenly linked to the 1964 Beach Boys song of the same name. Band member Wolfgang Flür later on clarified that this resemblance was indeed purely coincidental.
However, in CK 37’s usage, “fan” is not a translation of “fun” but rather the Swedish word for “devil.” It is a common expletive in Swedish, expressing frustration or emphasis, much like “damn” or “hell” in English. For example, “Vad fan” means “What the hell,” while “Fan också” translates to “Damn it.”
The single will also feature an exclusive remix of their 3rd single “8 Bitars Ren Extas” by the British dark-electro act Nature of Wires. The cover art was created by Josephine Larsson (Varbergs Attacksynthare).
CK 37 consists of S.A. Dist (a former data engineer), Ossi Oscillator (a former fighter pilot) and The Synth Panda.
About the term Centralkalkylator 37 (CK 37)
In case you wonder where the name Centralkalkylator 37 comes from, it was an advanced airborne computer developed by Datasaab for the Saab 37 Viggen aircraft. Introduced in the early 1970s, it was the world’s first airborne computer to utilize integrated circuits, marking a huge milestone in aviation technology.
The CK 37 served as the central computing unit, integrating various electronic systems within the Viggen. It processed data from multiple sensors, including pitot tubes, gyrocompasses, accelerometers, radar altimeters, and navigation systems.
Outputs from the CK 37 were directed to the head-up display, radar screens, control panels, and weapon systems, thereby automating tasks that previously required a human navigator.
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