Tag: Bernard Sumner (Page 5 of 6)

MARK REEDER Collaborator

19 May 2014 /

Mark Reeder has carved out an impressive reputation for his catalogue of fine remixes since the success of his electronic dance music record label MFS which launched the careers of internationally renowned DJs such as Paul Van Dyk and Cosmic Baby.

He had moved to Berlin in 1978 having become fascinated by the artistic diversity of the city and was Factory Records’ representative in Germany between 1978 to 1982. He also worked with bands such MALARIA! and DIE TOTEN HOSEN while simultaneously being part of cult duo DIE UNBEKANNTEN who later morphed into SHARK VEGAS and toured Europe with NEW ORDER.

His passionate attention to detail gained many notable admirers within the music industry. So when Reeder focused on remixing at the start of the new century with his studio partner Micha Adam, he was given the opportunity to work with major artists such as John Foxx, PET SHOP BOYS, DEPECHE MODE and BLANK & JONES.

As the man credited for introducing NEW ORDER to electronically propelled dance music, when Mark Reeder spoke to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK in 2011, he said: “I’m old school. I like to still be able to hear the song, but give it my own signature and atmosphere, while at the same time use as many of the original elements as possible”.

Reeder’s visceral approach provided a developmental enhancement to the music while retaining an all important degree of familiarity and accessibility. A number of these results ended up on his lush surround sound compilation package ‘Five Point One’ in 2011.To follow-up ‘Five Point One’, the revived Factory Benelux label have issued ‘Collaborator’, a new compendium of remixes and collaborations by the still Berlin-based Reeder.

A significant number of tracks feature his long-time friend Bernard Sumner who appears vocally in four guises with the songs reworked in a classic electronic style not really heard since NEW ORDER’s ‘Here To Stay’ in 2002 and ELECTRONIC with Johnny Marr. First, there are Reeder’s versions of BAD LIEUTENANT singles ‘Sink Or Swim’ and ‘Twist of Fate’ which are without doubt, more enjoyable that the guitar driven originals.

Meanwhile, the wonderful ‘Miracle Cure’ helmed by dance merchants BLANK & JONES could easily be mistaken for a NEW ORDER dance track in its Reeder interpretation. Best of all though is ‘She Wants’, Sumner’s most recent collaboration with WESTBAM – given an Old School Remix by Reeder, it does what its says on the tin.

However, the previously unreleased demo of ‘Crystal’ which Sumner first recorded with Reeder and Corvin Dalek is perhaps less essential but welcome, giving as it does, a very different Deep House view of the song from its ‘Get Ready’ rock out. But how marvellous it is to hear Sumner being given a synth driven backbone again? Now while his guitar has always been an essential ingredient to NEW ORDER, his tracks on ‘Collaborator’ are evidence if any that should the Manchester brand ever record new material again, not only should the direction be electronic but also, Mark Reeder should be behind the mixing desk as well.

‘Collaborator’ also highlights Reeder’s love of female fronted synthpop. Reeder’s So Close Remix of MARSHEAUX’s ‘So Far’ and a smooth Euro styled Sweet & Sticky rework of MARNIE’s ‘Sugarland’ display an affinity with ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK’s own tastes.

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But things are then taken to the next level with his remix of QUEEN OF HEARTS’ ‘Neon’; ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK is pleased to say it assisted in bringing the two parties together and the resultant Electrically Excited Remix is a rich slice of euphoric electro schaffel that has been well worth the creative intervention.

The remaining collaborations are an interestingly eclectic bunch it has to be said. How many compilations can claim to bring together post-punk veteran Anne Clark, DURAN DURAN bassist John Taylor AND artist Sam Taylor-Wood?

Clark cuts her stern poetry on ‘The Hardest Heart’, a track originally reconfigured for Reeder’s ‘Reordered’ project with BLANK & JONES while Sam Taylor-Wood teams up with old pals PET SHOP BOYS for an extended retro restyling of THE PASSIONS’ I’m In Love With A German Film Star’.

John Taylor’s ‘C’est Tout Est Noir’ however is more intriguing being a recent offering with KOISHII & HUSH and the first lead vocal from the David Beckham of New Romantic since his solo single ‘I Do What I Do’ from the ‘9 ½ Weeks’ soundtrack in 1986. Reeder’s Black Night Remix improves on the original, bringing with it a body of stark musicality as well as bringing out the moodier aspects of the song.

