GERMANY may be Europe's powerhouse, recognised for its state-of-the-art engineering and streamlined design, but, with some notable exceptions, it isn't famed for its contemporary music or innovative twists in pop culture.

Indeed, the Germans themselves seem generally disinterested in their world-leading legacy of influential art-rock and electronica - what we refer to as Krautrock.

They'll celebrate the global success of Kraftwerk and their cherished techno scene, but other forward-looking artists such as Neu!, Can and Faust go largely unnoticed on home turf, despite being renowned abroad as some of their greatest musical exports.

I've recently returned from a fascinating week-long music tour of the country, visiting four central artistic hubs: Cologne, Dusseldorf, Berlin and Hamburg. Starting in the vibrant beating electronic heart of Cologne, my first stop was the Studio fur Elektronische Musik. Established in 1953 by Herbert Eimert, it is now a museum in a basement in the suburbs, still manned by original engineer Volker Muller, who was active until its closure in 2001.

Having recorded alongside the likes of Karlheinz Stockhausen, Muller demonstrated his undiluted passion for analogue technology, tape loops, synthesisers and tone controllers in a studio that influenced not only the BBC Radiophonic Workshop but modern electronic music at large.

My next port of call was Kompakt Records, a label that for two decades has released minimal techno and house. It's a dream for creative minds: a building containing a warehouse, label, live agency and recording studio, with staff served by in-house chefs. Founding partner Reinhard Voigt was my guide, and an in-store performance from new signing Coma brought me up to date.

Dusseldorf was once a bustling creative centre but is now slightly in the shadow of other cities. That said, the locals are determined to change this. Entering the Hans Peter Zimmer Stiftung - a non-profit art complex which includes rehearsal rooms, ­sculpture studios and concert halls - I was treated to a short set by the charming composer Hauschka on prepared piano complete with bottle tops, masking tape and vibrating sex-toys - a beautiful, bizarre joy to behold.

No visit to this city would be complete without an homage to Kraftwerk's iconic Kling Klang studio, in the back-yard of the Electro Muller company. No robots were in attendance sadly, as Ralf Hutter has moved the studio outside of the city centre, so off I trotted to the Slowboy gallery to meet Miki Yui, author, artist and wife of the late Klaus Dinger, drummer with Neu! and La Dusseldorf.

Dusseldorf came alive as we pounded the streets discovering facts and figures to the soundtrack of an eccentric local DJ in a salmon-pink suit with portable turntable.

The day closed with a throbbing electronic set by Stefan Schneider of To Rococo Rot and Sven Kacirek in the Salon des Amateurs, a hub for experimental music that has hosted Michael Nyman and Mouse On Mars.

Having never set foot in Berlin, seeing the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag was merely the start of a trip that had me investigating the bohemian enclaves of Kreuzberg and Neukolln. As a 24-hour city built for seven million people but only holding around three and a half million, its buildings have been famously squatted, acquired and converted into music venues and clubs for decades.

Taking in an acoustic Dear Reader gig at the Badeschiff complex, another converted set of industrial buildings, I felt I was in a Wim Wenders film. Infamous, underground haunts such as the indie-Mecca Festsaal Kreuzberg and SO36 punk club showed me the cutting edge of Berlin's scene. It seemed right to end my first day at the Das Gift bar, run by Barry Burns of Scottish post-rockers Mogwai.

Before leaving this magical city, I took a boat tour of Berlin's canal system, complete with live music from new German groups. Encouraged to immerse myself in the city's nightlife until 6am, I bowed out early to see the astonishing Kraftwerk 3D exhibition featuring films from throughout their career. Truly outstanding, it was a mere taste of what they project behind them when playing live.

In Hamburg, I was frog-marched to a talk by Michael Rother of Neu! and Harmonia, New German Wave artist Andreas Dorau and Kurt Dahlcke, founder member of proto-industrial firebrands DAF, and Der Plan, who were instrumental in releasing crucial post-punk in the late 1970s and 1980s.

After taking in clubs such as Molotov, the Kaiserkeller and Star Club, sites where the Beatles made their name, another boat trip led me through Hamburg's ports to the Dockville festival, where I saw modern acts such as Vimes, Fenster, Roosevelt and local DJs, to the backdrop of cranes and oil-tankers.

If my mission was to learn more about German music, past, present and future, I succeeded. A statistic was bandied about that Germany's creative industries now bring in more revenue than its motor industry. So look out pop culture: when Germany does something, it tends to do it better than most.

Vic Galloway presents on BBC Radio Scotland on Mondays, 8.05-10pm, and co-hosts Rapal TV on BBC Alba on Thursdays, 10pm. His book Songs In The Key Of Fife is out now, published by Polygon. Contact Vic at www.twitter.com/vicgalloway.