Editing Radio-Activity

{{other uses of|Radio activity|radioactivity|Radioactivity (disambiguation)}}
{{redirect|Ohm Sweet Ohm|the 1928 animated film|Ohm Sweet Ohm (film)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2017}}
{{Infobox album
| name         = Radio-Activity
| type         = studio
| artist       = [[Kraftwerk]]
| cover        = Kraftwerk Radio Activity album cover.jpg
| alt          = 
| released     = {{start date|1975|11}}
| recorded     = 
| studio       = [[Kling Klang Studio|Kling Klang]] ([[Düsseldorf]])
| genre        = *[[Electronic music|Electronic]]
* [[experimental pop]]<ref>{{cite news|last=Rubin|first=Mike|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/06/arts/music/06kraftwerk.html|title=Who Knew That Robots Were Funky?|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=4 December 2009|access-date=28 November 2016|issn=1553-8095}}</ref>
* [[ambient pop]]
* [[avant-garde music|avant-garde]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Schütte |first1=Uwe |title=Kraftwerk: Future Music from Germany |date=2020 |publisher=Penguin Books |location=[London] |isbn=978-0-141-98675-3 |page=90}}</ref>
| length       = 37:38
| label        = * [[Kling Klang Studio|Kling Klang]]
* [[EMI]]
* [[Capitol Records|Capitol]]
| producer     = * [[Ralf Hütter]]
* [[Florian Schneider]]
| prev_title   = [[Exceller 8]]
| prev_year    = 1974
| next_title   = [[Trans-Europe Express (album)|Trans-Europe Express]]
| next_year    = 1977
| misc         = {{Extra album cover
 | header  = 2009 remastered edition
 | type    = studio
 | cover   = Radio-Activity 2009.jpeg
 | border  =
 | alt     =
 | caption = 
}}
{{Singles
 | name        = Radio-Activity
 | type        = studio
 | single1     = [[Radioactivity (song)|Radioactivity]]
 | single1date = 13 February 1976
}}
}}
'''''Radio-Activity'''''  (German title: '''''Radio-Aktivität''''') is the fifth studio album by German [[electronic music]] band [[Kraftwerk]], released in November 1975.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/greatrockdiscogr00stro/page/470/mode/2up?q=kraftwerk|title=Great Rock Discography|page=471}}</ref> The band's first entirely electronic album is also a [[concept album]] organized around the themes of [[radioactive decay]] and [[radio communication]].<ref name="AllMusic"/> All releases of the album were [[bilingual]], with lyrics in both English and German. The album was accompanied by single release of the [[Radioactivity (song)|title track]], which was successful in France and Belgium.

==Background==
Following the success of its 1974 predecessor ''[[Autobahn (album)|Autobahn]]'', an album based on Germany's eponymous motorway network,<ref name="dig" /> Kraftwerk embarked on a tour of the United States with the "classic" lineup of the band formed by [[Ralf Hütter]], [[Florian Schneider]], [[Karl Bartos]]—who joined in February 1975—and [[Wolfgang Flür]] in April and May 1975.<ref name="omnibus70" />

== Album title and cover art ==
''Radio-Activity'''s album title displays Kraftwerk's typical deadpan humour, being a [[pun]] on the twin themes of the songs,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bussy |first1=Pascal |title=Kraftwerk: Man, Machine and Music |date=2004 |publisher=SAF Publishing Ltd |isbn=978-0-946719-70-9 |page=78 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jyKuiI3kV_gC&dq=kraftwerk+%22radio-activity%22+play+on+words&pg=PA78 |access-date=27 October 2022 |language=en}}</ref> half being about [[radioactivity]] and the other half about activity on the [[radio]].<ref name="cambridge99">{{cite book |last1=Schütte |first1=Uwe |title=The Cambridge Companion to Krautrock |date=27 October 2022 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-316-51107-7 |page=99 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6BOUEAAAQBAJ&dq=kraftwerk+%22radio-activity%22+play+on+words&pg=PA99 |access-date=27 October 2022 |language=en}}</ref> Bartos revealed that the title was inspired by a chart column in the American magazine, ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'',<ref name="dig">{{cite web |last1=Edwards |first1=Lucas |title='Radio-Activity': How Kraftwerk Went Nuclear With Their Fifth Album |url=https://www.thisisdig.com/feature/radio-activity-kraftwerk-album/ |website=Dig! |access-date=26 October 2022 |date=26 October 2022}}</ref> which featured the most played singles under the title "Radio Activity".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Schütte |first1=Uwe |title=German Pop Music: A Companion |date=11 January 2017 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG |isbn=978-3-11-042354-9 |page=80 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cVj1DQAAQBAJ&dq=H%C3%BCtter+Schneider+Emil+Schult+lyrics+radio+activity&pg=PT80 |access-date=27 October 2022 |language=en}}</ref> According to Wolfgang Flur, the concept arose as a result of the many radio interviews that Ralf and Florian had given on their American tour.{{sfn|Albiez|Pattie|2011|p=106}}

