Computer World by Kraftwerk

I’ve already talked about The Man-Machine (1978), their most famous record, where Kraftwerk were at their very best, pushing the possibilities of synth-pop to the limit, but also about Trans Europe Express, another key album in their career, which I tried to sum up in the profile dedicated to them titled “Kraftwerk, founding fathers of modern electronic music”.

Kraftwerk were true pioneers in the use of drum machines, vocoders and custom synthesizers, and Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider had already understood, in the ’70s and ’80s, that society would be ruled by data and computers. Even though they were born as part of the Krautrock scene, I consider them part of the “Progressive Electronic” genre, a subgenre that shares many things with the more experimental progressive rock.

Computer World (Computerwelt in German), released in 1981, is one of the best electronic music albums ever and a prophetic record that anticipated the digital age we live in. After the success of The Man-Machine (1978), the Düsseldorf quartet spent three years in the legendary Kling Klang Studio experimenting with new technologies and refining their own gear.

During the making of the album, Kraftwerk’s classic line-up stayed unchanged, keeping its stability between 1975 and 1987. The quartet on the record is made up of Ralf Hütter (vocals and synthesizers), Florian Schneider (synthesizers and vocoder), Karl Bartos (electronic percussion and keyboards) and Wolfgang Flür (electronic percussion). Despite the lack of line-up changes, Karl Bartos’s writing contribution became far more significant on this album, appearing as co-author on almost all tracks together with Hütter and Schneider. The first major departures happened only years after this record came out.

This album is a true pillar of Electro and Synth-pop, influencing Detroit techno and old-school hip-hop with its synthetic, syncopated rhythms.  It’s minimalist and precise, with essential electronic textures, synthesizers, drum machines like the Roland TR-808 and cyclic sequences that recall calculators.  The album experiments with artificial, repetitive sounds, blending musique concrète and avant-funk, and uses the vocoder and synthesized voices to explore the man-machine theme.  Despite its robotic sound, it has catchy melodies, like in “Computer Love”, that are almost romantic and helped define modern electronic pop.  Everything is tied to the album’s concept: a world dominated by computers, databases and digital communications.

Mine is the neon-yellow vinyl reissue from October 9, 2020, with high-quality remastered audio that boosts sonic clarity compared to the original, offering deep bass and a well-defined listening experience. The tracks gain sharpness and benefit from better separation, making this edition essential for fans.

Computer World, the title track, takes us straight into its world with a robotic, hypnotic beat.  It names a multitude of institutions that manage data (like Interpol, Deutsche Bank, FBI, Scotland Yard), turning a boring topic into a super powerful, minimalist electronic anthem.

Pocket Calculator is a cheerful piece but technically very hard. Kraftwerk used real toys and calculators (like the Casio FX-501P) to create the melody. It’s an anthem to portable technology that today we all carry in our pockets.

Numbers is a fully rhythmic track where synthesized voices count in different languages over a dry, pounding beat. It’s considered the song that kicked off the Electro scene and old-school hip-hop thanks to its spacey groove.

Computer World 2 reprises the main theme and works as the perfect bridge to the album’s second half. It keeps the tense, technological atmosphere, closing the first part of our journey into the world of data.

Computer Love is the most emotional and melodic moment on the record. It talks about loneliness and the search for love through a screen, a very current theme. Its synth line is so famous that Coldplay asked permission to use it in their song “Talk”.

Home Computer is a complex track that grows in electronic intensity. It tells the idea of the computer entering our homes, turning us into creative “operators”. Crazy sound design that anticipates the techno of years later.

It’s More Fun to Compute closes the album: it’s a pounding industrial loop based on a pun on old arcade slogans (“It’s more fun to compete”). It’s the “hardest” and most repetitive song, a mechanical farewell that ends the technological journey in style.

The artwork for Computer World is a real gem of minimalist, retro-futurist design, one of the most iconic in the history of electronic music. The cover shows a video terminal (a Hazeltine 1500, often mistaken for an actual computer) on a canary-yellow background.  On the screen, the stylized faces of the band’s four members: Ralf Hütter, Florian Schneider, Karl Bartos and Wolfgang Flür.  The album title is written in the OCR-A typeface, created in the ’60s to be read both by us humans and by the first optical scanners.  A detail that perfectly underlines the theme of the man-machine bond, so central to the album.

Inside are the photographs by Günter Fröhling, portraying the band members as robotic mannequins.  You’ll see them engaged in studio activities, like recording and mixing.  A style that strongly recalls the previous album, The Man-Machine. 

In short, both the record and the artwork are true works of art that go beyond music and now belong to modern history, even if many of us—and very many young people—still don’t know it. Excellent!

My Version

Label: Kling Klang – 50999 9 66023 1 7, Parlophone – 50999 9 66023 1 7
Series: Kling Klang Digital Master
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Limited Edition, Reissue, Remastered, Special Edition, Stereo, Yellow Translucent, 180g
Country: Europe
Released: 9 Oct 2020

Tracklist

1. Computer World (Computer Welt) (5:06)
2. Pocket Calculator (Taschenrechner) (4:55)
3. Numbers (Nummern) (3:19)
4. Computer World 2 (Computer Welt 2) (3:23)
5. Computer Love (Computer Liebe) (7:16)
6. Home Computer (Heim Computer) (6:19)
7. It's More Fun to Compute (4:14)

LineUp

Artwork [Kling Klang Original Artwork] [Reconstruction] – Johann Zambryski, Ralf Hütter
Computer [Hardware] – Gerd Rothe, Hermann J. Poertner, Matten + Wiechers Bonn , Mr.Lab + Friend Chip Berlin , Peter Bollig, Publison Paris
Computer [Software] – Computer Colour Graphic System Bernd Gericke Erlangen , Bob Krasnow, Carol Martin (2), Doreen D'Agostino, Falk Kübler , Florian Schneider, Günter Spachtholz, Joachim Dehmann, Karl Bartos, Karl Klefisch, Martin Tewis, Marvin Katz, Pit Franke, Ralf Hütter, Takeshi Shikura, Tom Lanik, Wolfgang Flür
Concept By [Album], Producer [Production] – Florian Schneider, Ralf Hütter
Cover – Emil Schult, Florian Schneider, Ralf Hütter
Electronic Drums – Karl Bartos
Lacquer Cut By – NS
Photography By [Photos] – Günter Fröhling
Recorded By, Mixed By – Florian Schneider, Ralf Hütter
Vocoder, Speech [Synthesis], Synthesizer, Electronics – Florian Schneider
Voice, Vocoder, Synthesizer, Keyboards, Keyboards [Orchestron], Sequencer [Synthanorma Sequenzer], Electronics – Ralf Hütter

Listening links on the main streaming platforms at the following links:

• Spotify: Available both in the English version and in the original German version Computerwelt.
• YouTube: You can find the official album playlist uploaded by Kraftwerk’s official channel.
• Apple Music: The album is in the high-quality catalog as Computer World (Remastered).
• SoundCloud: You can listen to the full playlist on SoundCloud.

Note: All links to the musicians' works are in the TAGS under the article title or on the page "Artists"