''Esperanto'', released in 1993, was the first studio album by Elektric Music, initially a collaboration of
Karl Bartos
Karl Bartos (born 31 May 1952) is a German musician and composer known for his contributions to the electronic band Kraftwerk.
Career
Karlheinz Bartos was born on 31 May 1952 in Marktschellenberg, Germany, named after his grandfathers Karl an ...
(formerly of
Kraftwerk) and Lothar Manteuffel (formerly of Rheingold), but later only Bartos worked under this name. The project begun after Bartos ended his involvement with Kraftwerk in 1991. The songs "Show Business" and "Kissing the Machine" were co-written with
Andy McCluskey
George Andrew McCluskey (born 24 June 1959) is an English singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. He is best known as the lead singer and bass guitarist of the electronic band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), which he founded a ...
of
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) are an English electronic band formed in Wirral, Merseyside, in 1978. The group consists of co-founders Andy McCluskey (vocals, bass guitar) and Paul Humphreys (keyboards, vocals), along with Martin Co ...
, with McCluskey performing vocals on the latter track. "Crosstalk" and "Overdrive" were co-written with Kraftwerk associate
Emil Schult
Emil Schult (born 10 October 1946) is a German painter, poet and audio-visual artist.
Biography
After studying Sinology in Münster, Schult joined the Academy of Art in Düsseldorf in 1969 to study Fine Arts in the printmaking class of Diete ...
, who was also the art director of the cover graphics of the early Elektric Music releases.
About half the songs are similar to Kraftwerk, and the others more to contemporary
techno
Techno is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally music production, produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central Drum beat, rhythm is typ ...
. Many Kraftwerk fans were dissatisfied by the techno elements, while others claimed the album was an unexpected masterpiece. Later Kraftwerk releases would, however, feature similar elements.
Reception
Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
gives the album a four out of five star rating, commenting "A fine slice of electronica, Esperanto demonstrates that in 1993, the teacher was quite willing to learn some things from his students."
Track listing
Release history
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Esperanto
1993 debut albums
Karl Bartos albums
Atlantic Records albums