The Man Machine
Album by Kraftwerk
Released	May 1978
Recorded	1977
Genre	Electronic
Length	36:18
Label	EMI (Capitol)
Producer(s)	Ralf Hütter, Florian Schneider
Professional reviews
AMG (4.5/5) link Robert Christgau (B+) link Q (4/5) March 1995
Kraftwerk chronology
Trans-Europe Express (1977)	The Man Machine (1978)	Computer World (1981)

The Man Machine is a 1978 album by Kraftwerk. It was released in German as Die Mensch Maschine. It contains the song "The Model" which was a #1 single in the UK in 1982 and has been covered by bands such as Carter USM, Rammstein, Spanish pioneers Aviador Dro, and the influential noise rock band Big Black. Cover of the Kraftwerk album The Man Machine. ... An album is a collection of related audio tracks, released together commercially in an audio format to the public. ... Album cover of Trans-Europe Express (1977). ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ... For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ... A music genre is a category (or genre) of pieces of music that share a certain style or basic musical language (van der Merwe 1989, p. ... Electronic music is a loose term for music created using electronic equipment. ... A record label is a brand created by companies that specialize in manufacturing, distributing and promoting audio and video recordings, on various formats including compact discs, LPs, DVD-Audio, SACDs, and cassettes. ... The EMI Group is a major record label, based in Hammersmith in London, in the United Kingdom. ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the performers, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... Cover of the album Ralf und Florian. ... Florian Schneider-Esleben (born April 7th, 1947, Germany) is one of the founding members of influential and pioneering electronic music band Kraftwerk. ... The All Music Guide (AMG) is a metadata database about music owned by All Media Guide. ... Robert Christgau (sometimes abbreviated in print to Xgau), born April 18, 1942, is an American essayist, music journalist, and rock critic. ... Q magazine is a music and entertainment magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom. ... Album cover of Trans-Europe Express (1977). ... Trans-Europe Express is the English language version of a 1977 music album by German band Kraftwerk (see 1977 in music). ... For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ... All Music Guide link Robert Christgau (B) link Q Mac. ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ... Album cover of Trans-Europe Express (1977). ... 1982 (MCMLXXXII) is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine (frequently shortened to the more politically-correct Carter USM) were formed in 1987 by singer Jim Bob and guitar hero Fruitbat. ... Rammstein is a German band formed in 1994. ... AVIADOR DRO is an electronic band from Spain. ... Noise rock is a musical genre that developed in the 1980s as an experimental outgrowth of punk rock. ... Big Black was one of the most influential noise rock bands of the 1980s. ...

This was the first Kraftwerk album to see Karl Bartos co-credited with song-writing along with Hütter & Schneider. Emil Schult co-wrote the lyrics for "The Model".

Musically it builds on the already impressive Trans-Europe Express, further refining Kraftwerk's by then unique sound – the tracks are more concise, the melodies even stronger, the electronic percussion and sequencing even tighter. Trans-Europe Express is the English language version of a 1977 music album by German band Kraftwerk (see 1977 in music). ...

Philosophical Interpretation

The Man Machine, can be seen as a pillar in Kraftwerk's philosophy; the dehumanising process of humanity does not come just from plugging our brains into a machine. Postmodern society is already as dehumanised as the model, who acts mechanically in order to satisfy. Although the album can be seen as a leap away from that society into a bright future (note the major key of "Neon Lights"), the spookiness of "The Robots" reminds us that humans will not be needed in the same way in the future. Electronic Vocoder-disguised voices speak "Я твой слуга, я твой роботник" ("Ya tvoj sluga, ya tvoj rabotnik" - Russian for "I am your servant, I am your worker"). Postmodernity (also called post-modernity or the postmodern condition) is a term used by philosophers, social scientists, art critics and social critics to refer to aspects of contemporary art, culture, economics and social conditions that are the result of the unique features of late 20th century and early 21st century... A vocoder (name derived from voice coder, formerly also called voder) is a speech analyser and synthesizer. ...

The robot's words and the cover (where the band members not only share a common appearance, but are made to look as one with the background) inspire thoughts of a collective future, where the "I" dissolves into the "us", and "us" is the cold and inhuman Metropolis. Thus, the inhabitants of that massive Metropolis (both humans and robots) have lost any trace of what humanity used to mean. There is also a pun here on the now common meaning of the word robot – a mechanical person – and its Slavonic origin, where it refers to workers, or labourers. A metropolis (in Greek metera = mother and polis = city/town) is a major city, which is an economical and cultural center for some country or larger region, and usually an important hub for international connections. ... The Slavic peoples are defined by their linguistic attainment of the Slavic languages. ...

The presence of song called "Metropolis" is significant, also, because it references Fritz Lang's 1927 film of the same name, which depicted a technologically advanced city run on virtual slave-labour. Kraftwerk expressed interest at one point in producing a score for a restored version of the film, although this job was eventually undertaken by another electronic pioneer, Giorgio Moroder. Fritz Lang Friedrich Anton Christian Lang (December 5, 1890 - August 2, 1976) was an Austrian film director, screenwriter and occasional film producer, one of the best known emigrés from Germanys school of expressionism to work in Hollywood. ... 1927 (MCMXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... Metropolis Metropolis is a science fiction film produced in Germany set in a futuristic urban dystopia. ... Giorgio Moroder Giorgio Moroder (born April 26, 1940 in Ortisei, Italy) is a German-speaking Italian record producer, songwriter and performer, whose groundbreaking work with synthesizers during the 1970s was a significant influence on techno and electronic music in general. ...

Controversy

This album, and Karl Klefish's cover design in particular (which featured photography by Günther Fröhling), led some critics to accuse the band of experimenting with fascist imagery. The use of red and various Russian phrases, with a design based on the work of Soviet artist El Lissitzky, actually suggests an attempt to reference a broader spectrum of pre-war totalitarian art. Fascism (in Italian, fascismo), capitalized, was the authoritarian political movement which ruled Italy from 1922 to 1943 under the leadership of Benito Mussolini. ... Soviet redirects here. ... El Lissitzky in a 1924 self-portrait Lazar Markovich Lissitzky â–¶(?) (Лазарь Маркович Лисицкий, November 23, 1890 – December 30, 1941), better known as El Lissitzky (Эль Лисицкий), was a Russian artist, designer, photographer, teacher, typographer, and architect. ... Combatants Allied Powers Axis Powers Commanders {{{commander1}}} {{{commander2}}} Strength {{{strength1}}} {{{strength2}}} Casualties 17 million military deaths 7 million military deaths World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a mid-20th century conflict that engulfed much of the globe and is accepted as the largest and deadliest... The concept of Totalitarianism is a typology or ideal-type used by some political scientists to encapsulate the characteristics of a number of twentieth century regimes that mobilized entire populations in support of the state or an ideology. ...

Track listing

English release

1. (06:11) "The Robots"
2. (05:51) "Spacelab"
3. (05:59) "Metropolis"
4. (03:38) "The Model"
5. (09:03) "Neon Lights"
6. (05:28) "The Man Machine"

German release

1. (06:11) "Die Roboter"
2. (05:51) "Spacelab"
3. (05:59) "Metropolis"
4. (03:38) "Das Modell"
5. (09:03) "Neonlicht"
6. (05:28) "Die Mensch Maschine"

Equipment

• 2 "Synthorama" 16-step custom analogue sequencers built by Matten & Wiechers
• Farfisa electric piano
• Custom-built electronic drum pads
• Moog Minimoog
• Moog Micromoog
• ARP Odyssey
• Vako Orchestron