Karl Bartos: Communication

Following up from a previous feature by The Sonic Music Review of 'Lifestyle' by Karl Bartos, available here, the field of focus turns to the artist's most recent release, the 2003 release 'Communication.' Bartos' following will undoubtedly be aware of his prior involvement with the highly influential German band Kraftwerk, a quality which is audible, but this album shines as a great example of music with character, a credit to the talented composer.

Karl Bartos: Communication

The album opens with 'The Camera,' an initial illustration of Bartos' inimitable writing style which has been constantly refined over a number of years. The track in question uses purely electronic instrumentation, a feature throughout the album, underpinned by strong rhythmic percussive elements and a particularly interesting synthesiser sequence. As with many other tracks, the song is led by synthesised speech, an uncommon production choice in much contemporary music.

Much of the material is centred around major themes of celebrity and everyday lifestyle, ides which in the past have also given an ideological foundation to Bartos' music. Of the 10 tracks which make up the 45 minute album, 'Electronic Apeman' stands out as a highlight. The track seeks to combine a live sung voice and synthesised vocal elements to great effect, complemented with fine harmonic sequences and very interesting interaction between harmony and bassline. Being a percussionist, the percussive elements are very well programmed throughout. The track 'I'm The Message' embellishes this rhythmic interest with a discontinuity of pulse between the introduction and main material.

The album concludes with 'Another Reality,' a fitting title for this concluding track which sees a much more peaceful feel, a quality provided through the sustained chords and wavering synthetic lines. The speech synthesis in this piece also serves as one of the best recent examples of the technique, unsurprisingly perhaps given the artist's prior ability demonstrated the previous decade in 'Lifestyle' as one example. The final seconds inevitably fade, drawing some of Karl Bartos' finest material to a close.

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Karl Bartos: Lifestyle

To precede a full review of the 2003 album Communication, The Sonic Music Review completed the following feature of an earlier track, 'Lifestyle' from the 1993 album Esperanto. The artist Karl Bartos first  found fame as a long-time member of the highly influential German band Kraftwerk, widely acknowledged as driving the synthpop movement of the 80's and developing early techno material. Since departing from the band between the releases of Techno Pop and The Mix, the artist has found success releasing new material under his own name and under the alias of Elektric Music.

Karl Bartos: 'Lifestyle' from Esperanto

When comparing the production styles, Bartos' own work exhibits a more energetic style which separates his own work from that of his former band. 'Lifestyle' is audibly influenced by the high-octane synthpop of years previous, a movement that was largely informed by work for which Bartos is widely credited. In terms of production, the mixing is highly accomplished, possibly due to embracing digital studio technology despite its infancy, a production value garnered from previous work with Kraftwerk.

The piece begins with the main hook, accompanied by a synthetic bass timbre, an early exposition of the main harmonic progression within the piece. Throughout, the artist displays an awareness of the frequency bands occupied by the varying textures, balancing each layer effectively. Considering the age of the work, the resampled vocal textures, the lines "just another headline" and "stealing your time," is very impressive and separates the work from much of the popular music repertoire even today. Phoneme sampling later occupies an entire solo section at the piece's midpoint.

The entire piece is pulled together by the pulsing rhythms derived from audibly electronic percussive elements, unsurprising given that Bartos is a skilled percussionist. Of note also is the well programmed bassline and the interaction between these two rhythmic devices to give a firm foundation to the piece. Overall, this remains a highlight of the composer's output and is well worth a listen to the fan of electronic music, succeeding in far wider appeal than his previous output with Kraftwerk.

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