On this day, 31 years ago, Kraftwerk released their remix album The Mix. It was released on 11 June 1991 and featured re-recorded and, in some cases, re-arranged versions of a selection of songs which were released on their previous albums.
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. As the band didn't want to release a traditional "Greatest Hits" or "Best of" collection they opted for 'The Mix'.
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. 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's 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.
The album received rather mixed reception on its release. Although many music magazines and citric rated the album from good to very good, many fans 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.
The album has been released in both an English and German sung version and on various different formats like double 12" vinyl, Cassette and CD and was officially re-released in 2009.
The Mix - Tracklist
1. The Robots / Die Roboter 8:56
2. Computer Love / Computerliebe 6:35
3. Pocket Calculator / Taschenrechner 4:32
4. Dentaku / Calculator 3:27
5. Autobahn 9:27
6. Radioactivity / Radioaktivität 6:53
7. Trans-Europe Express 3:20
8. Abzug 2:18
9. Metal on Metal / Metall auf Metall 4:58
10.Home Computer / Heimcomputer") 8:02
11.Music Non Stop / Musik Non-Stop 6:38
The Mix is the tenth studio album by legendary band Kraftwerk. It was released on 10 June 1991, today 31 ago!
Reluctant of releasing a “Best Of” or “Greatest hits” the band opted to strip-down, rebuild and re-record brand new and updated versions of some of their classics which had originally appeared on the albums Autobahn (1974) through Electric Café (1986). Some tracks received additional treatment such as new melodies (eg. The Robots) and updated lyrics (eg. Radioactivity).
Despite its somewhat confusing title The Mix is not a ‘remix album’, therefor the band itself never called it a remix album but considered it their 7th (electronic) studio album. Hence the number the album received on all 'Catalogue' releases.
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.
With this release 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.
Although the production is credited to Ralf Hütter, Florian Schneider and Fritz Hilpert, Karl Bartos, who left the band in 1991, claimed in later interviews that much of his programming work was still featured on The Mix, but remained uncredited.
On this day, 29 years ago, Nitzer Ebb released the 'As Is' EP (10 June 1991), prior to their fourth studio album 'Ebbhead', on 7" vinyl, 12" Vinyl, CD, and cassette through Mute Records (MUTE122).
The EP features four tracks, each mixed by a different artist / producer. The first track, 'Family Man' is the only one which was also featured on Ebbhead album, albeit in a different version. It was mixed by Jaz Coleman, vocalist and frontman of Killing Joke. The second track, 'Lovesick' was mixed by Flood who produced the band's second and third albums, Belief and Showtime as well as the previously mentioned Ebbhead. The third track, 'Come Alive' was mixed by Alan Wilder of Depeche Mode, who would eventually be hired to co-produce the Ebbhead album. The last track, 'Higher' was mixed by Barry Adamson and Paul Kendall (PK). Barry Adamson was the bassist for Howard Devoto's Magazine and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and PK is an engineer/producer who has worked mainly for Mute Records on various Depeche Mode and Flood projects.
As Is (tracklist)
1. Family Man 3:56
2. Lovesick 4:00
3. Come Alive 6:12
4. Higher 5:50
Nitzer Ebb
Bon Harris – programming
Douglas McCarthy – vocals
Julian Beeston – additional drums and percussion
Today, 44 years ago, Joy Division self-released their very first 7' EP, An Ideal For Living!
Today, 44 years ago, Joy Division self-released their very first EP, An Ideal For Living! All four tracks were recorded in just one day at the Pennine Sound studios in Oldham, UK, on 14th December 1977 and released as a 7” on the band’s own Enigma label. The band self-financed this recording on a budget of £400.
The original release was pressed as 1000 copies and sold out by September the same year.
While the band was still known as Warsaw during the recording sessions for this release, they changed their name to Joy Division before the release took place.
The sleeve was printed on a 14' x 14' piece of thin cardstock and then folded into four squares. The front cover has a black-and-white Hitler Youth member beating a drum, which was drawn by guitarist Bernard Sumner and their bandname printed in a German gothic style blackletter font. The cover design, coupled with the nature of the band's name, fuelled controversy over whether the band had Nazi sympathies. When the EP was re-released on 12-inch vinyl, the original cover was replaced by artwork featuring scaffolding.
Numerous counterfeit editions of this release exist. Only the original vinyl has serrated vinyl around the label and different contours on the label.
Today, original copies are being traded between collectors and fans for prices from € 1500 to a stunning almost € 3000!
An Ideal For Living - Tracklist
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A1 |
Warsaw |
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A2 |
No Love Lost |
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B1 |
Leaders Of Men |
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B2 |
Failures |
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Industrial band Panic Lift continues the unraveling of its themed EP release cycle with the band’s first release of 2022 titled Stitched. This four song EP features two new songs titled “Every Broken Piece” and “Bitter Cold” with remixes from Mechanical Vein and Tragic Impulse.
Lyrically, “Every Broken Piece” and “Bitter Cold” continue with the familiar themes of stress, coping, and concerns of self-image. Hardcore Panic Lift fans may remember “Every Broken Piece” from Panic Lift’s lockdown shows in 2020 that were broadcast online during the height of the COVID19 pandemic.
For Stitched, Panic Lift explores a harsh ebm sound more stylistically similar to their landmark debut record Witness To Our Collapse. James Francis explains “I’ve always tried to find a happy medium between what I’m doing now, and where I started” he continues “but now that I’m doing smaller releases, I have the ability to experiment with different styles without having to worry much about how they fit with the rest of my catalog”
Stitched is available on digital platforms everywhere including Bandcamp!
Following up their successful collaboration last year when Panic Lift remixed Mechanical Vein’s “TAKN'” which racked up a quarter of a million streams on Spotify, Mechanical Vein returns the favor with an industrial bass-inspired remix for “Bitter Cold.” Distortion Production’s Tragic Impulse infuse synthpop sensibilities with a hard edge into their remix of “Every Broken Place'.
Panic Lift continues offering different types of merchandise associated with each release and will be accepting pre-orders for the 'Triangles' T-Shirt during the cycle for Stitched. This will be the first time this design is available online since selling out quickly into the band's last tour.
