The Mix (Kraftwerk album)

The Mix is a remix album by German electronic music band Kraftwerk. It was released on 11 June 1991 through Kling Klang and EMI in Europe and through Elektra Records in North America. It featured re-recorded and, in some cases, re-arranged versions of a selection of songs which had originally appeared on the albums Autobahn (1974) through Electric Café (1986). Ralf Hütter stated in interviews that he regarded The Mix as a type of live album, as it captured the results of the band's continual digital improvisations in their Kling Klang studio. The band had made a return to the stage in 1990, after a nine-year hiatus from touring, and since then the band's live setlist has used arrangements drawn from The Mix rather than the original recordings.

The Mix
Remix album by Kraftwerk
Released	11 June 1991 (1991-06-11)
Recorded	April 1991
Studio	Kling Klang (Düsseldorf, Germany)
Genre	Electronic
Length	65:15
Label	Kling Klang EMI Elektra
Producer	Ralf Hütter Florian Schneider
Kraftwerk chronology
Electric Café (1986) The Mix (1991) Tour de France Soundtracks (2003)
2009 Edition
2009 remastered edition cover

Background

Stated reasons from the group explaining the release include:

1. The group didn't want to release a traditional "Greatest Hits" or "Best of" collection.
2. At the time, the band were in the process of reconfiguring their Kling Klang studio from analog to digital recording technology; integrating MIDI into their setup and creating sound archives from their original master tapes that were stored onto computers. This proved to be an ongoing task, as new upgrades and equipment were continually made available in the years following the album project.
3. Despite no new, original recorded material or live tours outside of Europe, Ralf Hütter did not want Kraftwerk to appear defunct to the public.

The album sleeve was somewhat obtuse in the information it offered. Production is credited to Ralf Hütter, Florian Schneider, and Fritz Hilpert, the latter of whom had replaced percussionist and stage set designer Wolfgang Flür after Flür left the group in 1987. Karl Bartos also left the band in 1991 and was replaced by Fernando Abrantes. Bartos claimed in later interviews that much of his programming work was still featured on The Mix, uncredited.

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Almost Cool	9/10[2]
Drowned in Sound	5/10[3]
Robert Christgau	[4]
Mojo	[5]
Q	[6]
Select	[7]
Uncut	[8]

The album met with a rather mixed reception on its release. Many were disappointed at the lack of new compositions and, moreover, the production values of the re-recorded tracks did not strike many listeners as particularly cutting edge, something which Kraftwerk had previously been renowned for. The Mix was created entirely digitally, albeit during a period when the technology had yet to reach its maturity, and thus featured a sound which many listeners tend to find somewhat "sterile" compared to the analogue electronics employed on most of Kraftwerk's previous recordings of these songs. Nevertheless, The Mix placed first in The Wire's year-end poll, the first time the magazine—previously known for its focus on jazz—opened up an all-genre category.[9]

Re-release

A newly remastered edition of the album was released by EMI Records, Mute Records, and Astralwerks Records on CD, digital download, and heavyweight vinyl in October–November 2009. 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 box set.[10][11]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"The Robots" ("Die Roboter")	Ralf Hütter Florian Schneider Karl Bartos	8:56
2.	"Computer Love" ("Computerliebe")	Hütter Bartos Emil Schult	6:35
3.	"Pocket Calculator" ("Taschenrechner")	Hütter Bartos Schult	4:32
4.	"Dentaku" (Japanese: "Calculator")	Hütter Bartos Schult	3:27
5.	"Autobahn"	Hütter Schneider Schult	9:27
6.	"Radioactivity" ("Radioaktivität")	Hütter Schneider Schult	6:53
7.	"Trans-Europe Express" ("Trans Europa Express")	Hütter Schneider Schult	3:20
8.	"Abzug"	Hütter	2:18
9.	"Metal on Metal" ("Metall auf Metall")	Hütter Bartos	4:58
10.	"Home Computer" ("Heimcomputer")	Hütter Bartos	8:02
11.	"Music Non Stop" ("Musik Non-Stop")	Hütter Schneider Bartos	6:38

• "Home Computer" also includes elements from "It's More Fun to Compute"
• "Music Non Stop" also includes elements from "Boing Boom Tschak"

Personnel

The original 1991 release gives credit for "Music Data Mix" to Hütter, Schneider, Hilpert. The 2009 remaster release gives more detailed credits for Hütter and Schneider in addition. Fernando Abrantes is shown as fourth member in the booklet's centerfold.[12] Abrantes can also be seen in the video clip for the album's single release "The Robots"[13] and on press photos regarding the album release.[14]

• Ralf Hütter – album concept, music data mix, voice, vocoder, synclavier.
• Florian Schneider – album concept, music data mix, vocoder, speech synthesis
• Fritz Hilpert – music data mix (electronic percussion)
• Fernando Abrantes

[15]

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1991)	Peak position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[16]	12
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[17]	83
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[18]	7
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[19]	20
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[20]	27
UK Albums (OCC)[21]	15

Certifications and sales

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[22]	Silver	60,000^^
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

Images

• 
  Promotional poster for "The Robots"
• 
  Promotional poster for The Mix

References

1. Henderson, Alex (2011). "The Mix – Kraftwerk". AllMusic.com. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
2. "Kraftwerk – The Mix". AlmostCool.org. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
3. Power, Chris (2011). "Kraftwerk – The Mix: Remastered". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
4. Christgau, Robert (2011). "Robert Christgau: CG: Kraftwerk". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 9 July 2011.
5. Snow, Mat (November 2009). "Gut Vibrations". Mojo. London: Bauer Media Group (192): 110. ISSN 1351-0193.
6. Q (5/95, p.123) – 4 Stars (Excellent): "... a revised history of the band, throbbingly danceable and one of the best party records of the past decade ..."
7. "New Old Albums". Select. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
8. Cavanagh, David. "Uncut Reviews: Kraftwerk – Reissues". Uncut. Retrieved 22 October 2009.
9. "The Critics' Choice 1991". The Wire. No. 94/95. London. January 1992. pp. 56–57 – via Exact Editions. (subscription required)
10. "Der Katalog (The Catalogue) remasters release info". Astralwerks Records. Archived from the original on 7 May 2010. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
11. "The Catalogue – Klangbox 002". Discogs. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
12. https://archive.today/20181203220416/https://i.warosu.org/data/lit/img/0112/69/1528167330464.png
13. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9iDrSeFR8c
14. https://archive.today/20181203223543/https://archivedmusicpress.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/david-stubbs-interviews-kraftwerk-20th-july-1991.jpg
15. The Mix (Digital Remaster) (CD). Kraftwerk. Great Britain: Mute Records. 2009. CDSTUMM309.CS1 maint: others (link)
16. "Austriancharts.at – Kraftwerk – Tour de France Soundtracks" (in German). Hung Medien.
17. "Dutchcharts.nl – Kraftwerk – Tour de France Soundtracks" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
18. "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH.
19. "Swedishcharts.com – Kraftwerk – Tour de France Soundtracks". Hung Medien.
20. "Swisscharts.com – Kraftwerk – Tour de France Soundtracks". Hung Medien.
21. June 1991/7502/ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
22. "British album certifications – Kraftwerk – The Mix". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type The Mix in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.

External links

• Kraftwerk the Official's channel on YouTube
• The Mix at Discogs (list of releases)