The Mix

Infobox Album | Name = The Mix
Type = Remix album
Artist = Kraftwerk


Released = 11 June 1991
Recorded = 1990-1991
Genre = Electronic music
Synthpop
Length = 65:07
Label = Kling Klang
EMI
Elektra flagicon|USA flagicon|Canada| | Producer = Ralf Hütter
Florian Schneider
Fritz Hilpert
Reviews =
* Allmusic Rating|3|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=A53ri286c05oa link]
* "Q" Rating|3|5 [http://www.q4music.com/nav?page=q4music.review.redirect&fixture_review=125902&resource=125902&fixture_artist=145614August1995 Aug. 1995]
* Robert Christgau Rating-Christgau|hm3 [http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?id=762&name=Kraftwerk link]
Last album = "Electric Café"
(1986)
This album = "The Mix"
(1991)
Next album = "Tour de France Soundtracks"
(2003)

"The Mix" is a 1991 album by Kraftwerk. It featured newly arranged, re-recorded versions of a selection of songs which had originally appeared on the albums "Autobahn" through "Electric Café". Hütter stated in interviews that he regarded "The Mix" as a type of live album, as it captured the results of the band's continual digital improvisations in their Kling Klang studio. When, subsequent to the album's release, Kraftwerk made their return to performing live in concert, many songs featured on their set list were heavily rearranged in a similar fashion to what appears on the album.

Stated reasons from the group explaining the release include:Fact|date=October 2007

# The group didn't want to release a traditional "Greatest Hits" or "Best of" collection.
# At the time, the band were in the process of reconfiguring their Kling Klang studio from analog to digital recording technology; integrating MIDI into their setup and creating sound archives from their original master tapes that were stored onto computers. This proved to be an ongoing task, as new upgrades and equipment were continually made available in the years following the album project.
# Despite no new, original recorded material or live tours outside of Europe, Ralf Hütter didn't want Kraftwerk to appear defunct to the public.

The album met with a rather mixed reception on its release. Many were disappointed at the lack of new compositions and, moreover, the production values of the re-recorded tracks did not strike many listeners as particularly cutting edge, something which Kraftwerk had previously been renowned for. "The Mix" was created entirely digitally, albeit during a period when the technology had yet to reach its maturity, and thus featured a sound which many listeners tend to find somewhat "sterile" compared to the analogue electronics employed on most of Kraftwerk's previous recordings of these songs.

The album sleeve was somewhat obtuse in the information it offered. Production of the album is credited to Ralf Hütter,Florian Schneider and Fritz Hilpert, who replaced percussionist and stage set designer Wolfgang Flür, after Flür left the group in 1987. Karl Bartos also left the band in 1991, after the sessions for the album were completed. Bartos claimed in later interviews that much of his programming work was still featured on "The Mix", uncredited.

Track listing

English release

# "The Robots" – 8:56
# "Computerlove" – 6:35
# "Pocket Calculator" – 4:32
# "Dentaku" – 3:27
# "Autobahn" – 9:27
# "Radioactivity" – 6:53
# "Trans Europe Express" – 3:20
# "Abzug" – 2:18
# "Metal on Metal" – 4:58
# "Homecomputer" – 8:02
# "Music Non Stop" – 6:38

* "Homecomputer" also includes elements from "It's More Fun to Compute"
* "Musique Non Stop" also includes elements from "Boing Boom Tschak"

German release

# "Die Roboter" – 8:56
# "Computerliebe" – 6:35
# "Taschenrechner" – 4:32
# "Dentaku" – 3:27
# "Autobahn" – 9:27
# "Radioaktivität" – 6:53
# "Trans-Europa Express" – 3:20
# "Abzug" – 2:18
# "Metall auf Metall" – 4:58
# "Heimcomputer" – 8:02
# "Musik Non-Stop" – 6:38