The conclusion of the album completes the circle of Reeder’s musical journey and goes back to DIE UNBEKANNTEN’s ‘Radio War’ from 1982 and SHARK VEGAS’ 1986 Factory Records release ‘You Hurt Me’. This pair of archive recordings actually shows how Reeder’s own musical journey has to an extent, mirrored that of Sumner’s.

‘Radio War’ is more like JOY DIVISION, all doom laden, bass heavy and claustrophobic while ‘You Hurt Me’ produced by Bernard Sumner is characterised by the sort of New York disco sequence programming that made NEW ORDER famous. Both are interesting curios in the story of how Reeder has arrived here today.

In the excellent interview by John Cooper featured within the booklet liner notes, Reeder says: “I always want my remixes to be as recognisable as their original song. This is always my concern when making a remix”.

This CD only package (please take note record labels – vinyl is NOT everything!) is a fine catalogue of MARK REEDER’s career to date covering key aspects of classic and contemporary electronic pop. ‘Collaborator’ proves that the modern day club remix doesn’t have to be death by four-to-the-floor and can be a song oriented art form in itself.

With thanks to James Nice at Factory Benelux

‘Collaborator’ is available now on CD only via Factory Benelux from Amazon and other retail outlets

http://factorybenelux.com/mark_reeder_collaborator_fbn111cd.html

http://www.5point1.org/

https://www.facebook.com/markreedermusic

Text by Chi Ming Lai
Album Cover Photo by Katja Ruge
19th May 2014

PAUL HAIG At Twilight

6 February 2014 /

In a feature for NME, Paul Haig was labelled “the face and sound of 1982” by Paul Morley who also considered him the “enigmatic fourth man” in a quartet of New Pop saviours comprising Billy Mackenzie, Jim Kerr and Martin Fry.

Indeed Morley held Haig in such high regard that he instigated PROPAGANDA to cover ‘Sorry For Laughing’ which had been recorded by Haig’s former band JOSEF K. Now while Haig is generally only known by the post-punk cognoscenti, during the years between 1981-93 when he released music on the prestigious Belgian label Les Disques du Crépuscule, he produced some of the best electronic pop singles of the period.

And thanks to the intervention of former Crépuscule employee James Nice, not only has the label been resurrected (with synth girls MARNIE and MARSHEAUX being among the first releases), a compilation of Haig’s recordings with Crépuscule is now available and has naturally been titled ‘At Twilight’. The collection also includes his 1984 ‘Lost Album’.

PAUL HAIG had been the lead singer of JOSEF K, a guitar band with a frenetic pace who were to influence acts such as THE WEDDING PRESENT and FRANZ FERDINAND. Part of the Glasgow School on Postcard Records alongside ORANGE JUICE and AZTEC CAMERA, JOSEF K spilt after just one album ‘The Only Fun in Town’ in 1981. They were typical hipster favourites of their day; their stance of not wanting to be commercially successful and suffering for their art helped them gain a cult following.

But Haig had tired of these ideals and seeing his contemporaries ORANGE JUICE and AZTEC CAMERA sign to majors, he wanted to be part of the action and aspired to make pop records that could gain radio play. Inspired by acts such as NEW ORDER and HEAVEN 17, he began experimenting with electronica. In 1982, Haig signed to Les Disques du Crépuscule. He relocated to Brussels and released his first solo single, a self-produced cover of SLY & THE FAMILY STONE’s ‘Running Away’.

Although guitar driven, with its drum machine backbone and brassy synth solo, it was a sign of the more accessible direction Haig wanted to head in. These sessions were fruitful. From those, ‘Chance’ sounded like a mechanically propelled version of THE TEARDROP EXPLODES.

Meanwhile, a planned second self-produced single ‘Justice’ impressed enough that a distribution deal with Island Records was inked. With it came a sizeable advance to secure the services of a name producer. With ambitions to make a sophisticated album with an electronic dance sheen, the services of the late Alex Sadkin were secured and the release of ‘Justice’ was scrapped as the debut album ‘Rhythm Of Life’ was recorded at Sigma Sound in New York.

Sadkin’s productions for THOMPSON TWINS and DURAN DURAN from around the same period may have inadvertently thrown Haig into the commercial pop circus ring but prior to that, Sadkin had worked with Grace Jones and TALKING HEADS so the initial motives had been artistically driven. However, while Haig wrote the songs, he became very much a puppet on his own solo album as assorted sessioners including Bernie Worrell and even THOMPSON TWINS’ very own Tom Bailey added the funky synthesized overtones.

