Kraftwerk – Radio-Aktivität

Note: I will be referring to all songs by their English titles.

Radio-Aktivität (English: Radio-Activity) is the 5th album by the German band Kraftwerk. This is an incredibly unique and one of a kind album. It's a concept album about radio communication and radioactive decay. This is the first Kraftwerk album to be made entirely with electronic equipment (most notably the Vako Orchestron and the Moog Micromoog). This is also the first Kraftwerk album to feature lyrics sung in English. Something I find interesting is that this is the only album of theirs to be in both German and English. Future albums would be separated into German and English versions. It's cool to me that this one has both languages present in the same package and in about equal measure too! Anyway, the album is much darker in tone than anything the group has made before or since. I believe I'm in the minority with this opinion but I honestly think Radio-Activity is one of the best Kraftwerk albums. On top of having it's own unique identity (from a group that already has their own signature sound), the album does a great job portraying both of the concepts it was aiming for. The tracks here fall into one of two categories: experimental tracks that carry conceptual significance or more melodic songs that fall more in line with some of their later material (albeit darker).

We begin with Geiger Counter which is mostly just a kick drum that speeds up in tempo towards the end. As the name implies, it's meant to imitate an actual Geiger counter detecting radioactive material. Though more of a prelude to the next track than an intro, it is still a nice opener and I couldn't imagine the album without it. After this, of course, we get Radioactivity. This is the only single from the album and it's also the most memorable song in the bunch. Featuring these catchy synth melodies, tortured vocals, and the iconic synth choirs, this is one of my favorite Kraftwerk songs ever. Radioland has a nice little bassline and zipping synth sound effects. Lyrically, it leans more on German language than any of the non-experimental/interlude tracks. Airwaves is another highlight, carried by a memorable theremin-esque melody. I think Intermission is meant to resemble a radio test broadcast. It's a nice little bridge between the two surrounding tracks. News is definitely the weakest song on the album but I don't mind its inclusion. It's built around a bunch of muffled voice recording while also including a few bubbly synth effects added in for good measure.

The Voice of Energy is the most minimalistic track on the album. It's a short recording of a low-pitch, robotic vocoder talking in German about a giant electrical generator. Antenna has echo-ing vocals, plunking synths and a simple but nice bassline. There is also a cool phaser effect underlying the song. After this we get two more experimental tracks that focus more on the duel concepts: Radio Stars and Uranium. The former is the weirdest track on the whole project. It begins with ascending synth tones before we get some reverb heavy, low pitch vocals. I've seen some people say that this track was a subversion of expectations. The title may lead you to believe the track was gonna be about pop stars on the radio but instead it's actually about about quasars and pulsars. Uranium has more of the synth choirs but this time there is a strained synthesized voice talking over it about..well..Uranium. I think this one is my favorite of the interludes. At the risk of sounding corny, it has this awesome feeling of being descended into a dystopian plane of existence. Next up we got Transistor which begins with some radio-tuning sounds before jumping into a light-hearted, free-flowing, synth driven piece. It's very nice and it definitely has that "coming up towards the end" vibe that I'd like from a penultimate track. Finally, we have Ohm Sweet Ohm. I would argue that this song is the best closer of any Kraftwerk album. It starts out with a looped vocoder saying the title. After this, a series of warm and emotive synth melodies come in. The chord progression feels somewhat nostalgic and reflective. I'd even go as far to say that this song is beautiful! Definitely one of their more emotional potent songs. It's quite irable that on an album filled with dark and cold tones, they chose to end it with a warm and mellow song while still managing to make it feel tonally in place.

Radio-Activity is an excellent, alluring and wholly unique sounding album. Each time I hear any kind of synth choir outside of this project, I'm immediately reminded of this album. Both the interludes and longer tracks are memorable. The atmosphere here is one that hasn't been replicated elsewhere.

Favorite Tracks: Radioactivity, Airwaves, Antenna, Uranium, Transistor, Ohm Sweet Ohm
Least Favorite Track: News

(Review originally written May 15, 2022)

Every time I listen to this album I am struck by how experimental it is, and I’m not saying this with that period’s musical context in mind. Even today most songs are so far fetched, otherworldly, dark, artful, …

Radioactivity is Kraftwerk's darkest album by a long way especially when listened to in its entirely. It throws the listener back half a century to a time of nuclear scientists, oscilloscopes, and weird X-ray machines. Cold, dangerous, and remote. The ever pulsating and slightly irritating repetition of Radio Stars gets decidedly sinister as the track progresses. Radioland has some really creepy bits of radio interference, square waves, pink noise and that peculiar UFO-ish sounding signal on shortwave radio. Unfortunately, the digital versions of Radioactivity stripped away some of the intentional sounds such as the low-frequency background hum in The News. Try to get the vinyl version, but failing that or if you don't have a turntable, try to get a digital file direct from vinyl.

