Radio-Activity
Studio album by
Kraftwerk
ReleasedOctober 1975 (1975-10)
StudioKling Klang (Düsseldorf, West Germany)
Genre
Length37:38
Label
Producer
Kraftwerk chronology
Exceller 8
(1974)		 Radio-Activity
(1975)		 Trans-Europe Express
(1977)
2009 remastered edition
Singles from Radio-Activity
  1. "Radioactivity"
    Released: 1976

Radio-Activity (German title: Radio-Aktivität) is the fifth studio album by German electronic music band Kraftwerk, released in October 1975. The band's first entirely electronic album is also a concept album organized around the themes of radioactive decay and radio communication.[3] All releases of the album were bilingual, with lyrics in both English and German. The album was accompanied by single release of the title track, which was successful in France and Belgium.

Background

Following the success of its 1974 predecessor Autobahn, an album based on Germany's eponymous motorway network,[4] Kraftwerk embarked on a tour of the United States with the "classic" lineup of the band formed by Ralf Hütter, Florian Schneider, Karl Bartos—who joined in February 1975—and Wolfgang Flür in April and May 1975.[5]

Album title

Radio-Activity's album title displays Kraftwerk's typical deadpan humour, being a pun on the twin themes of the songs,[6] half being about radioactivity and the other half about activity on the radio.[7] Bartos revealed that the title was inspired by a chart column in the American magazine, Billboard,[4] which featured the most played singles under the title "Radio Activity".[8] According to Wolfgang Flur, the concept arose as a result of the many radio interviews that Ralf and Florian had given on their American tour.[9]

Composition and recording

The album was recorded in Kling Klang Studio, Düsseldorf,[4] and it was self-produced by Hütter and Schneider. It was their first purely electronic album,[7] and the first one to be performed by the "classic" band line-up.[5] Karl and Wolfgang worked on electronic percussion.[10] LP liner notes state music and production was by Hütter and Schneider, with Emil Schult collaborating on lyrics. For this album, the band had decided to record some vocals in English and Schult's command of the language after studying for a while in the United States was better than Hutter's or Schneider's. Tim Barr pointed out the impact his experiences had in the United States on his ability to speak the language and in more subtle ways as well.[11] Schult also designed the artwork, which was based on a late-1930s 'Deutscher Kleinempfänger' radio.[12]

The overture instrumental piece "Geiger Counter" used Geiger counter beats based on musique concrète.[13] The album featured use of the distinctive Vako Orchestron keyboard to provide vocal choir on title track.[14] "Antenna" used an echo chamber effect, and Hütter's Farfisa electronic piano was used on "Transistor".[12] For the recording, extensive use was made of the vocoder.

Release and promotion

In September 1975, the band toured the UK, playing 17 shows in England.[5] By 1975, Hütter and Schneider's previous publishing deals with Capriccio Music and Star Musik Studio of Hamburg had expired. The compositions on Radio-Activity were published by their own newly set up Kling Klang Verlag music publishing company, giving them greater financial control over the use of songwriting output. Also, the album was the first to bear the fruit of Kling Klang as an established vanity label under the group's new licensing deal with EMI.

Radio-Activity was released in October 1975. For their promotion, their record company sent them to a "real Atomkraftwerk" to take promotional photos. In these photos, the group was dressed in white protective suits and anti-radiation boots on their shoes.[4] The album reached No. 59 on the Canadian charts in February 1976.[15] The title track "Radioactivity" was released as a single in May 1976 and became a hit in France, selling 500,000 copies,[4] and Belgium in the charts.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Drowned in Sound8/10[16]
The Guardian[17]
The Irish Times[18]
Mojo[19]
Q[20]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[21]
Select4/5[22]
Spin Alternative Record Guide9/10[23]
Uncut[24]

Radio-Activity was released to mixed reviews, with Rolling Stone criticizing the album: "... no cut on the album comes near the melodic/harmonic sense that pervaded Autobahn or the creative use of electronics on the much earlier album Ralf and Florian".[25] Uncut wrote regarding their 2009 remaster that it "begins like a heartbeat in the void, accelerating into the pulse that will form the spine of the title-song, an eerie tribute to the intangibles (music, disintegrating atoms) that linger in the atmosphere." It consider that "has a musty scent of Old Europe, which proved a hit with the synth groups of 1980-81 (eg, Ultravox and Visage), and it retains a blood-chilling, Wagnerian quality even now, thanks to Kraftwerk's use of the Vako Orchestron, a choir-like relative of the Mellotron."[24]

Chris Power from Drowned in Sound praised it for the experimental feeling in 2009: "A bridge between electronic experimentalism and the powerful, groundbreaking unification of avant-garde form and catchy, commercial function that was just around the corner, Radio-Activity is the sound of Kraftwerk finding their way in a strange new landscape that they were in the very process of creating".[16] In a retrospective review, Jason Ankeny from AllMusic called the album "a pivotal record in the group's continuing development" and stated that it "marked Kraftwerk's return to more obtuse territory, extensively utilizing static, oscillators, and even Cage-like moments of silence".[3]

