Electric Café is the ninth studio album by German electronic band Kraftwerk, released on 27 October 1986.[1] The initial 1986 release came in versions sung in English and German, as well as a limited Edición Española release, featuring versions of "Techno Pop" and "Sex Object" with only Spanish lyrics. It was the first Kraftwerk LP to be created using predominantly digital musical instruments, although the finished product was still recorded onto analog master tapes.
On 2 October 2009, the album was remastered and re-released under its original working title, Techno Pop.
Background and development
The development of the album began in early 1982 (with the working titles of Technicolor and then Techno Pop), but the project was delayed because Ralf Hütter suffered a cycling accident in May or June 1982.[2]
EMI Records announced a release date for the Techno Pop album. Promotional advertisements were released and official catalog numbers were assigned to the project. "We were working on an album concept, Technopop, but the composition was developed and we just changed the titles", Hütter explained. "It became Electric Café. But somebody within the record company went out and did a pre-order, we were working on the sleeve and some marketing idiot did this".[3]
At various times, Hütter, Bartos, Flür and Schneider have each stated in interviews that there are no unreleased songs from this period, and that all of the original Technicolor and Techno Pop material was eventually reworked into what can be heard on the finished Electric Café album. Hütter commented "We don't spend our time on making 20 versions of a song only to leave 19 in the closet. We work target related. What we are starting we release. Our storage is empty."[4]
Composition
A tentative image from Rebecca Allen's site, which displays the original Techno Pop title
The first side of the album is divided into three tracks, which form a suite of three variations with recurring elements. (For instance, a few bars of melody from "Musique Non-Stop" can be heard as a few bars of bass melody in "Techno Pop"). It is primarily instrumental, utilizing the track titles and other phrases in a spoken manner, as opposed to sung, narrative lyrics. The songs "Techno Pop" and "Sex Object" feature partial Spanish-language lyrics. The second side also contains three songs, following a somewhat more conventional pop format.[5][6]
The song "The Telephone Call" (German version: "Der Telefon-Anruf") is notable for being the first and only Kraftwerk song to feature Karl Bartos on lead vocals. The album closes with the title track "Electric Café", which features French and partially Italian-language lyrics. The track gained some exposure in the United States when it was used slightly sped up as the theme song for "Sprockets", the German television spoof by Mike Myers on Saturday Night Live.[5][6]
While recognising Kraftwerk's influence on groups such as Depeche Mode and the Human League, journalist Ian Cranna writing in Smash Hits described the album as "frankly rather dull" adding "one can only assume it's an exercise for their own amusement".[10]Drowned in Sound in their review of the 2009 remaster wrote that "Techno Pop can only be seen as a flop, despite the intermittent brilliance of its opening section."[8] Jason Ankeny of AllMusic in his retrospective review of the album commented that "the record's short running time (less than 36 minutes) seems to indicate a lack of ideas and new directions with the spartan opening tracks, "Technopop" and "Music Non-Stop".[7]
In Spain the album was released in two versions. One was the regular English/International edition, and the other a local Edición Española version, appearing early in 1987, with Spanish-language lyrics for both "Techno Pop" and "Sex Object" (often mistakenly titled "Objeto Sexual" by discographers). The Spanish-only vinyl album was withdrawn soon afterward because of a manufacturing error—a several-second complete drop-out of sound during the final track—and has never been reissued on CD. Both versions were also available as a cassette.
The song "Sex Object" is absent from the South Korean pressings of the album.
Re-issues
A remastered edition of Electric Café was released by EMI Records, Mute Records and Astralwerks Records on CD, digital download and heavyweight vinyl in October–November 2009. The release was changed back to the original title of Techno Pop. Because of licensing restrictions imposed by Warner Music Group, this version has only been made available in the US and Canada as a part of The Catalogue boxed set.[13][14] However, since 2013, with the sale and break-up of EMI, the album’s rights are controlled by Warner worldwide.
No.
Title
Writer(s)
Length
1.
"Boing Boom Tschak"
Hütter
Schneider
Bartos
2:59
2.
"Techno Pop"
Hütter
Schneider
Bartos
Schult
7:41
3.
"Musique Non-Stop"
Hütter
Schneider
Bartos
5:44
4.
"The Telephone Call*" ("Der Telefon-Anruf")
Hütter
Schneider
Bartos
3:50
5.
"House Phone**"
Hütter
Schneider
Bartos
4:57
6.
"Sex Object" ("Sex Objekt")
Hütter
Schneider
Bartos
6:51
7.
"Electric Café"
Hütter
Schneider
Bartos
Schmitt
4:19
Notes
* Remix – previously released as a 7-inch single in 1987. ** Previously released as the B-Side of "The Telephone Call" (German: "Der Telefon-Anruf") 12-inch single in 1987.
Personnel
The original 1986 sleeve notes are, like those in the previous album, unspecific regarding the roles. The 2009 remaster credits provide the following information:
Band member Wolfgang Flür is included in a subsequent general list of personnel, but is not credited with a musical or production role in these recordings.[16]
Henning Schmitz – engineer (Kling Klang Studio)
Joachim Dehmann – engineer (Kling Klang Studio)
Fred Maher – music data transfer (Axis Studio, NYC)
^Techno Pop (Digital Remaster) (CD). Kraftwerk. Great Britain: Mute Records. 2009. CDSTUMM308.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
