Electrospective: Like Gesaffelstein? Then You’ll Love Kraftwerk’s “Computer World”

Elektro is proud to celebrate EMI’s Electrospective series, which pays homage to electronic music’s long, storied history. We’ll be giving you a guided tour through EMI’s extensive, 600-plus album catalog; our tailor-picked recommendations are geared toward Elektro’s readers and are sure to open your eyes to the legendary artists and key tracks that inspired today’s EDM heavy-hitters.

This week's pairing is all about artful minimalism. French producer and Gesaffelstein has amassed a cult following thanks to his expertly crafted, elemental techno and electronica; his beats never feel too heavy or overproduced, yet they still retain the dark mood for which he usually strives. Tracks ranging from 2010's "Atmosphere" to this year's unexpected remix of Lana Del Rey's "Blue Jeans" – and countless others in between – are striking in their simplicity while still mindful of melody. He also integrates digital-inspired elements that come and go throughout various tracks; 2010's "Aufstrand," for example, boasts eerie synths that sound plucked from a video game's toughest level.

The track harkens back to Computer World, Kraftwerk's seminal 1981 album that redefined what, exactly, electronic music should and could be. It featured the blips and bleeps of that era's technology woven into intricate melodies, as well as digitally-altered vocals that sound like predecessors to our current AutoTune. "Numbers," one of the most-sampled cuts from Computer World, manages to combine that time's most "electronic" sounds with a bouncy beat that propels the track. While some of the album's tracks may sound adorably analog by 2012's electronic music standards, each one still finds to influence today's techno and deep house – if the firing lasers and simple melody of "It's More Fun To Compute" sound familiar, it's probably because they've been sampled by one of your favorite DJs or played in a sprawling late-night set.

Purchase Kraftwerk's Computer World HERE.

Electrospective Official Website