Karl Bartos - born Karlheinz Bartos on May 31, 1952, in Marktschellenberg, West Germany- is a musician, DJ, music producer, and songwriter. He is best known as a former member of Kraftwerk from 1975 to 1990. After leaving school, he studied piano, vibraphone, and drums at the Robert Schumann Hochschule in Düsseldorf from 1970. It was there that he met Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. The two were looking for a drummer for live performances with their band Kraftwerk. During his time with the band, he co-wrote the Kraftwerk tracks "Das Model" (1978), "Tour de France" (1983) and "Der Telefonanruf" (1986). After leaving Kraftwerk, he worked with bands such as Electronic, OMD, and Deine Lakaien. Karl Bartos released his own music under the pseudonym Elektrik Music - or Electric Music - at the end of the 1990s. His first single under his own name, "15 Minutes of Fame", was released in 2000, followed by his debut album Communication in 2003. It was not until ten years later that Karl Bartos released another album, Off the Record. As a member of Kraftwerk, Karl Bartos was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2021. For a tour in February 2024, he composed a new soundtrack for the silent film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. The accompanying album, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, climbed to number 9 on the German Albums chart.
