8-Bit Operators: The Music of Kraftwerk + The Worst Song of All Time

I don’t know much about Kraftwerk nor am I familiar with their music.

Now that we got that out of the way, I’m going to discuss the music itself, not how they compare to Kraftwerk’s original tunes. At the end of the article, our German friend (who’s a Kraftwerk fan) will be discussing on how they compare to the originals.

I grew up with Nintendo so of course the music still has a weird effect on me now in adulthood. Listening to 8-bit music delivers a lot of nostalgia and this album manages to do just that, it also introduced me a new emotion, which will be explained later.

This album’s melodic tunes remind me of a few favorite NES games and the modern beats really compliment the 8-bit noise. The music itself is performed through vintage game systems like the Gameboy and produced by various artists, which makes it nice to hear different styles of this genre in one compilation.

Now, the last track unearthed a new emotion for me. I call this emotion, “mind-boggling mad.” It’s entitled, “The Man-Machine” by Gwem and Counter Reset. Gwem spells his name “gwEm” but I’ll light my face on fire before I spell it like that.

This track could have easily been my favorite but it turns out to be the worst and I’m genuinely confused at its existence. What’s awesome is the heavy noise and the fast-paced beat. If you like Drum n’ Bass or just harder electronic, you’ll dig this track. What’s awful is everything else and there’s a lot of it - the MC, fake crowd roar, inane rap lyrics, and the host. I want to see the host mauled by a family of tigers.

I don’t know who the host is but he needs a self-check before any mic-check or just drop dead of kidney failure. With a crackling nerd voice and embarrassing lingo like, “easy my fellow junglists warriors,” I am completely confused as to who allowed him on this track.

It’s one thing if he’s drunk at a show and makes his way up to the stage to embarrass himself on the mic. It’s another thing to record an album and actually want him on the track. So, I blame Gwem and Counter Reset for this mishap.

Not to mention the rap by Counter Reset, well, if you call it rap. It’s nerds trying to be thugs in their own unsuccessful way. Since Tray wears a bigger Hip Hop hat then me, I made him translate the awful chorus but I had to bribe him with six shots of Jack. Little did I know he downed all of them immediately so he can muster up enough tolerance to rewind the song a few times.

The man machine yo how unfeasible is this,
its reasonable leaving ya ought to mind your own business,
but know you cant ignore the sonic force,
of the soul waves that tear up your air like floss,
on a tomcat thats full of the binary source,
of a combat resource from the ones from norse…

These lyrics make as much sense as having sex with an electrical outlet. I feel like the lyrics are not 100% correct but there’s no way you can get me to listen to it again to check, and neither will Tray. He downed five more shots after the translation and is snoring in a corner somewhere.

Listen to “The Man Machine”

Overall, this was a very enjoyable album, I’ve listened to it enough to consolidate the entire album to about 4 tracks that really get me. My favorite track would be “Computer Love” by Covox, next would be “The Model” by Nullsleep, followed by a couple of others. This album should definitely be picked up for those that have a soft spot for 8-bit music but not familiar with Kraftwerk. As for fans of Kraftwerk, I’ll leave you with commentary from our German buddy who grew up with their music.

Guest: J. Lenzweiler - Kraftwerk could be dubbed as the grandfathers of 8-bit music. They made sounds never before heard, music completely foreign to the world’s ears, and all on predominately self-engineered electronic equipment. Before contemporary culture even had the slightest idea what 4-bit, 8-bit, or what a Moog was, Kraftwerk was tweaking chip sets and keyboards.

It comes as no surprise a tribute album such as 8-bit Operators has been produced. Today’s Lo-Fi music and Kraftwerk go hand-in-hand. It was inevitable and predictable that this album would occur but are they worthy mixes of our techno forefather’s work? Yes, they are.

This album takes us through Kraftwerk’s most known tracks such as Trans-Europe Express, Computer Love, and pocket Calculator, all remixed on 4 and 8 bit game consoles such as the Commodore 64, Atari 2600, and Nintendo Gameboy. I think anyone born between 1965 and 1983 or any new fans of Kraftwerk would appreciate this album.

The interesting thing about these remixes, and 8-bit music in general, is that many of the sounds created from these old-school instruments can produce a sound that is arguably more futuristic than today’s modern software and synths. The nit and grit, bleeps and distortion on these reverse-engineered consoles are creating a unique sound. These remixes speak to this well.

Corbin M. - And there you have it; my views as a fan of 8-bit music and J. Lenzweiler’s views as a fan of Kraftwerk. In conclusion, there’s nothing dastardly wrong or irrelevant about this album - it’s enjoyable and memorable no matter which type of fan you are. Go buy it already!

www.8bitoperators.com