The album's cover depicts a [[Volksempfänger]] radio which was produced in Germany during the Third Reich regime.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rogers |first=Jude |title=How Kraftwerk changed the course of modern music |url=https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/culture/40033/how-kraftwerk-changed-the-course-of-modern-music |access-date=2025-04-05 |website=www.prospectmagazine.co.uk |language=en}}</ref>

== Composition and recording ==
The album was recorded in [[Kling Klang Studio]], [[Düsseldorf]],<ref name="dig" /> and it was self-produced by Hütter and Schneider.{{Citation needed|date=October 2022}} It was their first purely electronic album,<ref name="cambridge99" /> and the first one to be performed by the "classic" band line-up.<ref name="omnibus70">{{cite book |last1=Esch |first1=Rudi |title=Electri_City: The Düsseldorf School of Electronic Music |date=26 August 2016 |publisher=Omnibus Press |isbn=978-1-78323-776-0 |page=70 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GUn_DAAAQBAJ&dq=kraftwerk+%22radio-activity%22+hutter+schneider+bartos+flur&pg=PT70 |access-date=27 October 2022 |language=en}}</ref> Karl and Wolfgang worked on electronic percussion.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hardy |first1=Phil |last2=Laing |first2=Dave |title=The Da Capo Companion To 20th-century Popular Music |date=21 August 1995 |publisher=Da Capo Press |isbn=978-0-306-80640-7 |page=531 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CCoaAQAAMAAJ |access-date=27 October 2022 |language=en}}</ref> LP liner notes state music and production was by Hütter and Schneider, with [[Emil Schult]] collaborating on lyrics. For this album, the band had decided to record some vocals in English and Schult's command of the language after studying for a while in the United States was better than Hutter's or Schneider's. Tim Barr pointed out the impact his experiences had in the United States on his ability to speak the language and in more subtle ways as well.{{sfn|Barr|2013|p=96}} Schult also designed the artwork, which was based on a late-1930s '[[Volksempfänger|Deutscher Kleinempfänger]]' radio.{{Sfn|Stubbs|2014|p=145-147}}

The overture instrumental piece "Geiger Counter" used Geiger counter beats based on [[musique concrète]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Kraftwerk: Radioactivity |url=https://www.clashmusic.com/features/kraftwerk-radioactivity/ |website=Clash Magazine Music News, Reviews & Interviews |access-date=27 October 2022 |date=13 February 2013}}</ref> The album featured use of the distinctive [[Orchestron|Vako Orchestron]] keyboard to provide vocal choir on title track.<ref>{{cite web |title=Vako Orchestron - Kraftwerk - Trans-Europe Express & Radioactivity |url=https://www.matrixsynth.com/2011/01/vako-orchestron-kraftwerk-trans-europe.html |website=MATRIXSYNTH |access-date=27 October 2022}}</ref> "Antenna" used an echo chamber effect, and Hütter's [[Farfisa]] electronic piano was used on "Transistor".{{Sfn|Stubbs|2014|p=145-147}} For the recording, extensive use was made of the [[vocoder]].{{Citation needed|date=October 2022}}

== Release and promotion ==
In September 1975, the band toured the UK, playing 17 shows.<ref name="omnibus70" /> By 1975, Hütter and Schneider's previous publishing deals with Capriccio Music and Star Musik Studio of [[Hamburg]] had expired. The compositions on ''Radio-Activity'' were published by their own newly set up ''Kling Klang Verlag'' music publishing company, giving them greater financial control over the use of songwriting output. Also, the album was the first to bear the fruit of Kling Klang as an established [[vanity label]] under the group's new licensing deal with [[EMI]].{{Citation needed|date=October 2022}} 

