Rating: NNN
Now, here’s a novel idea sure to warm the robotic hearts of Kling Klang kids Ralf und Florian. Get a bunch of chiptune artists from around the globe to reinterpret Kraftwerk’s best-loved tunes (Pocket Calculator, Computer Love, The Model, Radioactivity, etc) using the rudimentary musical capabilities of archaic 8-bit computers, vintage video game consoles and hand-held game devices! Sounds awesome, yes?, and the quirky charm of the 80s-era bleep-and-bloopery of these recreations is undeniable. Of course, with any various-artists collection you’re bound to have a few clunkers, and this comp is no exception. But it’s a testment to both the compositional strength of Kraftwerk’s songs and the ingenuity of the artists invloved – including Stockholm’s Covox, Wuppertal, Germany’s FirestARTer, Vienna’s Herbert Weixelbaum, NYC’s Bubblyfish and Nullsleep – that many of these radical revisions work as well as they do.
