Kraftwerk: Computer World

Kraftwerk: Computer World

Author: BBC Radio 4 January 24, 2018 Duration: 27:44

How Kraftwerk's classic album Computer World has changed people's lives.

On their first wedding anniversary, David Sanborn and Jennifer Huber remember their Kraftwerk themed celebrations.

Ramona Gonzales from the band Nite Jewel recounts how a car crash and a chance encounter with Computer World changed the course of her life.

And Andy McCluskey from Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark recalls the Kraftwerk concert that inspired his musical career.

Kraftwerk were forged in the shadow of the Second World War, out of a desire to create a new, German music. Uwe Schütte from Aston University explains how Computer World embodies the politics of this time and points the way to a computerised future.

Brian Carney recalls how the album's glamour and sheen changed his horizons in the industrial town of St Helens.

And in South Central Los Angeles Greg Broussard, aka Egyptian Lover, shows how this album brought love into his life.

Life, love and an electronic future as experienced through the music of this pioneering German band.

Producer: Melvin Rickarby

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2018.


There’s a certain piece of music that, when you hear it, seems to stop time. It might be a melody from your childhood, a song that played at a pivotal moment, or a composition that simply reaches into your chest and grips your heart. Soul Music, from BBC Radio 4, is built around that very phenomenon. This isn’t a program about genres or charts; it’s an intimate exploration of why specific pieces of music carry such profound emotional weight. Each episode focuses on a single, iconic work-from classical adagios to folk ballads, from film scores to pop anthems. The podcast weaves together the voices of people whose lives have been indelibly marked by that music: listeners share personal, often moving stories of grief, joy, love, and remembrance, while composers and performers might shed light on the piece’s creation. You’ll hear the music itself, of course, but framed in a way that reveals its deeper resonance in human experience. It’s a quiet, thoughtful series that reminds us how soundtracks our inner lives. Tuning into this podcast feels like being part of a conversation about the invisible threads that connect us all through notes and rhythms, exploring how a sequence of sounds can become a vessel for collective memory and feeling.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

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