''Radio-Activity'' was released in November 1975. For their promotion, their record company sent them to a "real Atomkraftwerk" to take promotional photos. In these photos, the group was dressed in white protective suits and anti-radiation boots on their shoes.<ref name="dig" /> The album reached {{nobr|No.{{space|thin}}59}} on the Canadian charts in February 1976.<ref name="collectionscanada" /> The title track "[[Radioactivity (song)|Radioactivity]]" was released as a single in May 1976 and became a hit in France, selling 500,000 copies,<ref name="dig" /> and Belgium in the charts.

== Reception ==
{{Album ratings
| rev1 = [[AllMusic]] 
| rev1score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name="AllMusic">{{cite web|last=Ankeny|first=Jason|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/radio-activity-mw0000462593|title=Radio-Activity – Kraftwerk|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=6 March 2019}}</ref>
| rev2 = ''[[Drowned in Sound]]'' 
| rev2score = 8/10<ref name="Drowned in Sound">{{cite web|last=Power|first=Chris|url=http://drownedinsound.com/releases/14729/reviews/4138105|title=Album Review: Kraftwerk – Radio-Activity: Remastered|work=[[Drowned in Sound]]|date=12 October 2009|access-date=6 March 2019|archive-date=6 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306234904/http://drownedinsound.com/releases/14729/reviews/4138105|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| rev3 = ''[[The Guardian]]''
| rev3score = {{Rating|3|4}}<ref>{{cite news|last=Sweeting|first=Adam|author-link=Adam Sweeting|title=CDs of the week: Kraftwerk reissues|work=[[The Guardian]]|location=London|date=14 April 1995|issn=0261-3077}}</ref>
| rev4 = ''[[The Irish Times]]''
| rev4score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite news|last=Clayton-Lea|first=Tony|url=http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/album-reviews/reissue-1.763924|title=Kraftwerk: Autobahn (1974), Radio-Activity (1975), Trans Europe Express (1977), The Man-Machine (1978) (Mute/EMI)|newspaper=[[The Irish Times]]|location=Dublin|date=30 October 2009|access-date=18 March 2017|issn=0791-5144}}</ref>
| rev5 = ''[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]'' 
| rev5score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name="Mojo">{{cite magazine|last=Snow|first=Mat|author-link=Mat Snow|title=Gut Vibrations|magazine=[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]|location=London|issue=192|date=November 2009|page=110|issn=1351-0193}}</ref>
| rev6 = ''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]''
| rev6score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name="Q">{{cite magazine|title=Kraftwerk: Radio-Activity|magazine=[[Q (magazine)|Q]]|location=London|page=116|quote=[A] conceptual piece that diverted Kraftwerk's music into monochrome retro-futurism...|issn=0955-4955}}</ref>
| rev7 = ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]''
| rev7score = {{Rating|2|5}}<ref>{{cite book|last1=Coleman|first1=Mark|last2=Randall|first2=Mac|editor1-last=Brackett|editor1-first=Nathan|editor1-link=Nathan Brackett|editor2-last=Hoard|editor2-first=Christian|editor2-link=Christian Hoard|chapter=Kraftwerk|title=The New Rolling Stone Album Guide|title-link=The Rolling Stone Album Guide|publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]]|edition=4th|year=2004|isbn=0-7432-0169-8|pages=[https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/468 468–69]}}</ref>
| rev8 = ''[[Select (magazine)|Select]]''
| rev8score = 4/5<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Harrison|first=Andrew|title=Kraftwerk: Radio Activity / Man Machine / Computer World / The Mix|magazine=[[Select (magazine)|Select]]|location=London|issue=60|date=June 1995|issn=0959-8367}}</ref>
| rev9 = ''[[Spin Alternative Record Guide]]''
| rev9score = 9/10<ref>{{cite book|last=Reynolds|first=Simon|author-link=Simon Reynolds|editor1-last=Weisbard|editor1-first=Eric|editor1-link=Eric Weisbard|editor2-last=Marks|editor2-first=Craig|chapter=Kraftwerk|title=Spin Alternative Record Guide|title-link=Spin Alternative Record Guide|publisher=[[Vintage Books]]|year=1995|isbn=0-679-75574-8|pages=215–16}}</ref>
| rev10 = ''[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]]'' 
| rev10score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name="Uncut">{{cite magazine|last=Cavanagh|first=David|author-link=David Cavanagh|url=http://www.uncut.co.uk/music/kraftwerk/reviews/13709|title=Uncut reviews: Kraftwerk – Reissues|magazine=[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]]|location=London|date=16 October 2009|access-date=22 October 2009|issn=1368-0722|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101205031308/http://www.uncut.co.uk/music/kraftwerk/reviews/13709|archive-date=5 December 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref>
}}
''Radio-Activity'' was released to mixed reviews, with ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' criticizing the album: "...{{nbsp}}no cut on the album comes near the melodic/harmonic sense that pervaded ''[[Autobahn (album)|Autobahn]]'' or the creative use of electronics on the much earlier album ''[[Ralf und Florian|Ralf and Florian]]''".<ref name="Rolling Stone">{{cite magazine|last=Ward|first=Ed|author-link=Ed Ward (writer)|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/radio-aktivitat-19760212|title=Radio-Aktivitat|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|location=New York|date=12 February 1976|access-date=10 November 2017|issn=0035-791X}}</ref> ''[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]]'' wrote regarding their 2009 remaster that it "begins like a heartbeat in the void, accelerating into the pulse that will form the spine of the title-song, an eerie tribute to the intangibles (music, disintegrating atoms) that linger in the atmosphere." It consider that "has a musty scent of Old Europe, which proved a hit with the synth groups of 1980-81 (eg, [[Ultravox]] and [[Visage (band)|Visage]]), and it retains a blood-chilling, [[Wagnerian]] quality even now, thanks to Kraftwerk's use of the Vako Orchestron, a choir-like relative of the [[Mellotron]]."<ref name="Uncut" /> 

