When I was in high school in the late 70s, I had a Casio music calculator somewhat bigger than the one in the article, layed out horizontally instead of vertically, but probably had similar musical capabilities.
I found that by entering a number, I think it was 951, and taking the square root, it would play a melody that ended on an up note, and taking the square root again ended on a resolution note. So I could press on a special key to play a little melody! (further square roots were random and less musical)
I knew about Kraftwerk at that point (Autobahn and Radio Activity), but this was a couple years before Computer World came out. Now I wish I still had that thing!
in the same timeframe, there was a bug in the DEC VT-100 terminal (maybe related to autorepeat?) where hitting the right key combinations would put it into a mode where pressing keys would play an incomplete variety of low notes, but sufficient for Ride of the Valkyries
What I had was definitely a calculator that produced musical notes, not a keyboard that also had a calculator. But I'm sure that one had its impact too!
Yaaaas, my dad had one of these and through some magazine I had learned it could produce music… I had limited success but I was able to master enough annoying compositions to be forbidden from messing with it. I forgot entirely about this until your photo. Wow.
And I had no clue who Kraftwerk were until the 90s when I could comprehend and appreciate anything. I had no clue about the connection.
I have seen them live here in Kiev, Ukraine. One of then-oligarch invited them to play at a closed party of about 2k or 3k people and I did everything I could to get a ticket.
Living legends. The light and stage are minimalistic to the point of disappearing and the sound is nothing but perfect.
There is an amazing video of an early Kraftwerk gig somewhere on YouTube - basically, the audience, dressed like latter-day European hippie-wannabes, haven't got the first idea what hits them, then a few rather hesitantly begin to dance and gradually win the crowd over.
Incredible. I was blown away by Kraftwerk both times I have seen them live, and I very much knew what I was in for; I can't even begin to imagine what it must have felt like to be caught unawares...
Very cool. If you like the idea of a pocket synth but want something more powerful, the dirtywave m8 is a fantastic full featured tracker, with multiple synthesis models, stereo sampling, I/O and ability to send audio over usb.
Off-topic plug for another german institute that parodies, Henning Wehn, the the German Comedy Ambassador. If you are in the UK see him if you can but beware he can really rip into Brits (it can be brutal but it's never mean. He doesn't spare Germans either). From wikipedia
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Of his decision to stay in the UK, Wehn later wrote:[5]
I initially planned to stay in the UK for only 12 months to improve my English, but the good weather, the tasty food and the classy women made me stay. In order to blend in with the locals, I decided to get extremely lazy, spend money I don't have and, most importantly, to unjustifiably bang on about my great sense of humour
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He is a very, very good night out. (Edit: his 2011 tour was entitled My Struggle)
Yes, absolutely. They were very knowingly taking the stereotype to the extreme. They didn’t wink at you while doing it because that would have been totally opposed to the angle.
I have had the privilege of seeing Kraftwerk live three times - easily some of the best concerts, I have attended. Even if there is not much left of the original axe, I can still recommend the experience. They have a reputation for perfection, and that is most certainly reflected in their live performance.
I also had the good fortune of attending Balanescu Quartet in concert during their Kraftwerk era. The only time, I’ve ever attempted (and succeeded!) to get backstage to meet the band.
I found that by entering a number, I think it was 951, and taking the square root, it would play a melody that ended on an up note, and taking the square root again ended on a resolution note. So I could press on a special key to play a little melody! (further square roots were random and less musical)
I knew about Kraftwerk at that point (Autobahn and Radio Activity), but this was a couple years before Computer World came out. Now I wish I still had that thing!