automaten (German for robots) is a 1985 "cult" song[1] composed by the Swiss band mittageisen.[2]
| "automaten" | |
|---|---|
| Single by mittageisen | |
| A-side | "automaten" |
| B-side | "neues china" |
| Released | January 14, 1985 (1985-01-14) / April 16, 2016 (2016-04-16) |
| Recorded | 1984, Cologne |
| Length | 12-inch: 6:25, 7-Inch: 4:23 |
| Label | LUNA-MB-MUSIK (mital-U) |
| Producer(s) | Bruno W |
The 12-inch single (LUNA-MB 8501) was released on 14 January 1985 with a for that time new electro sound. The songs were recorded in a studio in Switzerland in the autumn of 1984. but, as Bruno W said in an interview,[3] the band wasn't satisfied with the first studio-version of "automaten" and he travelled to Cologne to mix the final-version in collaboration with Detlev Kühne (Die Hornissen) and Tom Dokoupil (The Wirtschaftswunder) at their on line studios.
Just after the publication was "automaten" selected for Record of the Week by the radio show "Sounds!" of the Swiss Radio DRS3.[4]
The 12-inch single found also the way into the legendary John Peel show on BBC Radio 1 and became an 'indie disco' hit. Because of the success of the 12-inch version a 2 minutes shorter 7-inch version was released four months later, so the song could be played not only on specialised alternative radio-shows.
The two, in relation to the length, different versions are still available on the 2008 released double CD mittageisen 1983–1986 remastered.[5]
For Record Store Day on 16 April 2016 the label mital-U re-released the maxi-single "automaten" as limited and numbered 12" vinyl record (U-7C0-V1).[6]
The for mittageisen typical ambiguous text[7] is explained by the chorus line "work – only for robots". What are meant, according to author Bruno W,[8] with "robots" are not primarily machines, but also robot-like functioning people.
The music video for "automaten"[9] was produced in 1995 in relation to the release of a compilation CD with songs of mittageisen. The 4-minute long video shows color distorted scenes from the everyday life of working people such as way to work, car rides, telecasts, up to exploding TVs. With the re-release of the 12" in 2016, a remastered and new edited version of the video was published.[10]