The first fruit of these labours was ‘Heaven Sent’ released in late 1982. It remains Haig’s only UK hit reaching 74 in late 1982 and had originally been written for JOSEF K. Vocally sounding like a growly Jim Kerr crossed with Lou Reed, its sweeping electro sound wasn’t unlike SIMPLE MINDS ‘I Travel’ reworked for The Danceteria. In fact, Kerr and Co’s ‘Sparkle In The Rain’ had been due to be produced by Alex Sadkin… who knows what could have happened had that became reality but whatever, ‘Heaven Sent’ was a fine introduction to Haig’s new instrumental template. The follow-up ‘Never Give Up (Party Party)’ was even better, highly percussive and boosted by some sub-ASSOCIATES rhythm guitar and big layered synth riffs fused to a catchy chorus and uplifting middle eight.

It showed great promise yet failed to dent the charts. It certainly deserved to, especially when compared with the less immediate ‘Union Of The Snake’ with which DURAN DURAN were vying for the No1 spot around the same time. Sadly, this is missing from ‘At Twilight’ but from the album, the enjoyable ‘Adoration’ makes an appearance.

A third single ‘Justice’ was lifted from ‘Rhythm Of Life’ and was supported with a club tour where Alan Rankine from ASSOCIATES joined his backing band along with ORANGE JUICE refugees David McClymont and Malcolm Ross. Less urgent and dancefloor based than its two predecessors, ‘Justice’ was full of drama nonetheless. The version on ‘At Twilight’ is the scrapped original version and although more basic than the Sadkin version, it still has a great keyboard solo.

Undeterred by his experiences in New York, Haig opted for a harder but still electronic sound augmented by more guitars for his next album. Alan Rankine was slotted in as producer but for what was to become the key track of Haig’s career, the production services of NEW ORDER’s Bernard Sumner were secured. With A CERTAIN RATIO’s Donald Johnson also joining them to record ‘The Only Truth’, the 12” version was seven and a half minutes of magnificent euphoric bliss with its blistering programmed drum box and meaty bass sequence augmented by funk laden slap. The final instrumental section of guitar and synth interplay was an outstanding 180 seconds all on its own!

Combining ‘Temptation’, ‘586’ and ‘Blue Monday’, ‘The Only Truth’ sounded like the best single NEW ORDER never recorded! It was yet another brilliantly catchy song from the pen of the Glaswegian. There were two further versions of ‘The Only Truth’ including a US Remix and the still strange sounding single edit.

Such has been the song’s impact, ‘At Twilight’ features all three… but this is totally unnecessary when ‘Never Give Up (Party Party)’ is missing from the collection and the original 12” remains the definitive version. However, ‘The Only Truth’ also failed to become a hit. Disappointed by the lack of chart action, Island Records took matters in their own hands and the album was denied a release. At a crossroads, Haig retained half of the recorded album while new material was added.

The second disc of ‘At Twilight’ features this Lost Album and while much of the material is familiar to Haig followers having been issued as B-sides, the tracklisting is an interesting listening experience. The ballad ‘One Lifetime Away’ has some wonderful widescreen Morricone-esque overtones.

Meanwhile ‘Big Blue World’ and the later ‘Heaven Help You Now’ with their sub-NEW ORDER sequenced vibes remain really good tracks. However, both suffer from comparison with ‘The Only Truth’. Among the bonus tracks on this disc, ‘The Executioner’, an at-the-time unreleased collaboration with CABARET VOLTAIRE is a wondrous gem while another track from the archives ’Change Of Heart’ is a great pulsating avant disco tune.

The reconfigured album ‘The Warp Of Pure Fun’ was finally issued in 1985 but by 1986, Haig had tired of label politics and signed to Virgin offshoot Circa for one last crack at pop stardom with the album ‘Chain’ in 1989. It yielded an excellent single ‘Something Good’ which was a minor hit in Germany.

With a follow-up beckoning, Haig took an interest in the dance scene that emerged following the onslaught of acid house. This seeded the recordings ‘I Believe In You’, ‘Flight X’ and ‘My Kind’ with dance producers such as THE CHIMES (featuring drummer James Locke from his 1984 live band), Mantronik and Lil Louis respectively. These authentic credible tracks of the period gained critical acclaim, but Circa stalled on releasing this fourth album. This led to Haig returning to Crépuscule to issue the resultant collection of songs as ‘Coincidence Vs Fate’ in 1993.