Chris Power from ''[[Drowned in Sound]]'' praised it for the experimental feeling in 2009: "A bridge between electronic experimentalism and the powerful, groundbreaking unification of [[avant-garde]] form and catchy, commercial function that was just around the corner, ''Radio-Activity'' is the sound of Kraftwerk finding their way in a strange new landscape that they were in the very process of creating".<ref name="Drowned in Sound"/> In a retrospective review, Jason Ankeny from [[AllMusic]] called the album "a pivotal record in the group's continuing development" and stated that it "marked Kraftwerk's return to more obtuse territory, extensively utilizing static, [[Oscillation|oscillators]], and even [[John Cage|Cage]]-like moments of silence".<ref name="AllMusic"/>

==Track listing==
{{track listing
| headline        = Side one
| all_writing     =

| title1          = Geiger Counter
| note1           = "Geigerzähler"
| writer1         = {{hlist|[[Ralf Hütter]]|[[Florian Schneider]]}}
| length1         = 1:07
| title2          = [[Radioactivity (song)|Radioactivity]]
| note2           = "Radioaktivität"
| writer2         = {{hlist|Hütter|Schneider|[[Emil Schult]]}}
| length2         = 6:42
| title3          = Radioland
| writer3         = {{hlist|Hütter|Schneider|Schult}}
| length3         = 5:50
| title4          = Airwaves
| note4           = "Ätherwellen"
| writer4         = {{hlist|Hütter|Schneider|Schult}}
| length4         = 4:40
| title5          = Intermission
| note5           = "Sendepause"
| writer5         = {{hlist|Hütter|Schneider}}
| length5         = 0:39
| title6          = News
| note6           = "Nachrichten"
| writer6         = {{hlist|Hütter|Schneider}}
| length6         = 1:17
}}

{{track listing
| headline        = Side two
| title7          = The Voice of Energy
| note7           = "Die Stimme der Energie"
| writer7         = {{hlist|Hütter|Schneider|Schult}}
| length7         = 0:55
| title8          = Antenna
| note8           = "Antenne"
| writer8         = {{hlist|Hütter|Schneider|Schult}}
| length8         = 3:43
| title9          = Radio Stars
| note9           = "Radio Sterne"
| writer9         = {{hlist|Hütter|Schneider|Schult}}
| length9         = 3:35
| title10         = Uranium
| note10          = "Uran"
| writer10        = {{hlist|Hütter|Schneider|Schult}}
| length10        = 1:26
| title11         = Transistor
| writer11        = {{hlist|Hütter|Schneider}}
| length11        = 2:15
| title12         = Ohm Sweet Ohm
| writer12        = {{hlist|Hütter|Schneider}}
| length12        = 5:39
| total_length    = 37:38
}}

