Computer World

''Computer World'' (german: link=no, Computerwelt) is the eighth studio album by German electronic band Kraftwerk, released on 10 May 1981.

The album deals with the themes of the rise of computers within society. In keeping with the album's concept, Kraftwerk showcased their music on an ambitious world tour. The compositions are credited to Ralf Hütter, Florian Schneider, and Karl Bartos. As was the case with the two previous albums, ''Computer World'' was released in both German- and English-language editions.

Concept and recording

''Computer World'' has been described as a futuristic conceptual work that predicts the presence of computer technology in every day life. Featuring themes such as home computers and digital communication, the album has been seen as both a celebration of computer technology as well as a warning about its potential to exert power on society with social control and digital surveillance. Despite its theme, the production of the album was completely analogue and did not involve any computer technology.

Artwork

The cover shows a computer terminal (apparently based on one made by the Hazeltine Corporation) displaying the heads of the four band members.

The inner sleeve artwork, created by Emil Schult and photographed by Günter Fröhling, depicts four slightly robotic-looking mannequins (representing the band members engaged in studio activities: performing, recording, mixing), similar to the artwork of the previous album, ''The Man-Machine'', also created by Fröhling. In two photos, the mannequin representing Karl Bartos is seen playing a Stylophone, an instrument which is featured on the track "Pocket Calculator".

Release

''Computer World'' peaked at on the UK Albums Chart. It was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) on 12 February 1982 for shipments in excess of 60,000 copies.

The track " Computer Love" was released as a seven-inch single in the UK, in July 1981, backed with "The Model", from the group's previous album ''The Man-Machine''. The single reached in the charts. In November 1981 the two songs were reissued as a double A-side twelve-inch single, and reached on the UK Singles Chart in February 1982, although "The Model" received the most airplay.

"Pocket Calculator" was released as a seven-inch single in the USA by Warner Brothers in 1981, pressed on a fluorescent yellow/lime vinyl, matching the color of the album cover. The flip side featured the Japanese version of "Pocket Calculator," "Dentaku".

"Computerwelt" was remixed in 1982 as a dance version with additional bass and percussion sounds. It was released in January 1982 as a twelve-inch vinyl single only in Germany. The original track was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance in 1982. "Computer World" was also chosen by the BBC for use in the titles of their UK computer literacy project, ''The Computer Programme''.

Kraftwerk issued several different versions of the single "Pocket Calculator" in different languages: namely, German ("Taschenrechner"), French ("Mini Calculateur"), Japanese ("Dentaku", or 電卓), and Italian ("Mini Calcolatore").

Critical reception

''Computer World'' was ranked the second best album of 1981 by '' NME''.

In 2012, ''Slant Magazine'' placed ''Computer World'' at on its list of the 100 best albums of the 1980s. In 2018, ''Computer World'' was listed by ''Pitchfork'' as the 18th best album of the 1980s. ''Pitchfork'' listed the track "Computer Love" as the 53rd best song of the 1980s. ''Rolling Stone'' named ''Computer World'' the 10th greatest EDM album of all time in 2012.

1981 Computer World tour

Following the release of the Computer World album, Kraftwerk went on a subsequent tour, that started on 24 May 1981; and ended on 14 December 1981.

More information, Computer World (tour)

Legacy

''Computer World'' maintains a distinct influence over subsequent releases across a multitude of genres; this influence is particularly noticeable in early and contemporary hip-hop and rap.

In 1982, American DJ and rapper Afrika Bambaataa wrote the song " Planet Rock" and recorded chords inspired from ''Trans-Europe Express''. The song's lyrics also included the Japanese number counting "Ichi Ni San Shi" from Kraftwerk's "Numbers".

Cybotron's 1983 release " Clear," from the album ''Enter'', contains multiple auditory elements of ''Computer World'': the musical refrain closely resembles parts of "Home Computer" and "It's More Fun to Compute;" additionally, the track contains musical allusions to other Kraftwerk tracks.

Señor Coconut y su Conjunto, an electronic project of German musician Uwe Schmidt which initially covered Kraftwerk's songs, published a merengue-styled version of "It's More Fun to Compute" in their first LP '' El Baile Alemán'', wrongly labeled as "Homecomputer" on the sleeve.

Coldplay used the main riff from "Computer Love" in their song " Talk" from their 2005 album '' X&Y''. La Roux used the main riff from "Computer Love" in their song " I'm Not Your Toy" from their debut album.

Ricardo Villalobos' track "Lugom-IX" from the 2006 album ''Salvador'' uses prominently the riff from "Computer World".

Fergie's track "Fergalicious," from her 2006 debut album '' The Dutchess'', borrows heavily from two tracks on ''Computer World'': the opening synth line from "It's More Fun to Compute," as well as the rhythmic component of J.J. Fad's "Supersonic," as the latter track's beat is based upon the ''Computer World'' track "Numbers." Arabian Prince, the co-producer of "Supersonic," has been vocal about his admiration of Kraftwerk.

"Home Computer" is used as background music in the '' Young Sheldon'' episode "A Computer, a Plastic Pony, and a Case of Beer".

LCD Soundsystem sampled "Home Computer" throughout the track, ''Disco Infiltrator''.

DJ Hooligan ( Da Hool) sampled The Mix version of "Home Computer" for the Underground and Cursed remix of the song "Scatman's World" by Scatman John.

Track listing

Personnel

The original 1981 sleeve notes are relatively unspecific regarding roles, merely listing all the equipment suppliers and technicians under the heading "Hardware" and the various other people involved, such as photographers, as "Software". By contrast, the 2009 remastered edition notes list the performer credits as the following:

;Kraftwerk
*Ralf Hütter – voice, vocoder, synthesizer, keyboards, Orchestron, Synthanorma Sequenzer, electronics, software
*Florian Schneider – vocoder, speech synthesis, synthesizer, electronics, software
* Karl Bartos – electronic drums, software
* Wolfgang Flür – software

;Technical
*Ralf Hütter – mixing, cover, original artwork reconstruction, album concept, production
*Florian Schneider – mixing, cover, album concept, production
*Peter Bollis – hardware
*Hermann J. Poertner – hardware
*Gerd Rothe – hardware
*Pit Franke – software
*Karl Klefisch – software
*Falk Kübler – software
*Takeshi Shikura – software
*Martin Tewis – software
*Carol Martin – software
*Tom Lanik – software
*Doreen D'Agostino – software
*Marvin Katz – software
*Bob Krasnow – software
*Günter Spachtholz – software
*Joachim Dehmann – software
* Emil Schult – cover
*Günter Fröhling – photos
*Johann Zambryski – original artwork reconstruction

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

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1981 albums
Albums produced by Florian Schneider
Albums produced by Ralf Hütter
Concept albums
EMI Records albums
German-language albums
Kraftwerk albums
Warner Records albums