Karl Bartos. He’s the one in Kraftwerk who… um. He’s the German…uh.
My apologies. I’m sure that if I grew up during the 70s I’d be much more capable of distinguishing between the individual members of that pioneering electronic outfit, but as things stand, I seem to be drawing a blank. What will cure my momentary lapse in knowledge of the German music scene? Wait, is that bratwurst I smell? Ahh, delicious bratwurst, a plate of which has suddenly appeared in front of me, as though beamed from an otherworldly gottheit — transform me into a veritable expert on all things Deutschland! Mmmmm.
Erstaunlich! There we are. Though technically not one of its founding members, Karl Bartos joined Kraftwerk at arguably one of the most opportune times, following the release of Autobahn in 1974. He later co-wrote The Man-Machine and Computer World, and stayed with the band until 1990, when he ultimately decided to take his percussive talents elsewhere (but not to South Beach). Bartos began his (now defunct) Elektrik Music project in 1992, and in 2003 he released his first album, Communication, under his own name. As Exclaim! reports, next spring he’ll be releasing his second album under his own name, entitled… I have no idea. That information hasn’t yet been revealed, but what we do know is: 1) Bureau B will be releasing the album. 2) Bartos is reportedly “looking forward to the release with anticipation.” Communication sounded an awful lot like Kraftwerk, so you might as well expect a similar sound on this upcoming album. In fact I order you to expect a similar sound.
• Karl Bartos: http://www.karlbartos.com
• Bureau B: http://www.bureau-b.com
More about: Karl Bartos, Kraftwerk