I have what seems like an early German pressing catalog no. 1C 064-82 087, with 16 stickers and photo insert/lyrics- the thing is, this version has a white star on the back cover (as opposed to a circle). I can't find any this version among the German pressings on discogs, does anyone know what pressing a white star indicates?

My version has the correct matrix numbers and it does not have the lyrics on the inner sleeve, suggesting it is an early issue. It has the sticker sheet with all 16 stickers still On it and no sticker on the front cover. There is also no Hörzu sticker on the front nor does it have any Hörzu symbol printed. I cannot see any marks suggesting that there were any stickers which have been removed, since the cover is really in pristine condition (double checked and it is the correct one, besides the missing stickers). So maybe there were some early issues which did not have any stickers on the cover? Any ideas?

'Looking for the sleeve of this LP (eventually also the IS and the sticker-sheet),
thank you!

I have got a Cd of Radio-Aktivitat and Computer Weld on one cD with both album covers on the artwork. There is no record label number and no list on here. Is it advisable to list it separately or not at all?

if this it´s an Electrola-edition too, what´s the difference to the other release from 1975 made in with the same label Number?

'Radio-activity' or 'Radio-aktivitaet', the album is probably most important for placing the group into multilingual territory.

Delivered in German and English, it is also one of the more notorious (at least to some extent) chapters in the group's excellent discography - while 1991's version of the title song delivers warnings regarding exposure, the original album's concept seems at odds befriending such a theme, marking additional reference in exploring the possibilities of radio-friendly music display.

Considering the middle from which it marks its radical cry, 'Radioactivity' is a striking 'album-zero' - its ambience is not an ear-pleasing experience despite the fact many pieces included - 'Radio-activity', 'Radioland', 'Airwaves', 'Antenna' and 'Ohm Sweet Ohm' - are not that much of a stylistic (albeit more sterile) drift from the soothing shades of 'Ralf & Florian' and 'Autobahn' previously.

But considering the time of its release, 'Radio-activity' is 'Panasonic' twenty years too early (a connection between the German foursome and the Finland's frequency extraordinaires is simply undeniable). What makes it so powerful and intimidating, are the tiny snippets of menacing electronic noise - starting with 'Geiger Counter', which in itself is a warning that the album you play is to be handled with extreme caution. Try and play it loud - it is far too risky that some of the sounds might seriously damage the ear ('Radio Stars' in particular).

'Radio-activity' is quite clear in its message regarding the issue, it is as sentimental as it is distant and unclear about the substance. 'Radioland' and 'Airwaves' continue with melodic shifts but altogether, they are not meant to relax - disturbing S.O.S.-like sounds and low frequencies constantly distract from focus. 'Intermission' and 'News' are the most humorous pieces from the set - if not listened to closely, these two particular tracks are actually a medley ('Intermission' already kicks in during 'Airwaves' fade out) and cannot be properly detected from one another, which makes it effectively clear of individual subject's invisibility.

'The Voice of Energy' sounds like a merciless announcement - the generator which comes to life, announcing its possibilities but between the lines not altogether too clear about, as hissing white noise in the background sounds like it's about to burst any second now. In similar fashion comes 'Uranium' (a tiny outro to 'Radio-activity'), projected from within the now-dehumanized environment. 'Transistor' is the most powerful piece of actual music here - drawing its thin line between jazz, classical and folk music, interpreted with actual warmth as opposed to the consequences of radioactive substance abuse. While the melody is ultimately sad and sensual, it is also a frightening scream - paving way to a sudden, kind of 'happy-ending' conclusion in 'Ohm Sweet Ohm'; which starts no less menacing, with a generator's vocal mantra, disappearing into its comforting soundtrack, still optimistic in providing the image of a better future, despite all of radio-activity's negative aspects.

It is funny to me that the first time I ever heard this album, I'd found a CD copy in a budget bin and had taken it to a friends house where we ended up listening to it in his basement while we were riding out a tornado warning. While I wish I could say the music was perfect for it and it was a life-changing moment, I was probably about 14 and didn't appreciate its simplicity. I think I took it out halfway through and put on some Ministry or something. Now, of course...well, it's Radioactivity by Kraftwerk and I'm a phaser slut...and a vocoder slut...and a slut for basically everything on this record.