The Mix

Product Information

Despite no new, original recorded material or live tours outside of Europe, Ralf Hütter didn't want Kraftwerk to appear defunct to the public.

The Robots: The added layers of accompaniment in this version sacrifice the dark atmosphere of the original, in favor of something that makes you want to join the robots in their mechanical dance. 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. However, he singled out elements of "Autobahn" as what the album "could have been if Kraftwerk had elected to really work these tracks over in a radical way, rather than essentially updating them to dance music's early- Nineties industry standard".It was released on 11 June 1991 by Kling Klang and EMI in Europe and by Elektra Records in North America. In retrospective reviews, All Music's Alex Henderson observed that "Dance clubs had long been a key part of Kraftwerk's following, and the dance club was the obvious target of The Mix – a collection of highly enjoyable, often clever remixes", adding that it was a "welcome addition to the Kraftwerk catalog".

Home Computer: An almost seamless combination of Home Computer and It's More Fun To Compute, with some new ideas mixed in as well. I find that the original strikes a better balance of energy, but this is still an enjoyable variation. For a more seamless playlist, I could have gone with this album’s shortened version of “Autobahn,” but I find it sorely lacking the warmth that makes the original such a treasured classic.There are some positive changes, though; The Mix's Autobahn is a much happier tune, with every segment of the song made more fast-moving, energetic, and bubbly. A voice synth replicates the sound of the original voices (which were apparently two people in unison, for the Japan single release) while keeping the energy constant.

The best remakes included in The Mix are, rather, novel takes on Kraftwerk’s music, bringing a cold, digital sound and peppy, danceable rhythms. Autobahn: Cut down from 23 minutes to 9 minutes, this song often seems like it's rushing forward, compared to the slower-paced original.

Abrantes, while uncredited in the liner notes, appeared in the artwork and other promotional material. Dentaku: I guess Pocket Calculator must have been really popular in Japan, because Kraftwerk made a part 2 to the song here that uses the Japanese lyrics. Metal on Metal: Kraftwerk further modified the famous percussion noises in this track to make them even more danceable than the original, chopping them up for more energy.