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Those familiar with the enticing Bartos melodies and vocoder voices of his solid album “Communication” will find there’s actually nothing new under the sun on this release. Kraftwerk’s retro-futuristic sound is pretty much all over the place on Karl’s second album “Off the Record” of which the outcome is based on numerous musical sketches, demos, and shelved ideas (all collected in a secret acoustic diary) of his time with Kraftwerk that all were transferred from analogue to binary code to start reconceiving and re-contextualizing. Driving -robotic- rhythms, catchy melodies, and electronic pop all shake hands here. “Atomium” already kicks things off in powerful Kraftwerkian style. “Without A Trace Of Emotion” (dating from 1980) might be the strongest testament from Karl’s time with the band while “Rhythmus” can sit comfortably next to “Computer World’s” “Numbers”. Opposite to that are the lilting keyboards of “The Tuning of the World”, a piece where Bartos attempts to balance the organic and synthetic, proving superficial. In the end the 12-track/39-minute “Off the record”, being rather nice but not essential, makes up a historical document looking back at the past but also leaps into its future. Overall rating: between 3 and 3.5 stars. |
| Website: karlbartos.bandcamp.com
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