But after that, Haig maintained a lower profile, working with the late Billy Mackenzie on what became the ‘Memory Palace’ posthumous album and issuing his acclaimed ‘Cinematique’ series of instrumental works. Still singing today, more recently, he recorded adventurous covers of THE WALKER BROTHERS ‘The Electrician’ and JOY DIVISION’s ‘Atmosphere’ as well as issuing a new album ‘Kube’ last Autumn; but all these are another story…

While there are gaps, ‘At Twilight’ captures the synthpop prime of one of the UK’s forgotten talents. Its release deservedly puts PAUL HAIG and some of the best songs from the post-punk era back into the limelight. So Operation Twilight starts now…

Special thanks to James Nice

‘At Twilight’ is released as a 2CD set by Les Disques du Crépuscule, available from http://lesdisquesducrepuscule.com/at_twilight_twi1154cd.html

http://www.paulhaig.com/

https://www.facebook.com/paulhaigmuzik

http://www.ltmrecordings.com/paul_haig.html

Text by Chi Ming Lai
6th February 2014

WESTBAM Götterstrasse

6 May 2013 /

German techno DJ legend WESTBAM celebrates 30 years in the music business with an intriguing mature collection of songs under the title of ‘Götterstrasse’.

Literally translated as ‘Gods Street’, the 14 tracks feature a varied and impressive cast of vocalists. These include THE PSYCHEDELIC FURS’ Richard Butler, NEW ORDER’s Bernard Sumner, Iggy Pop, Brian Molko of PLACEBO, ex-member of THE STRANGLERS’ Hugh Cornwell and even rappers such as Kanye West and Lil’ Wayne! ‘Götterstrasse’ sounds heavenly and while the theme of the album centres on the joy and euphoria of underground nightlife, it also reflects on the consequences of comedown.

Indeed, the album’s magnificent launch single ‘You Need The Drugs’ voiced brilliantly by Richard Butler is not actually celebration of illicit substance use. “There’s been practically no interview in the last 30 years in which I wasn’t asked about drugs” said WESTBAM, real name Maximilian Lenz. “So the song ‘You Need The Drugs’, sung by Richard Butler, vocalist of new wave band Psychedelic Furs, is the first explicit electronic appeal AGAINST the use of drugs, with a clear message: drugs are a bore! Drugs destroy relationships! Drugs are always counterproductive!”

‘Kick It Like A Sensei’ featuring Lil’ Wayne follows and the sparse soundtrack held together by symphonic bursts of synth strings and metronomic rhythms provides a dramatic listen. The New Orleans hip-hop star’s “Like a Sensei” mantra becomes quite hypnotic and draws the listener in. Meanwhile, Katt Rockell provides a raspy and soulful feminine edge to yet another metronomic percussive base on the superb ‘Rebel Heart’ which musically builds with tinkling sequences and further synth string stabs.

Whereas the diverse selection of vocalists make on paper an unlikely cohesive album, WESTBAM keeps the musical thread together with a consistent adventure in sound. Instrumentally the songs are the same, yet different and the singers have been given the freedom to shape the songs melodically to provide the necessary variation. Interestingly, dominant staccato bass pulsing is largely absent from proceedings as are banging beats; this in turn makes ‘Götterstrasse’ sound almost cocoon-like.

Iggy Pop’s baritone provides an album highlight with ‘Iron Music’, the tense militaristic framework being highly Teutonic as the former James Newell Osterberg recalls his own period in Cold War Berlin with echoes of ‘Aisha’ his 1999 collaboration with DEATH IN VEGAS.

It all sounds strangely like JOY DIVISION gone techno, so the track which pops up next is highly appropriate. ‘She Wants’ sees the return of Bernard Sumner on a new electronic dance composition and it’s great to hear him in fine voice again on something approaching the sound of synth centred NEW ORDER.

Meanwhile, more sombre synthetic strings decorate the beautiful ‘Götterstrasse No 1’ which sees Ina Humpe’s vocals sampled and scatted over a suitably abstract slice of dance art. Humpe’s other contribution ‘To The Middle of Nowhere’ provides a gently autotuned sheen to the pretty Eurocentric backing.

Unsettling Wagnerian overtones dominate ‘Sick’ with Brian Molko and ‘Radio Siberia’ with Kanye West. While Molko gives it some angsty Gothic gloom, West is more typically urban with the expected “MF” profanities throughout. After an impressive eight track run of consistent quality, it is from here that ‘Götterstrasse’ starts to flounder a little.

