Radio-Activity (German title: Radio-Aktivität) is the fifth studio album by German electronic band Kraftwerk, released in October 1975. The band's first entirely electronic album, it is a concept album organized around the themes of radioactive decay and radio communication.[3]

Radio-Activity
Studio album by Kraftwerk
Released	October 1975 (1975-10)
Recorded	1975
Studio	Kling Klang (Düsseldorf, West Germany)
Genre	Electronic experimental pop[1] avant-garde[2]
Length	37:38
Label	Kling Klang EMI Capitol
Producer	Ralf Hütter Florian Schneider
Kraftwerk chronology
Autobahn (1974) Radio-Activity (1975) Trans-Europe Express (1977)
2009 remastered edition
Singles from Radio-Activity
"Radioactivity" Released: 1976

The album was accompanied by a single release of the title track, which was successful in France and Belgium. All releases of the album were bilingual, with lyrics in both English and German.

Background

Following the success of its 1974 predecessor Autobahn, an album based on Germany's eponymous motorway network,[4] Kraftwerk embarked on a tour of the United States with the "classic" lineup of the band formed by Ralf Hütter, Florian Schneider, Karl Bartos—who has joined February 1975—and Wolfgang Flür in April and May 1975.[5]

Album title

Radio-Activity's album title displays Kraftwerk's typical deadpan humour, being a pun on the twin themes of the songs,[6] half being about radioactivity and the other half about activity on the radio.[7] Bartos revealed that during his tour of the United States, the title was inspired by a chart column in the American magazine, Billboard,[4] which featured the most played singles under the title "Radio Activity".[8]

Composition and recording

His recording was in Kling Klang Studio, Düsseldorf,[4] and it was self-produced by Hütter and Schneider.^{[citation needed]} It was the first purely electronic album,[7] and the first one to be performed by the "classic" band line-up.[5] Karl and Wolfgang worked on percussion.[9] All the music was written by Hütter and Schneider, with Emil Schult collaborating on lyrics.^{[citation needed]} Schult also designed the artwork based in late-1930s 'Deutscher Kleinempfänger' radio.[10]

The overture instrumental piece "Geiger Counter" used Geiger counter beats based on musique concrète.[11] The album featured use of the distinctive Vako Orchestron keyboard to provide vocal choir on title track.[12] "Antenna" used an echo chamber effect, and Hütter's Farfisa electronic piano was used on "Transistor".[13] For the recording, an extensive use was made of the vocoder.^{[citation needed]}

Release and promotion

In September 1975, the band toured the UK, playing 17 shows in England.[5] By 1975, Hütter and Schneider's previous publishing deals with Capriccio Music and Star Musik Studio of Hamburg had expired. The compositions on Radio-Activity were published by their own newly set up Kling Klang Verlag music publishing company, giving them greater financial control over the use of songwriting output. Also, the album was the first to bear the fruit of Kling Klang as an established vanity label under the group's new licensing deal with EMI.^{[citation needed]}

Radio-Activity was released in October 1975. For their promotion, their record company sent them to a "real Atomkraftwerk" to take promotional photos. In these photos, the group was dressed in white protective suits and anti-radiation boots on their shoes.[4] The album reached No. 59 on the Canadian charts in February 1976.[14] The title track "Radioactivity" was released as a single in May 1976 and became a hit in France, selling 500,000 copies,[4] and Belgium in the charts.

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
Drowned in Sound	8/10[15]
The Guardian	[16]
The Irish Times	[17]
Mojo	[18]
Q	[19]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[20]
Select	4/5[21]
Spin Alternative Record Guide	9/10[22]
Uncut	[23]

Radio-Activity was released to mixed reviews, with Rolling Stone criticizing the album: "... no cut on the album comes near the melodic/harmonic sense that pervaded Autobahn or the creative use of electronics on the much earlier album Ralf and Florian".[24]

In a retrospective review, Jason Ankeny from AllMusic called the album "a pivotal record in the group's continuing development" and stated that it "marked Kraftwerk's return to more obtuse territory, extensively utilizing static, oscillators, and even Cage-like moments of silence".[3] Chris Power from Drowned in Sound praised it for the experimental feeling in 2009: "A bridge between electronic experimentalism and the powerful, groundbreaking unification of avant-garde form and catchy, commercial function that was just around the corner, Radio-Activity is the sound of Kraftwerk finding their way in a strange new landscape that they were in the very process of creating".[15]

Track listing

Personnel

Adapted from 2009 remaster liner notes.[25]

• Ralf Hütter – vocals, synthesizers, Orchestron, electronic piano, drum machine, electronics
• Florian Schneider – vocals, vocoder, votrax, synthesizers, electronics
• Karl Bartos – electronic percussion
• Wolfgang Flür – electronic percussion

Additional personnel

• Peter Bollig – technical engineer (Kling Klang Studio, Düsseldorf)
• Walter Quintus – sound mix engineer (Rüssl Studio, Hamburg)
• Robert Franke – photography
• Emil Schult – artwork
• Johann Zambryski – artwork reconstruction (2009 Remaster)

Charts

Weekly charts

Certifications and sales

References

External links

• Radio-Activity at Discogs (list of releases)

На других языках

[de] Radio-Aktivität

[es] Radio-Aktivität

[ru] Radio-Aktivität