Off the Record (Karl Bartos album)

Off the Record is the second solo studio album by German musician and composer Karl Bartos (formerly of Kraftwerk). It was released on 15 March 2013, through Bureau B Records. It is Bartos' first solo album in ten years, though much of the material on Off the Record predates that on 2003's Communication.[13][14][15]

Off the Record
Studio album by
Released15 March 2013
Recorded1977-1993,[1] 2010-2012
GenreSynth-pop
Length39:45
LabelBureau B
ProducerKarl Bartos
Karl Bartos chronology
Communication
(2003)
Off the Record
(2013)
Singles from Off the Record
  1. "Atomium"
    Released: 1 February 2013
  2. "Without a Trace of Emotion"
    Released: 18 March 2013
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic64/100[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[3]
Beats per Minute62%[4]
Clash6/10[5]
Drowned in Sound5/10[6]
Exclaim!7/10[7]
The Independent[8]
Pitchfork Media5.4/10[9]
Popmatters[10]
Record Collector[11]
Rolling Stone Russia[12]

Singles edit

"Atomium" was released as a single on 1 February 2013.

"Without a Trace of Emotion" was released as a promo-single on 18 March 2013.

Track listing edit

All tracks are written by Karl Bartos except "Musica Ex Machina", written by Bartos, Johnny Marr and Bernard Sumner

No.TitleLength
1."Atomium"3:16
2."Nachtfahrt"3:30
3."International Velvet"4:38
4."Without a Trace of Emotion"3:28
5."The Binary Code"1:42
6."Musica Ex Machina"5:16
7."The Tuning of the World"3:33
8."Instant Bayeruth"3:36
9."Vox Humana"2:56
10."Rhythmus"4:17
11."Silence"0:06
12."Hausmusik"3:30

Notes edit

  • "Musica Ex Machina" is based on a composition which had previously been adapted into "Imitation of Life" by Electronic.
  • "Silence" consists of 6 seconds of ambient studio noise.

Charts edit

Weekly charts edit

Chart (2013) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[16] 161
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[17] 44
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[18] 47

References edit

  1. ^ Bartos, Karl (4 March 2013). "Remake/Remodel: Karl Bartos Interviewed". The Quietus (Interview). Interviewed by Matt Lindsay. London. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  2. ^ "Off the Record – Karl Bartos". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  3. ^ Allmusic review
  4. ^ Pickard, Joshua (10 April 2013). "Album Review: Karl Bartos – Off The Record". Beats per Minute. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  5. ^ Oliver, Matt (12 March 2013). "Karl Bartos – Off The Record". Clash. Music Republic Ltd. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  6. ^ Falcone, Jon (18 March 2013). "Album Review: Karl Bartos – Off the Record". Drowned in Sound. Silentway. Archived from the original on 31 January 2015. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  7. ^ Ranta, Alan (20 March 2013). "Karl Bartos Off the Record". Exclaim!. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  8. ^ Gilly, Andy (15 March 2013). "Album review: Karl Bartos, Off the Record (Bureau B)". The Independent. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  9. ^ Neyland, Nick (25 March 2013). "Karl Bartos: Off the Record". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  10. ^ Faulkner, Brent (20 March 2013). "Karl Bartos Off the Record". Popmatters. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  11. ^ Rathbone, Oregano. "Off The Record". Record Collector. Diamond Publishing. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  12. ^ Bukharin, Andrew (7 June 2013). "Karl Bartos – "Off The Record"". Rolling Stone Russia (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  13. ^ Tuffrey, Laurie (26 November 2012). "Karl Bartos Announces New Album". The Quietus. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
  14. ^ Roffman, Michael (27 November 2012). "Former Kraftwerk member Karl Bartos announces solo album, Off the Record". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
  15. ^ Longley, Martin (4 March 2013). "Karl Bartos - 'Off the Record' - Review". BBC. Retrieved March 17, 2013.
  16. ^ "Ultratop.be – Karl Bartos – Off the Record" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
  17. ^ "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  18. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Karl Bartos – Off the Record". Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 April 2013.