Customer Reviews

8-Bit Operators - An 8-Bit Tribute to Kraftwerk

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

What do you get when you mix old videogame music with even older Kraut-rock? You get an AWESOME CD. 8-Bit Operators - An 8-Bit Tribute to Kraftwerk is as it says, a tribute to the German band Kraftwerk using mostly old consoles (although some synths like Roland Junos are used) and performed by the chip scene's leading musicians, like Nullsleep.

Each artist chose one Kraftwerk song to cover in their individual style of chip music, and the selection is great, although unfortunately "Autobahn" and "Numbers" were not covered on this CD. All arrangments, at least in my opinon, are phenomonal, and certainly do justice to the original tracks. Nullsleep's cover of "The Model" must be heard to be believed!

The sound is top notch and the sound quality is like listening to the actual consoles/synths themselves. Most of the vocals on this CD are taken from the English translations of Kraftwerk's songs, although some are the original German lyrics. Some sites have complained that the vocals (vocals, not lyrics) are weak, but I find this to be opposite, and since Kraftwerk's vocal talent wasn't all that great to begin with, I have to question whether those people are just hating on this CD.


Overall, this is an interesting and fantastic album, that sucessfully pays justice to Kraftwerk, and proves that Gameboys, NES's, Commodore 64's and what-have-you aren't just bleeps and bloops, they can make actual music, which is what Kraftwerk's music did for synthesizers, so this really is the PERFECT tribute.

If you are a Kraftwerk fan, or a chiptune fan, or both, BUY THIS CD. If not, or you're just gtting into it, buy this CD anyway. It will convert you into Karaftwerk fans and chiptune fans, and it's a great intro to both scenes.

Overall: 5/5

-Zack M. - Chiptune/Kraftwerk fan

This is a great CD. Not only is it a fitting tribute to the music of Kraftwerk, but it is also a unique compilation of songs that truly take on their own voices apart from the originals. Whether you are a Krafwerk or a chiptunes fan, or even if you are just curious, you should love this CD.

Fifteen artists each tackling a legendary number by Kraftwerk, with a re-tooled twist. They are using old-school 8-bit video game systems and lo-bit microchip computers to bring a new generation of sound & vision to the music.

This phenominal CD finds the songs merging into one fascinating presentation of cutting-edge performance art. Oliver Wittchow and Herbert Weixelbaum capture classic club beats, respectively, in Kristallo & Tanzmusik, while Covox brings even more desperation/sadness to the lyrics of Computer Love.

The most ambitious number is gwEm and Counter Reset's interpretation of The Man-Machine (Die Mensch-Maschine), which is the fitting final piece to this innovative project.

You do not have to be a fan of Kraftwerk to appreciate the new versions of these songs. This is as much a tribute to stretching the boundaries of art as it is to one of the most influential bands ever.

Kraftwerk: sweet. 8-bit: awesome. 8-bit operators: amazingly awesome sweet! Cool, nostalgic, original remakes of the kraftwerk songs we all love, some even better in my opinion (spacelab, antennae)! A few lack in awesomeness but are funny instead (man machine), i would call this a great album for any fans of kraftwerk, chiptunes, astralwerks, proto-techno, or electro in general!

My father had a C64 back in "the day" when I was but a wee lad. Not only did this machine introduce me to PC gaming, but it also (via a cartridge) introduced me to the weird sounds that you could make a computer puke out. My father also introduced me to kraftwerk in the early 80's. When this became available for pre-order, I crapped out my money instantly.

I can honestly say that my hard earned, tax-payer provided money was well spent. This was the first time since downloading midi files that I've heard minimalist computer produced perfection. I own a few other kraftwerk cover albums, such as the trance-werk express series, and none of them even come close to what I'd say an actual worthy tribute.

Not only are all 15 tracks the nearest thing to perfection that I've ever seen, but most, if not all, capture what I'd call the essence of "machine music" that kraftwerk have been striving for since 68. This album has also opened me up to a new genre of electronic music that I was not aware of, so now I'll attempt to find other artists that make 8-bit stuff.

Amazingly, these remixes sound exactly the way you think they would -- like the Mario Brothers and Kraftwerk did a project together. I like these versions until the re-mixer starts to sing. I think this would have been much better as a music-only project, but no one asked me. I give 5 stars to the hard bit-crushed music tracks between the vocals.

With the exception of the final track, which contains the worst, most mundane rap, this tribute is fantastic. Made with utmost respect for the source, with bits of humor thrown in as well.

IF your like me and own everything KRAFTWERK ever made you MUST get this tribute to them. The 8-bit sounds remade to classic songs are very nice.
I knocked off 1 star because I felt the vocals could have been done better but HEY, GO BUY IT NOW !!!!

also check out ADD N to X for some amazing Analog sound music !

To cover the music of these electronic music legends and pioneers is a lofty goal, gutsy even, considering their status among fans and music heads alike. I must say, all the artists did a fine job here, staying true to Kraftwerk's electronic aesthetic and sound while filtering these tracks through the style of the various 8-bit artists featured here on this highly enjoyable compilation. All the tracks are very well and uniquely composed and of course, this is 8-bit music, video game music, which makes perfect sense when considering Kraftwerk's material. I'd imagine some may find the 8-bit genre trendy or even novelty, but it's just another way to make music, another one of many sub-genre's of very electronic music. To get a carbon copy of the original Kraftwerk songs would be boring and predictable, and to expect such a thing is ridiculous. Lots of Kraftwek fans come off as pretty elitist at times and put their beloved band on a high pedestool, not giving the newer and younger folks doing very good stuff, related to Kraftwerk, much of a chance. That's a shame, because hearing these classics covered by the "8-Bit Operators" sheds a whole new light on Kraftwerk and there is a very refreshing, DIY, punk-rock (not in style mind you--no guitars, but in spirit) approach, which is nice, considering some of Kraftwerk's more recent and rarely released material is a bit on the slick side. As for some of the vocals, they're quite good and varied. Again, if you're expecting this to sound just like Kraftwerk, or hope it does, you probably might wanna stay away from this one. Still, this is very Kraftwerkian in spirit and higly reccomended for the open-minded, non-elitist fan and elecronic music lover.

i was super siked to hear this album. then i heard the vocals on so many tracks. i know kraftwerk has vocals but i thought that the 8-bit tribute would be instrumental only. kind of a disappointment. no offense to the artists because the production is very good and sounds great its just the vocal tracks ruin what could be a great album. thanks. check link for other 8 bit music.[...]