==Personnel==
Adapted from 2009 remaster liner notes.<ref name="notes">{{cite AV media notes
| title       = Radio-Activity (Digital Remaster)
| others    = Kraftwerk
| year        = 2009
| type      = CD
| publisher   = Mute Records
| id = CDSTUMM304
| location    = Great Britain
}}</ref>
===Kraftwerk===
* [[Ralf Hütter]] – vocals, synthesizers, [[Orchestron]], [[electronic piano]], [[drum machine]], electronics
* [[Florian Schneider]] – vocals, [[vocoder]], [[votrax]], synthesizers, electronics
* [[Karl Bartos]] – [[electronic musical instrument|electronic percussion]]
* [[Wolfgang Flür]] – electronic percussion

===Additional personnel===
* Peter Bollig – technical engineer (Kling Klang Studio, Düsseldorf)
* Walter Quintus – sound mix engineer (Rüssl Studio, Hamburg)
* Robert Franke – photography
* [[Emil Schult]] – artwork
* Johann Zambryski – artwork reconstruction (2009 Remaster)

== Charts ==

=== Weekly charts ===
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
! scope="col"| Chart (1976)
! scope="col"| Peak<br /> position
|-
! scope="row"|Australia ([[Kent Music Report]])<ref name=aus>{{cite book|last=Kent|first=David|author-link=David Kent (historian)|title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992|edition=illustrated|publisher=Australian Chart Book|location=St Ives, N.S.W.|year=1993|isbn=0-646-11917-6|page=170}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|94
|-
{{album chart|Austria|4|artist=Kraftwerk|album=Tour de France Soundtracks|rowheader=true|accessdate=}}
|-
! scope="row"| Canada ([[RPM (magazine)|RPM]])<ref name="collectionscanada">{{cite web|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.4083b.pdf| title=RPM Top 100 Albums - February 28, 1976}}</ref>
| 59
|-
! scope="row"| France ([[Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique|SNEP]])<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JroSCgAAQBAJ&q=kraftwerk+publikation+discografy&pg=PT279 |title = Kraftwerk: Publikation|isbn = 9781783236183|last1 = Buckley|first1 = David|date = 13 June 2015| publisher=Omnibus Press }}</ref>
| 1
|-
{{album chart|Germany|22|artist=Kraftwerk|album=Tour de France Soundtracks|rowheader=true|accessdate=}}
|-
{{album chart|Billboard200|140|artist=Kraftwerk|rowheader=true|accessdate=}}
|}

===Certifications and sales===
{{certification Table Top}}
{{certification Table Entry|title=Radio-Activity|type=album|artist=Kraftwerk|relyear=1976|region=France|award=Gold|source=infodisc|certyear=1977}}
{{certification Table Bottom|noshipments=true}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
* {{cite book |last1=Stubbs |first1=David |title=Future Days: Krautrock and the Building of Modern Germany |date=5 August 2014 |publisher=Faber & Faber |isbn=978-0-571-28334-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9mwZBAAAQBAJ |access-date=8 December 2022 |language=en}}
* {{cite book |last1=Albiez |first1=Sean |last2=Pattie |first2=David |title=Kraftwerk: Music Non-Stop |date=1 January 2011 |publisher=A&C Black |isbn=978-1-4411-9136-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZVDVrWyAk2YC |access-date=8 December 2022 |language=en}}
* {{cite book |last1=Barr |first1=Tim |title=Kraftwerk: from Dusseldorf to the Future With Love |date=31 August 2013 |publisher=Random House |isbn=978-1-4481-7776-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0mcj4h2qEhQC |access-date=8 December 2022 |language=en}}

==External links==
*{{Discogs master|3228}}

{{Kraftwerk}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Kraftwerk albums]]
[[Category:1975 albums]]
[[Category:1970s concept albums]]
[[Category:EMI Records albums]]
[[Category:Capitol Records albums]]
[[Category:Kling Klang Studio albums]]
[[Category:Experimental music albums by German artists]]
[[Category:Experimental pop albums]]
[[Category:1970s German-language albums]]