Karl Bartos - Communication

Communication returns as a powerful statement on media, culture, and the evolution of electronic sound. Originally released in 2003, the album marked Karl Bartos’s first major solo project after leaving Kraftwerk in 1990, and it now sees a new reissue on Hamburg’s Bureau B. Its central theme, the transformation of culture through electronic media, feels even more urgent and relevant today.

As a key member and songwriter during Kraftwerk’s most groundbreaking years, Bartos helped shape classics like The Model, The Robots, Numbers, and Pocket Calculator. Kraftwerk’s classic lineup was honored in 2021 with induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, recognizing a legacy that Bartos was instrumental in creating.

With Communication, Bartos extended that legacy through sharp electro pop that explored celebrity culture, digital imagery, and the fast-developing world of the early internet. What once felt like a forward-looking commentary now reads as insightful analysis of a world defined by smartphones, social media, and constant image saturation. The album’s themes of identity, reality fragmentation, and technological influence resonate more strongly in the current digital age than they did two decades ago.

Bartos has described modern life as an age of intense behavioral manipulation driven by cybernetics and artificial intelligence. Communication reflects these concerns while celebrating the expressive possibilities of electronic music. This reissue highlights Bartos’s distinct artistic voice and invites a fresh look at an album that continues to feel timely, thoughtful, and visionary.