The Man-Machine

The Man-Machine (Template:Langx) is the seventh studio album by German electronic music band Kraftwerk. It was released on 19 May 1978 by Kling Klang in Germany and by Capitol Records elsewhere. A further refinement of their mechanical style, the album saw the group incorporate more danceable rhythms. The album has a satirical bent to it. It is thought to address a wide-range of themes from the Cold War, Germany's fascination with manufacturing, and humankind's increasingly symbiotic relationship with machines.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It includes the singles "The Model" and "The Robots".

Although the album peaked at 53 initially on the UK Albums Chart, it reached a new peak position of number nine in February 1982,<ref name="UK chart"/> becoming the band's second highest-peaking album in the United Kingdom after Autobahn (1974).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Music

Matt Mitchell of Paste magazine said that "the album was where Kraftwerk took their mechanical style of old and re-tuned it into a club-worthy aesthetic".<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref> The staff of GQ India assessed: "Taking electronic music from the German countercultureTemplate:Snda still influential moment termed Krautrock by UK audiencesTemplate:Sndacross the 1970s and early '80s, [Kraftwerk] sculpted something modernist [...] out of the possibilities of synthesiser music."<ref name="gqindia">Template:Cite web</ref> According to Alex Linhardt of Pitchfork, the band "just sound like robots" on the album. He explained: "While the fast-paced world of Ralf Hütter quotes knows no limits of pretension, this is the only album that conceivably expresses his ideal music: No emotions, no philosophies, no performances, and virtually no humor. It is pure technology: the whistles and surging circuitry of unmanned factories; twinkling hydraulic tubes; flaring odometers and cogs; and pre-Pong claw-claps."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> According to Steve Huey of AllMusic, "The Man-Machine is closer to the sound and style that would define early new wave electro-popTemplate:Sndless minimalistic in its arrangements and more complex and danceable in its underlying rhythms." He further described the style as "more pop-oriented than any of their previous work"<ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref>

Themes explored on the album include science fiction and urbanization.<ref name=":1" />

Artwork

The artwork for the cover was produced by Karl Klefisch,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> based on the work of the Russian suprematist El LissitzkyTemplate:Sndthe words "Inspired by El Lissitzky" are noted on the cover.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The back cover image is an adaptation of a graphic from Lissitzky's book for children About Two Squares: A Suprematist Tale of Two Squares in Six Constructions.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Release

The Man-Machine was released in April 1978.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The Man-Machine was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) on 15 February 1982<ref name="BPI"/> In October 2009, a remastered edition of the album was released on CD, Vinyl and digital formats by Mute Records, and Astralwerks.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="irishtimes" />

Critical reception and legacy

Reviewing the album in 1978, Andy Gill of NME stated that "The Man-Machine stands as one of the pinnacles of Template:Not a typo rock music", adding that "the sparsity of the lyrics leaves the emphasis squarely on those robot rhythms, chilling tones and exquisite melodies".<ref name="NME">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Village Voice critic Robert Christgau also reviewed the album that year, saying: "Only a curmudgeon could reject a group that synthesizes the innovations of Environments and David Seville & the Chipmunks, not to mention that it's better make-out music."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Mitchell Schneider from Rolling Stone found that the "chilling restraint and relentless sameness" of the lyrics and music are tempered by Kraftwerk's sense of humour and "sheer audacity", which makes for a listening experience that is "strangely pleasant in an otherworldly way".<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Tony Clayton wrote in The Irish Times which "they constitute the resilient framework of electro-pop and electronica we hear today. And if there are more simple, warm and beautiful pieces of electronic music out there than 'Ohm Sweet Ohm', 'Neon Lights', 'Europe Endless' and the title track of Autobahn, then this geezer has yet to hear them."<ref name="irishtimes" /> Uncut critic David Cavanagh called "The Model" a "wry pop satire" and wrote that "the sparse lyrics lend themselves to considerable interpretation".<ref name="uncut"/>

In a retrospective review for AllMusic, Steve Huey gave the album four-and-a-half-stars, noting: "More pop-oriented than any of their previous work, the sound of The Man-MachineTemplate:Sndin particular among Kraftwerk's oeuvreTemplate:Sndhad a tremendous impact on the cold, robotic synth pop of artists like Gary Numan, as well as Britain's later new romantic movement."<ref name="allmusic"/> NME ranked The Man-Machine as the 57th greatest album of all time in 2013, citing it as Kraftwerk's "definitive" album and the catalyst for the synth-pop "revolution" that followed its release.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Paste ranked it the 11th best album of 1978.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

The staff of GQ India called the album's sound "new and brilliant" for its time. They wrote: "Though 1981's Computer World is arguably more prescient musically in its anticipation of techno, 1978's Man Machine is the masterpieceTemplate:Sndelegiac, witty and truly marvellous in its sheer audacity and triumph. For our money, the best electronic album of all time."<ref name="gqindia" />

In 2023, Matt Mitchell of Paste magazine stated that the album is "at its core, the godfather of synth-pop as we know it." He also said "the album is a beautiful example of early-era electro-pop architecture, and it laid the groundwork for what bands like Depeche Mode, OMD and Pet Shop Boys would aim to do in the decade that followed."<ref name=":0" />

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of the 2009 remastered edition of The Man-Machine.<ref>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref>

Kraftwerk

• Ralf Hütter – album concept, artwork reconstruction (2009 remaster), cover, electronics, keyboards, Orchestron, production, Synthanorma Sequenzer, synthesiser, vocoder, voice
• Florian Schneider – album concept, electronics, production, synthesiser, vocoder, Votrax
• Karl Bartos – electronic drums
• Wolfgang Flür – electronic drums

Additional personnel

• Günther Fröhling – photography
• Leanard Jackson – engineering
• Karl Klefisch – artwork
• Joschko Rudas – engineering
• Henning Schmitz – engineering assistance
• Johann Zambryski – artwork reconstruction (2009 remaster)

Studios

• Recorded at Kling Klang Studio in Düsseldorf, Germany
• Mixed at Studio Rudas in Düsseldorf, Germany

Charts

Weekly charts

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Chart (1978)	Peak position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>	56
French Albums (SNEP)<ref>Template:Cite web Select "KRAFTWERK" from the drop-down menu and then press "OK".</ref>	14

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Chart (1982)	Peak position

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Chart (2011)	Peak position

Year-end charts

Chart (1978)	Position
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	26

Further reading

• Template:Cite book

External links

• Template:Discogs master