A change in the instrumental timbre comes with some bass guitar on ‘We Feel Love’ featuring Afrika Baby Bam but this, like ‘Radio Siberia’ suffers from comparison with the first half of the album. ‘Solid Sound’ featuring Southern Blues singer/ songwriter Andrew Tyler returns to the template set earlier on ‘Götterstrasse’ but by now the momentum is lost and in retrospect, the following downtempo ‘Where We’re From’ with Katt Rockell sounds really out of place. However, ‘Götterstrasse’ snaps back to the wondrous feel of its first half with an appearance by Hugh Cornwall on the penultimate offering ‘A Night to Remember’.

It’s the most frantic track of the collection but that’s not to say it doesn’t have a serene quality, the metallic textures are complimented by piano and soothing ARP Solina reminiscent of the close of ROXY MUSIC’s ‘If There Was Something’. The ambient instrumental ‘Reprise’ brings the set to its conclusion.

Overall, ‘Götterstrasse’ is a fascinating listen, full of character if just a bit too long. A fabulous 9-10 track album nests within its steadfast beats, melancholic strings and vast array of singers. The deluxe 2CD edition incidentally features the dub mixes where the comparative simplicity of the backing tracks is highlighted. It has to be said that while the album’s rhythms are repetitive, they are unobtrusive and compliment the various stages carrying the lead characters.

Haunting, lively and enigmatic, some of the best electronic music of 2013 can be found on ‘Götterstrasse’.

With thanks to Mark Reeder

‘Götterstrasse’ is released by Vertigo / Universal Germany as a CD, deluxe 2CD and download

http://www.westbam.de/dt/en/

http://www.facebook.com/westbam

Text by Chi Ming Lai
6th May 2013

KARL BARTOS Off The Record

18 March 2013 /

Dress Code – Red Shirt, Black Tie… You’re History

It’s been ten years since Karl Bartos’ last album ‘Communication’. Released almost at the same time as his former colleagues’ rather pedestrian cycling travelogue ‘Tour De France Soundtracks’, his effort was far more impressive and rhythmically dynamic.

On leaving KRAFTWERK in 1990, he worked with British musicians such as Andy McCluskey, Bernard Sumner and Johnny Marr. As a result, ‘Communication’ was a much more song based, lyrically expansive record that was still electronically pleasing. The collaborative influence certainly made its presence felt, with ‘Life’ in particular sounding like one of NEW ORDER’s more instrumentally conventional tunes reprogrammed by Kling Klang while ‘The Camera’ and ‘I’m The Message’ were meatier developments of the template that Bartos was best known for.

1998’s guitar based excursion ‘Electric Music’ aside, Bartos has remained the beacon of hope for KRAFTWERK enthusiasts frustrated by the drought of fresh, new material since 1986’s ‘Electric Cafe’. After all, Bartos co-wrote ‘The Model’, ‘The Robots’, ‘Neon Lights’, ‘Numbers’ and ‘Computer Love’. If people can still hold enough regard for a version of the Düsseldorf quartett featuring just Ralf Hütter to crash the websites of the world’s art spaces, then Kark Bartos should at least be accorded some kind of equal status.

Photo by Markus Wustmann

Since ‘Communication’, there has been the move towards download culture and smart technology.  But Herr Bartos said: “The change in music culture had no influence in the making of this album. It is true: the music industry has lost its business model but that did not change the power of music”. 

Utilising musical sketches gathered during his period with KRAFTWERK, his post-KW project ELEKTRIC MUSIC and ELECTRONIC, ‘Off The Record’ is a fully realised collection with trademark robotics and warm melodics at its heart, driven by solid Minimoog basslines and snappy beats.

The frenzied first single ‘Atomium’ opens the album with orchestra stabs, frequency wobbles and the familiar tones first heard on ‘Computer World’ which have now become Bartos’ signature. Re-exploring themes first touched on with the ‘Radio-Activity’ album, it uses the giant model erected for the 1958 World’s Fair in Brussels to symbolise “the rise and fall of the atomic age”.

‘Nachtfahrt’ (or ‘Night Ride’) is nicely classic European synthpop with origins dating back to before ‘Computer World’. Meanwhile ‘International Velvet’ is OMD-like, a pretty melody fused to that romantic Retro-Futurist blueprint which KRAFTWERK pioneered… the flutey textures actually recall the Phillips-era prior to Bartos joining. There are also hints of ‘Kissing The Machine’, Bartos’ co-write with Andy McCluskey for the ‘Esperanto’ album.

Indeed, such is the sound of ‘International Velvet’ that if McCluskey had added his voice as on ‘Kissing The Machine’, it could be mistaken for a song on the new OMD album ‘English Electric’. The brilliant ‘Without A Trace Of Emotion’ sees Bartos conversing with his showroom dummy Herr Karl and confronting his demons as a member of the world’s most iconic electronic group.