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Geiger Counter" ("Geigerzähler")
1:07
2."Radioactivity" ("Radioaktivität")
6:42
3."Radioland"
  • Hütter
  • Schneider
  • Schult
5:50
4."Airwaves" ("Ätherwellen")
  • Hütter
  • Schneider
  • Schult
4:40
5."Intermission" ("Sendepause")
  • Hütter
  • Schneider
0:39
6."News" ("Nachrichten")
  • Hütter
  • Schneider
1:17
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
7."The Voice of Energy" ("Die Stimme der Energie")
  • Hütter
  • Schneider
  • Schult
0:55
8."Antenna" ("Antenne")
  • Hütter
  • Schneider
  • Schult
3:43
9."Radio Stars" ("Radio Sterne")
  • Hütter
  • Schneider
  • Schult
3:35
10."Uranium" ("Uran")
  • Hütter
  • Schneider
  • Schult
1:26
11."Transistor"
  • Hütter
  • Schneider
2:15
12."Ohm Sweet Ohm"
  • Hütter
  • Schneider
5:39
Total length:37:38

Personnel

Adapted from 2009 remaster liner notes.[26]

Kraftwerk

Additional personnel

  • Peter Bollig – technical engineer (Kling Klang Studio, Düsseldorf)
  • Walter Quintus – sound mix engineer (Rüssl Studio, Hamburg)
  • Robert Franke – photography
  • Emil Schult – artwork
  • Johann Zambryski – artwork reconstruction (2009 Remaster)

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1976) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[27] 94
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[28] 4
Canada (RPM)[15] 59
France (SNEP)[29] 1
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[30] 22
US Billboard 200[31] 140

Certifications and sales

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
France (SNEP)[32] Gold 100,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ↑ Rubin, Mike (4 December 2009). "Who Knew That Robots Were Funky?". The New York Times. ISSN 1553-8095. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  2. ↑ Schütte, Uwe (2020). Kraftwerk: Future Music from Germany. [London]: Penguin Books. p. 90. ISBN 978-0-141-98675-3.
  3. 1 2 3 Ankeny, Jason. "Radio-Activity – Kraftwerk". AllMusic. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Edwards, Lucas (26 October 2022). "'Radio-Activity': How Kraftwerk Went Nuclear With Their Fifth Album". Dig!. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 Esch, Rudi (26 August 2016). Electri_City: The Düsseldorf School of Electronic Music. Omnibus Press. p. 70. ISBN 978-1-78323-776-0. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  6. ↑ Bussy, Pascal (2004). Kraftwerk: Man, Machine and Music. SAF Publishing Ltd. p. 78. ISBN 978-0-946719-70-9. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  7. 1 2 Schütte, Uwe (27 October 2022). The Cambridge Companion to Krautrock. Cambridge University Press. p. 99. ISBN 978-1-316-51107-7. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  8. ↑ Schütte, Uwe (11 January 2017). German Pop Music: A Companion. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. p. 80. ISBN 978-3-11-042354-9. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  9. ↑ Albiez & Pattie 2011, p. 106.
  10. ↑ Hardy, Phil; Laing, Dave (21 August 1995). The Da Capo Companion To 20th-century Popular Music. Da Capo Press. p. 531. ISBN 978-0-306-80640-7. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  11. ↑ Barr 2013, p. 96.
  12. 1 2 Stubbs 2014, p. 145-147.
  13. ↑ Interviews, Clash Magazine Music News, Reviews & (13 February 2013). "Kraftwerk: Radioactivity". Clash Magazine Music News, Reviews & Interviews. Retrieved 27 October 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  14. ↑ "Vako Orchestron - Kraftwerk - Trans-Europe Express & Radioactivity". MATRIXSYNTH. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  15. 1 2 "RPM Top 100 Albums - February 28, 1976" (PDF).
  16. 1 2 Power, Chris (12 October 2009). "Album Review: Kraftwerk – Radio-Activity: Remastered". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 6 March 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  17. ↑ Sweeting, Adam (14 April 1995). "CDs of the week: Kraftwerk reissues". The Guardian. London. ISSN 0261-3077.
  18. ↑ Clayton-Lea, Tony (30 October 2009). "Kraftwerk: Autobahn (1974), Radio-Activity (1975), Trans Europe Express (1977), The Man-Machine (1978) (Mute/EMI)". The Irish Times. Dublin. ISSN 0791-5144. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
  19. ↑ Snow, Mat (November 2009). "Gut Vibrations". Mojo. No. 192. London. p. 110. ISSN 1351-0193.
  20. ↑ "Kraftwerk: Radio-Activity". Q. London. p. 116. ISSN 0955-4955. [A] conceptual piece that diverted Kraftwerk's music into monochrome retro-futurism...
  21. ↑ Coleman, Mark; Randall, Mac (2004). "Kraftwerk". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 468–69. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  22. ↑ Harrison, Andrew (June 1995). "Kraftwerk: Radio Activity / Man Machine / Computer World / The Mix". Select. No. 60. London. ISSN 0959-8367.
  23. ↑ Reynolds, Simon (1995). "Kraftwerk". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. pp. 215–16. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
  24. 1 2 Cavanagh, David (16 October 2009). "Uncut reviews: Kraftwerk – Reissues". Uncut. London. ISSN 1368-0722. Archived from the original on 5 December 2010. Retrieved 22 October 2009.
  25. ↑ Ward, Ed (12 February 1976). "Radio-Aktivitat". Rolling Stone. New York. ISSN 0035-791X. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
  26. ↑ Radio-Activity (Digital Remaster) (CD). Kraftwerk. Great Britain: Mute Records. 2009. CDSTUMM304.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  27. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 170. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  28. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Kraftwerk – Tour de France Soundtracks" (in German). Hung Medien.
  29. ↑ Buckley, David (13 June 2015). Kraftwerk: Publikation. Omnibus Press. ISBN 9781783236183.
  30. ↑ "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH.
  31. ↑ "Kraftwerk Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
  32. ↑ "French album certifications – Kraftwerk – Radio-Activity" (in French). InfoDisc. Select KRAFTWERK and click OK. 

Bibliography

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