With Communication, Karl Bartos is re-releasing his visionary solo album from 2003 – and striking a chord with the spirit of the times. As a key member of Kraftwerk, Bartos played a major role in classics such as ‘The Model’, ‘The Robots’ and ‘Numbers’. After leaving the band in 1990, he continued his musical journey with Communication – now with a critical eye on the digital media world. The album is a sonically precise and thematically astute exploration of issues such as image overload, identity construction and the fragmentation of reality.

What seemed like a glimpse into the future at the time is now more relevant than ever: smartphones, social media and algorithmic manipulation dominate our everyday lives. Bartos succeeds in combining electronic pop music with social reflection – a rare interplay of musical joy and media criticism. The reissue on Bureau B is not a nostalgic retrospective, but a statement about the present. ‘We live in a time of massive behavioural manipulation,’ says Bartos. ‘Cybernetics, artificial intelligence – this is a great challenge for humanity.’