As the most straightforward pop song on ‘Off The Record’, its autobiographical resignation is not unlike ‘Life’ from ‘Communication’. And whereas his former colleague Wolfgang Flür vented his spleen in book form with ‘I Was A Robot’, Bartos takes a more ironic musical approach with the line “I wish I could remix my life to another beat” being a wry reference to ‘The Mix’ project which drove him to madness and out of Kling Klang!

The blippy sonic cluster of ‘The Binary Code’ acts as an interlude before leading into ‘Musica Ex Machina’. A collaboration with Bernard Sumner and Johnny Marr, it is heavily based on the ELECTRONIC B-side ‘Imitation Of Life’, the inherent mechanical nature now enhanced with the replacement of the looser percussion arrangement in the original. Despite its co-writer credentials, it again does not quite realise its potential. In fact ‘Musica Ex Machina’ starts a strange mid-album lull…

‘The Tuning Of The World’ is reminsicent of AIR and an attempt at the ‘Neon Lights’ staccato piano dressed with a softer ‘Moon Safari’ style of voice manipulation. Meanwhile ‘Instant Bayreuth’ could be a vintage science-fiction theme, the sweeps and steadfast tempo will polarise… it will be either seen as genius or retro-pastiche.

It all gets back on track in the final third though. ‘Vox Humana’ and its primitive organ rhythm box intro recalls Jarre’s ‘The Last Rumba’. With electronic drips providing an abstract backdrop, it then mutates into a more trip-hoppy outline and concludes with some spacey avant weirdness and schizophrenic voices. The percussive ‘Rhythmus’ revisits ‘Numbers and ‘Computer World 2’ complete with synth chorals and Votrax chants before some ‘Silence’, an amusing John Cage styled skit.

The best is saved until last and it all ends charmingly with the wonderful ‘Hausmusik’, its klanking core driven by the type of Farfisa Rhythm 10 backbeat heard on the ‘Autobahn’ and ‘Radio-Activity’ albums. With a lovely toyish lead line, it recalls its near namesake ‘Tanzmusik’ from ‘Ralf & Florian’. This, along with several other tracks on ‘Off The Record’ create a fantasy world of what KRAFTWERK might have sounded like had Bartos joined in 1973 instead of 1975.

‘Off The Record’ will have something for anyone who remotely likes electronic music. Bartos is known for his strong aversion towards the death by 4/4 pounding of modern dance music so there is plenty of melody and variation plus only one song exceeds five minutes. hile there are assorted tougher techno elements to keep it contemporary, there are enough traditional elements to please KRAFTWERK aficionados and synthpop fans alike.

Even using ideas from prior to 1996, Karl Bartos has produced a classic but modern electronic album… it makes you wonder what KRAFTWERK might have achieved if the RFWK team had not lost its way post-‘Computer World’ and stayed together.

‘Off The Record’ is released by Bureau B on CD, vinyl LP and download

http://www.karlbartos.com/

http://www.bureau-b.com/karlbartos.ph

Text by Chi Ming Lai
18th March 2013

A Short Conversation with KARL BARTOS

12 February 2013 /

Photo by Katja Ruge

Karl Bartos first came to the music world’s attention as a member of KRAFTWERK.

Along with Ralf Hütter, Florian Schneider and Wolfgang Flür, he became part of what is acknowledged as the classic line-up of the pioneering Düsseldorf quartet. Recruited in 1975 to augment the live shows following the international success of ‘Autobahn’, Bartos was studying to be a symphony orchestra percussionist at the time and had to occasionally commute across the Atlantic to complete his exams while on tour in the US.

A now iconic appearance on ‘Tomorrow’s World’ showcased the future of music when the foursome demonstrated their customised instrumentation while smartly attired in suits. Using synthetic drum consoles triggered by metal rods, Bartos and Flür punctuated KRAFTWERK’s pioneering technology enhanced sound with a distinct uncluttered percussive snap. They continued their thematic fascination with science and technology, making major artistic leaps with the ‘Radio-Activity’ and ‘Trans-Europe Express’ albums.

Two of their fans were David Bowie and Brian Eno whose work on ‘Low’ and ‘Heroes’ in 1977 helped raise KRAFTWERK’s profile in the UK and led to a spate of new acts that were to become part of the Synth Britannia cultural revolution. But following the simultaneous high profile success of the Giorgio Moroder produced ‘I Feel Love’ for Donna Summer and his own ‘From Here to Eternity’, KRAFTWERK became fascinated by the throbbing sequenced electronic disco template and incorporated it into the album that many consider to be their crowning achievement, ‘The Man-Machine’.

