Computer World

by

Kraftwerk

Edit

Computer World is the eighth studio album created by Kraftwerk and released in 1981. It was released in German as Computerwelt. The album deals with the themes of the rise of computers within society. Critics see this album as a peak in the career of Kraftwerk, along with Autobahn and Trans-Europe Express. The compositions are credited to Ralf Hütter, Florian Schneider, and Karl Bartos. The sound of the album is more reliant on purely electronics and vocals.

In keeping with the album’s concept, Kraftwerk showcased their music on an ambitious world tour and issued several versions of the single, "Pocket Calculator". The song is also sung in German—"Taschenrechner", French—"Mini Calculateur", and Japanese—"Dentaku" . While not major, it should also be noted that there are a few noticeable differences in the album mixes used on the English- and German-language releases.

As was the case with the two previous albums, Computer World was released both as German and English language editions. Instead of translating everything verse by verse, some lyrics were omitted. Most notably the opening title track, "Computer world", lacks approximately half of the original lyrics. The English lyrics misses the reference to the collection of peoples' personal data (Finanzamt und das BKA - Haben unsere Daten da) by agencies such as the tax authorities and the police. Similarly the refrain Computerwelt - Denn Zeit ist Geld is simplified. The title of the final track is in English in all releases, as it is a pun based on the slogan "It's more fun to compete!" that could be seen on old pinball machines.

"Computer Love" was released as a 7-inch single single in the UK, in July 1981, backed with "The Model", from the group's previous album The Man-Machine. The single reached number 36 in the charts. In December 1981 the two songs were reissued as a double A-side 12-inch single, and reached number one on the UK pop charts in February 1982, although "The Model" received the most airplay.

1982 bought more visibility and accolades to the Computer World track. "Computerwelt" was subsequently remixed as a punchier-sounding dance version, with additional bass and percussion and was released in January 1982 as a twelve-inch vinyl single only in Germany. The original track was nominated for a Grammy award in the category of Best Rock Instrumental Performance. Computer World was also chosen by the BBC for use in the titles of their UK computer literacy project, The Computer Programme.

A newly remastered edition of the album was released by EMI and Mute Records (in the UK) on CD and digital download in October 2009, with a heavyweight vinyl edition released in November 2009. Due to licensing restrictions, the release was only made available in the US by Astralwerks Records as part of The Catalogue box set.