At a time when nuclear facilities are again messing up the environment, it's time to listen to Kraftwerk's timeless 'Radioactivity' again. That song is quite alarming, despite their clean and tidy way of mixing words with music.
Hard to believe, but although Kraftwerk's 'The model' has become some sort of Eighties classic, the track was actually released in 1978. It just goes to show how ahead of their time the German perfectionists were even in the beginning of their career. The German version of 'The model' was called 'Das Model', and was released in Germany with the English version on the B-side.
The cycling mania of some of the band members of Kraftwerk has been well documented. Ralf Hütter and Fritz Hilpert have been known to take part in cycling events. The track was originally recorded with the intention of being included on the subsequently abandoned album 'Techno pop'.
Released as the first single from their 1991 remix album 'The Mix', Kraftwerk's 'The Robots' was a big success in the UK, peaking at number 20. 'The robots', remixed by the band, was originally released in 1978 as a single from their seventh album 'Man machine'.
Perhaps Kraftwerk's best known track, 'Autobahn' is an ode to the German expressways. The track is intended to capture the feeling of driving on the Autobahn: from the high-speed concentration on the fast lane, to tuning the car radio, to the monotony of a long trip. For the single version, the original 22 minute track was edited down to a mere three minutes.
Taken from their album 'Electric cafe', 'The telephone call' followed up 'Musique non stop'. The track appeared on side two of the album, which meant that it had a more conventional pop song structure. 'The telephone call' is notable for being the first and only Kraftwerk song to feature Karl Bartos on lead vocals.
In 1986, Kraftwerk released the album 'Electric cafe', an album that took the band almost half a decade to produce. Work is said to have begun on the album as early as 1982. 'Musique non stop' was one of three tracks that took up the 'A' side of the album. 'Boing Boom Tschak', 'Techno pop' and 'Musique Non Stop' were all similar in atmosphere and instrumentation. 'Musique non stop' was remixed and edited for the single version, and two different edits appear on the single.
The original single of 'Radioactivity' was released in 1976. In 1991, Kraftwerk released the album 'The mix', which contained remixed versions of some of their most popular tracks. The album included a remix of 'Radioactivity'. For the single, 'Radioactivity' was remixed by François Kevorkian and William Orbit.
If you should define the German group Kraftwerk with one song, this would be the one. They are known for their electronic, mechanical-sounding, almost inhuman music, but this track is proof that they were definitely capable of writing a melodic popsong.
'Radioactivity is in the air for you and me'. The seemingly soulless, mechanic music by Kraftwerk has always had intriguing lyrics. I don't mean 'Mensch / Natur / Technik' of their infamous track 'Expo 2000', of course, but their earlier work. It's hard to believe when you hear 'Radioactivity' that it was released in 1976.