By this time, Bartos had graduated to become Hütter’s main writing collaborator at Kling Klang with his first contribution being ‘Metropolis’. On tracks such as ‘The Robots’, ‘Neon Lights’ and ‘The Model’, Bartos added a funky groove that hadn’t been apparent in KRAFTWERK’s previous work.

In 1981, KRAFTWERK predicted the world we now live in with ‘Computer World’, a conceptual work that looked at police surveillance, portable office technology, computer dating and home entertainment. A much more tightly programmed work but with that all important vulnerable sense of humanity, the album was rhythmically strong thanks to Bartos’ contributions and tracks like ‘Numbers’ heavily influenced musicians in America who later went on to develop genres such as electro, hip-hop, house and techno.

However in 1983, with KRAFTWERK about to capitalise on the recognition they had been accorded by the success of synthpop throughout the world with the single ‘Tour De France’ and its accompanying album ‘Technopop’, Ralf Hütter had a near fatal cycling accident. While making his recovery, the release of ‘Technopop’ was postponed and the tracks reworked using more new digital sampling technology.

A rethink had manifested itself as computer based instruments such as the Fairlight and Synclavier were becoming increasingly prevalent in modern pop. KRAFTWERK purchased the latter and the delayed result was eventually released as the disappointing ‘Electric Cafe’ album in 1986 which interestingly saw Bartos’ debut as a vocalist on one of the album’s highlights, ‘The Telephone Call’.

KRAFTWERK had clearly lost their way at this point and Flür was the first to leave in 1987. Bartos soldiered on and worked with Hütter, Schneider and new recruit Fritz Hilbert on a remix album entitled ‘The Mix’. Bartos played his last concert with the band in 1990 and left not long after. But despite having already put several years into the project, his name was missing in the credits… keen observers will have also noticed that within the artwork of ‘The Mix’, Fritz Hilpert’s robot image was duplicated in Die Quartett shot to give the impression of a new fourth member!

Wasting no time following his departure, Bartos formed ELEKTRIC MUSIC with Lothar Manteuffel from RHEINGOLD and released the album ‘Esperanto’ which at the time, was enthusiastically welcomed by fans desperate for the void in new KRAFTWERK material to be filled. “Kraftwerk were like a wonderful Jumbo Jet that almost never took off” he wryly said to Future Music in 1993, “Now I’d rather have my own little Messerschmitt… and make my own pirouettes”!

One of the erstwhile collaborators on ‘Esperanto’ was longtime KRAFTWERK fan Andy McCluskey from OMD who sang on ‘Kissing The Machine’, quite possibly the best song that both parties was involved with during the anti-synth backlash that was to eventually became Britpop.The guitar dominated environment led to rather strange happenings with both musicians.

In McCluskey’s case, it was forming ATOMIC KITTEN. Legend says it was Bartos who suggested that it was the vehicle McCluskey was using that was outdated rather than his songs, hence this new messenger! He said: “Andy, if you just write songs, you’ll be a whore and your publishers will control you. You really need to create a vehicle for your own songs… create a three-piece girl group”! To think that ATOMIC KITTEN are part of Kling Klang’s lineage is quite amusing in hindsight!

Meanwhile, Bartos went to Manchester to work with Bernard Sumner and Johnny Marr on ELECTRONIC’s ‘Raise The Pressure’ album and returned to Germany with a Rickenbacker strapped to his back! Ironically, the resultant 1998 album was titled ‘Electric Music’ which Bartos himself described as “guitar pop out of the computer”. Although a song originally written for KRAFTWERK entitled ‘The Young Urban Professional’ was the first single, the album was not particularly well received by fans!

In 2003, Bartos made a triumphant comeback with his first proper solo album ‘Communication’. This saw a return to his electronic roots with lead track ‘The Camera’ in particular successfully updating the Kling Klang template of ‘The Robots’ for the new Millennium.

The album was far more of an artistic success than ‘Tour De France Soundtracks’ which had just been released by his former colleagues after a lengthy absence. Bartos’ own live show was a huge success too, mixing his new material with updated versions of his classic KRAFTWERK compositions in a striking but intimate audio/visual extravaganza.

Although having been comparatively silent for the last few years musically, Bartos has been working as a visiting Professor at the Berlin University of the Arts having founded its Master of Arts course in ‘Sound Studies – Acoustic Communication’. But now comes the release of ‘Off The Record’, the first album from Karl Bartos in ten years.

