KARL BARTOS

Every month we get inside the mind of one of the biggest names in music. This issue it’s Karl Bartos, percussionist, keyboard player, composer and one of the key members of Kraftwerk between 1975 and 1991. Bartos’ new biography, The Sound Of The Machine, details his years in and out of Kraftwerk and his negative feelings for the pioneering legends he was once a part of. We look back with him in a conversation that covers Pink Floyd, The Beatles, Johnny Marr and Bernard Sumner, and how a Cliff Richard & The Shadows song inspired a krautrock classic.

Words: Jeremy Allen

Karl Bartos might always primarily be associated with Kraftwerk, but he’s been no slouch outside of the group. As well as reliving his experiences as the second robot from left in his new book The Sound Of The Machine, Bartos explores his time as a classically trained percussionist during the 70s, his well-received post-Kraftwerk solo albums and collaborations with groups like Electronic (featuring Bernard Sumner and Johnny Marr), and his foray into academia: Bartos was a visiting professor at the Berlin University Of The Arts between 2004 and 2009, lecturing on Sound Studies and Acoustic Communication. Born in 1952, the young Karlheinz Bartos (Kraftwerk shortened his name to ‘Karl’ to save money on lettering) was turned onto music the moment he heard the opening chord of The Beatles’ A Hard Day’s…

You're reading a preview of

Prog (Digital) - 1 Issue, Issue 133

DiscountMags is a licensed distributor (not a publisher) of the above content and Publication through Zinio LLC. Accordingly, we have no editorial control over the Publications. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers or other information or content expressed or made available by third parties, including those made in Publications offered on our website, are those of the respective author(s) or publisher(s) and not of DiscountMags. DiscountMags does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, truthfulness, or usefulness of all or any portion of any publication or any services or offers made by third parties, nor will we be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on information contained in any Publication, or your use of services offered, or your acceptance of any offers made through the Service or the Publications. For content removal requests, please contact Zinio.