Very few people were ever allowed a glimpse inside Kraftwerk’s legendary Kling Klang studio, close to Düsseldorf Hauptbahnhof. But for 15 years, from 1975 to 1990, it was Karl Bartos’ primary place of work as he helped envisage music’s new electronic future.
A graduate of the Robert Schumann Conservatory, Bartos joined Kraftwerk initially as a percussionist, but soon became a co-writer and a key component of the band’s revolutionary mensch-maschine on albums such as Trans-Europe Express and Computer World.
After leaving Kraftwerk, he formed Elektric Music and collaborated with Andy McCluskey, Johnny Marr and Bernard Sumner, appearing on albums by OMD and Electronic. This century he’s released three solo albums – with another one on the way – as well as inventing his own music-creation app and writing his memoir, The Sound Of The Machine, soon to be published in English for the first time.
And now he’s kindly submitting himself to a gentle grilling from you, the Uncut readers. So what do you want to ask a Kraftwerk insider and electronic music originator? Send your questions to audiencewith@www.uncut.co.uk and Karl will answer the best ones in a future issue of Uncut.