It sees lost material being reconceived and recontextualised within a 21st Century setting. The story behind the album’s concept is that during his time with KRAFTWERK, Bartos wrote – off the record – a secret acoustic diary.

Based on his rhythmical and melodic sketches, he has come up with twelve songs that could be perceived as KRAFTWERK compositions in all but name. Indeed ‘Nachtfahrt’ has its origins in the late 70s while the new single ‘Atomium’ re-explores themes first touched on with the ‘Radio-Activity’ album. Using the giant model of an iron crystal erected for the 1958 World’s Fair in Brussels as symbolism for the rise and fall of atomic power in Europe, its mantra is “what does iron crystal music sound like?”

For those who missed out on seeing KRAFTWERK’s art space album retrospectives, Karl Bartos will be touring in 2013. “Forget about technical nostalgia in 3D” says his press release, “instead tune into LiveCinema: 90 minutes of music and film – rhythmical, modern, intelligent”. So with the imminent release of ‘Off The Record’ on the prestigious German label Bureau B, ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK is proud to be able to bring you a short conversation with one of the Godfathers of modern electronic music…

In KRAFTWERK from ‘The Man-Machine’ onwards, you were credited with co-writing. When did this shift come about and what sort of parts were you contributing?

I played electronic drums on ‘Radio-Activity’ and ‘Trans Europe Express’. I got my first contribution as a composer for the album ‘The Man-Machine’. On this recording and all subsequent recordings my input included all parts of the musical content ie drums, bass, sequencer, chords, melody, voice, lyrics.

You left KRAFTWERK in 1990 but you got to work straight away as ELEKTRIC MUSIC releasing the ‘Esperanto’ album in 1993. You wrote ‘Kissing The Machine’ with OMD’s Andy McCluskey. How do you feel about him reviving it for the new OMD album ‘English Electric’?

Sometimes we all love nostalgia because it’s safe. One interesting point; the process of listening to music incorporates what we have learned before, all our lives, what we know. If you listen to a track in a club, or at home, or a concert, it doesn’t matter where, always what our brain does is we remember what we have learned about music, then we have this very second, this very moment, and our expectations about how the music will evolve in the future. Listening to music incorporates all three times.

Back to Andy, when I left KRAFTWERK in the early 90s, I got a call, “Hi I’m Andy, I’d like to visit you”. I showed him part of my archive. He suggested we do something together and I was up for it, so we went through this archive [which became ‘Off The Record’]. We picked some cassettes and finally I found *sings the opening notes of ‘Kissing The Machine’*.

I’m always after melodies, and so is he. He heard this, and then we had a really good time in Düsseldorf, we had dinner with Wolfgang in his flat, and a month later he sent me a demo, “Hey Karl, what so you think of this?”

He wrote the whole song and the lyric and the robo voice and I produced it for my first album. And now, we are always in touch, and when he plays Hamburg, he invites me. Last time he asked me if I had the old vocal recording which is 20 years old. I found this, because at the time I was really well organised. I sent him the vocal track but I haven’t heard the production. Maybe the link is in my inbox. I’m looking forward to hearing it.

Photo by Katja Ruge

In 1995, you worked with Bernard Sumner and Johnny Marr on ELECTRONIC’s ‘Raise The Pressure’ album but it was reported at the time you were getting disillusioned with music technology. What had happened to make you feel like this?

It was this idea of techno music with people making a track every day, another tune, releasing a record every other week, just fours-to-the-floor with no melody or structure, with no thought going into it really. I found it boring and depressing and it was the technology that was allowing it to happen. But then I worked with Johnny and Bernard who were able to use synthesisers and machines but were bringing so much melody and feeling into it as well. That really helped to make me feel positive again, it was such a great experience.

Did you have any dilemmas about how many KRAFTWERK songs to include when you first went out with your live show in 2003 in support of the ‘Communication’ album, especially as your former colleagues were returning with ‘Tour de France Soundtracks’?

Well, since I have co-written many of the hits, I always had too many of them for just one concert. The real problem was to sort out the redundant tracks.

It’s been 10 years since ‘Communication’. During that time, there has been the move to download culture and smart technology. How have these advances shaped ‘Off The Record’, bearing in mind its background?

The change in music culture had no influence in the making of this album. It is true: the music industry has lost its business model but that did not change the power of music.

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its grateful thanks to Karl Bartos

Special thanks to Bettina Michael

‘Off The Record’ is released on 18th March 2013 by Bureau B

http://www.karlbartos.com/

http://www.bureau-b.com/karlbartos.php

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
12th February 2013

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